Quick Insights Archive

Early Data Show Uptick in Suicide Deaths in 2025 Following a Two-Year Decline

Sep 15, 2026

Overall, suicide deaths peaked in 2022 and declined through 2024 before increasing slightly by nearly 250 deaths in 2025. However, trends differed by method. Firearm suicides reached their highest level in 2025, according to provisional data, while suicides by other means continued to decline. Firearms accounted for 57% of all suicide deaths in 2025, up from 50% in 2015. Contacts to the federally mandated crisis number, 988 also continue to grow four years after implementation.

The Trump Administration’s Proposed $103,265 Fee for H-1B Visas Could Affect the Health Care Workforce

Aug 26, 2026

Drishti Pillai

The proposed $103,265 fee could lead to reductions in U.S. health care workforce, increasing barriers to care….A decline in H-1B workers would disproportionately impact states that employ the largest shares of H-1B workers (NY, MA, CA, and PA), lower income and rural areas where H-1B health care workers often are employed, and smaller employers, who would face greater challenges paying the fee.

New Guidance on Public Charge Determinations Does Not Specify Key Concepts, Likely Resulting in Immigrant Families Facing Ongoing Confusion and Fear

Aug 19, 2026

Samantha Artiga

While the DHS guidance provides more details on public charge determinations under the new rule, it leaves key concepts unspecified and grants substantial discretion to individual immigration officers. This will likely result in ongoing confusion and fear among immigrant families that may deter them and their citizen children from participating in programs that help pay for health care, housing, or food even if they are eligible.

New Regulation Prohibits Federal Medicaid Funds From Covering Gender-Affirming Medical Care for Young People

Aug 13, 2026

Lindsey Dawson

If states do not provide coverage with state-only dollars and [gender-affirming] care cannot be financed in other ways, thousands of young people could be without a way to access what remains a recommended medical intervention.

As FDA Approves First-Ever mRNA Flu Vaccine For Older Adults, Past KFF Polling Showed Most In This Age Group Were Uncertain About the Technology’s Safety

Aug 7, 2026

On August 5, 2026 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first-ever mRNA flu vaccine for adults 50 and older, following a trial of roughly 40,000 people. KFF polling in April 2025 found that most adults ages 50 and older were uncertain whether mRNA vaccines are safe.

ACA Marketplace Insurers Are Proposing a Median Premium Increase of About 15% in 2027

Aug 4, 2026

ACA Marketplace insurers’ proposed rate filings for 2027 are now available from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. According to KFF’s analysis, the 15% median increase would be the second consecutive year of double-digit premium hikes (last year’s median finalized premium increase was 20%.)

Donor Government Funding for HIV Dropped by $2.1 Billion in 2025 Due to Declines in U.S. Disbursements, Marking the Largest Annual Decrease Since HIV Response Scale Up Began

Jul 29, 2026

Donor government funding to combat HIV in low- and middle-income countries fell by $2.1 billion in 2025, a 25% decrease from the previous year. The 2025 decrease was driven by a decline in U.S. disbursements following the administration’s substantial cuts in global health funding, programs, and personnel. Despite this decline, the U.S. remains the largest donor to HIV in the world.

CMS’s Decision to End Temporary Subsidies to Medicare’s Stand-Alone Drug Plans Could Mean Larger Premium Increases for Some Beneficiaries Next Year

Jul 29, 2026

Juliette Cubanski

Without these extra subsidies in place for 2027, some Part D stand-alone drug plan (PDP) enrollees could see a larger premium increase for drug coverage next year than they’ve faced in recent years, though plan-specific premium amounts are not yet known. While some policymakers questioned the rationale for and cost of the premium stabilization demonstration, which totaled $9.8 billion in 2025 and 2026, the extra subsidies worked as intended to stabilize year-over-year PDP premium increases…

Most Aren’t Confident in the CDC and FDA to Make Recommendations About Childhood Vaccine Schedules

Jul 28, 2026

Most adults (56%) say they have “little” to “no confidence” in federal health agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make recommendations about childhood vaccine schedules.

The FDA’s Retraction of a Positive Test in the Cyclosporiasis Outbreak Raises Questions About Corrections and Trust

Jul 23, 2026

Hagere Yilma

The skepticism surrounding the FDA’s retraction of a positive test tying Taylor Farms lettuce to the cyclosporiasis outbreak comes at a time of broader public distrust in the agency. KFF’s April 2026 Health Tracking Poll found that just over a third (36%) of adults are confident in the FDA to act independently without interference from outside interests, including similarly low shares across partisans.

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