South Florida

How patients can be caught in the middle of funding and political fights

Stories by Miami Herald journalists, with AI summarization

Healthcare is about more than you and your doctor these days.

Patients have to navigate challenges stemming from funding, political disputes and changes in healthcare policies.

Catch up with the coverage below.

Tatiana Travis runs a test to detect drug-resistant pathogens at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

NO. 1: BLUE STATES THAT SUED KEPT MOST CDC GRANTS. RED STATES FEEL BRUNT OF TRUMP CUTS

The Trump administration’s cuts to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funding for state and local health departments had vastly uneven effects depending on the political leanings of a state, according to a KFF Health News analysis. | Published August 28, 2025 | Read Full Story by Henry Larweh, Rachana Pradhan and Rae Ellen Bichell

Amy Frank says she spent 17 hours on the phone ensuring that post-surgery care for her husband, Allen Frank, would be covered by insurance. The couple was among 90,000 people in central Missouri caught in the middle of a contract dispute between University of Missouri Health Care, a Columbia, Missouri-based health system, and Anthem, the national health insurance provider.

NO. 2: WHEN HOSPITALS AND INSURERS FIGHT, PATIENTS GET CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE

Amy Frank said it took 17 hours on the phone over nearly three weeks, bouncing between her insurer and her local hospital system, to make sure her plan would cover her husband’s post-surgery care. | Published September 3, 2025 | Read Full Story by Bram Sable-Smith

Patients aren’t the only ones using AI to explain test results

NO. 3: AN AI ASSISTANT CAN EXPLAIN MEDICAL LAB RESULTS FOR YOU. READY FOR THE INFO?

When Judith Miller had routine blood work done in July, she got a phone alert the same day that her lab results were posted online. | Published September 15, 2025 | Read Full Story by Kate Ruder

CDC’s updated fall guidance clarifies COVID, flu and RSV recommendations for people 6 months and older. Health plans cover shots By D.A. Varela

NO. 4: CONFUSED ABOUT VACCINES? NEW GUIDANCE ISSUED FOR COVID, FLU AND OTHER SHOTS

For people whose autumn agenda includes getting vaccinated against respiratory diseases — COVID, flu, and, for some, RSV — this year may be surprisingly routine. | Published October 23, 2025 | Read Full Story by Michelle Andrews

Applicants in Miami line up at a mall to register for Obamacare in 2014.

NO. 5: OBAMACARE ENROLLMENT FRAUD? SEE RISKS OF PLAN-SWITCHING AND IMPERSONATIONS

Florida resident Keith Jones says his Affordable Care Act insurance plan was changed multiple times this year without his permission. | Published December 11, 2025 | Read Full Story by Julie Appleby

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.