In a rural, largely Republican region of California, homegrown efforts to bolster the medical workforce face an uphill battle, in part because of federal health care cuts approved by the GOP Congress and signed by President Donald Trump in July, as well as a state budget deficit.

KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

KFF Health News video producer Hannah Norman breaks down why new parents are getting billed thousands of dollars for births.

With less than three weeks before the deadline to pass legislation to keep the federal government running, lawmakers are still far apart on a strategy. Democrats hope Republicans will agree to extend expanded tax credits for the Affordable Care Act as part of a compromise, but so far Republicans are not negotiating. Meanwhile, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. released his long-awaited “Make America Healthy Again” report, with few specific action items. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.

The GOP said its overhaul of Medicaid was aimed at reducing fraud and getting more adult beneficiaries to work. Among the likely side effects: fewer services and doctors for treating sick children.

Algunos hospitales infantiles podrían perder miles de millones de dólares en ingresos una vez que se aplique por completo la amplia ley fiscal y de gasto de Trump, conocida por los republicanos como la One Big Beautiful Bill.

En conjunto, estas reducciones representan un cambio radical en la forma en que se financian y se ofrecen los programas estatales de salud.

The Trump administration has pushed a significant amount of health costs to states, whose budgets may already be strained by declining state tax revenues, a slowdown in pandemic spending, and economic uncertainty. State and local governments now face difficult decisions.

KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

Michigan’s former top health official spent a year and $30 million building a system to implement work requirements for Medicaid recipients. The difficulties he encountered have him worried about 40 states and Washington, D.C., having to launch such systems by 2027.