RFK Jr. wants to tackle chronic disease. Despite his widely disputed views on vaccines, his focus on healthy food and taking on special interests may find broad support — and face political headwinds.

Many scientists at the federal health agencies await the second Donald Trump administration with dread as well as uncertainty over how the president-elect will reconcile starkly different philosophies among the leaders of his team.

The Change Healthcare cyberattack sparked a new strategy from the federal government on preventing destructive ransomware crimes. Critics say it doesn't go far enough.

Cases increased by nearly 80% to more than 207,000 between 2018 and 2022, according to the CDC. Rates increased among all age groups, including newborns, and in all regions of the country.

Medicare and Medicaid are mandatory spending programs and that keeps them relatively safe in the early days of the shutdown, but 42% of the Department of Health's staff will be furloughed.

People will be able to go to COVIDTests.gov and get four free tests per household, starting next week. The Biden administration says it is trying to prepare for the fall and winter COVID season.

In every state, governments charge parents for the cost of foster care when children are taken away. When that happens, NPR found, poor parents can't make ends meet, so families are kept apart longer.

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra says health providers who have exploited a complicated system to charge exorbitant rates will have to bear their share of the cost — or close.

As health care workers face increased levels of pandemic burnout, the Biden administration is looking to help states recruit and retain clinicians in underserved areas.

The Department of Health and Human Services will require nearly a third of its employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine, while the Department of Veterans Affairs has expanded its vaccination mandate.

Levine, a doctor who was previously Pennsylvania's secretary of health, is the first openly transgender federal official to win Senate confirmation. She's the new assistant secretary for health.

In its final days, the Trump administration created a rule that could eliminate thousands of regulations created by the Department of Health and Human Services. A lawsuit is challenging the rule.

Under a rule that kicked in Jan. 1, hospitals must now make public the prices they negotiate with health insurers. But health policy experts have divergent views on what that will mean for patients.

A Pfizer board member says the government declined to buy more doses beyond the initial 100 million already agreed upon. Demand from other countries could complicate future purchases.

The rule would require health officials to review about 2,400 regulations on everything from Medicare benefits to prescription drugs approvals. Those not analyzed within two years would become void.