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Big changes to the CDC’s childhood vaccine schedule: What you need to know
This week, the CDC changed the agency’s recommended childhood vaccine schedule to nearly match that of Denmark, a country that bears little similarity to the U.S. in population, health care system, and public health approach. The move shifts six vaccines from “recommended” to “shared clinical decision-making.” Hosted by Tara Haelle and offered in conjunction with…
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Covering the big changes in the CDC’s recommended childhood vaccine schedule
The CDC has unilaterally changed the national recommended childhood immunization schedule to nearly match Denmark’s, reducing the number of fully recommended vaccines from 17 to 11. The decision follows a directive from President Trump to review the vaccine schedules of other high-income countries and assess the U.S. schedule based on current scientific evidence. However, infectious…
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New Medicaid work rules will challenge enrollees and states
Medicaid officials in 42 states have until Jan. 1, 2027, to put new work rules in place so that millions of Americans can enroll or remain enrolled in Medicaid, as KFF reported in August. Many, if not all, of those states, including the District of Columbia, Georgia and Wisconsin, will struggle to meet that deadline…
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Reports show health insurers skirt medical loss ratio rules
UnitedHealthcare corporate headquarters in Minnetonka, Minn. in 2024. Photo by Chad Davis (CC BY 2.0) Health care spending data from five states (Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Rhode Island) show health care spending exceeded each state’s target in 2023, according to an analysis by Health Affairs in August. Those five states are among nine that,…
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Aging advocates brace for uncertain future
The message from Washington D.C. to a group of aging advocates was blunt: survive 2025, then regroup for the fight ahead. The political dynamics will change in 2026 with the critical midterm election according to Bob Blancato, a leading national expert on aging policy. He delivered a sobering overview of the future of aging programs…
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Despite federal efforts, drug prices may not drop much
Three years after Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, a significant change from that law will go into effect next month. The law gives the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) the right to negotiate the prices of high-cost prescription drugs and forces drug companies to give back money when they…
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Why reporters should cover the CDC’s meeting this week
When the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meets later this week (Dec. 4-5), one of the key issues on the agenda will be the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine. The draft agenda for the meeting shows that the entire first day will be devoted to discussing this vaccine. The second day…
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