2025 marked some of the most dramatic turns in health care the U.S. has seen in recent history, with entire agencies overturned, fringe science adopted into the federal fold and a historic congressional fight over health coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are the stories that resonated most with our readers this year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several of the nominees President Trump chose to lead health care agencies tested Republicans\u2019 loyalty, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. chief among them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kennedy, an anti-vaccine campaigner from a storied Democratic dynasty who joined Trump\u2019s presidential campaign, went through a fraught\u2002confirmation process,<\/u><\/a> with several Republicans expressing unease with his views that clash with the medical establishment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sen. Bill Cassidy\u2002<\/u><\/a>(R-La.), a physician and chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, was a key vote in confirming Kennedy and repeatedly expressed his reservations with Kennedy\u2019s vaccine rhetoric. The Trump administration won\u2002Cassidy over<\/u><\/a> with assurances of seeking the senator\u2019s input on HHS decisions and hirings <\/p>\n\n\n\n Since then, Cassidy\u2019s public frustration has grown, with little evidence of his influence over HHS\u2019s goings on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n CDC pushed to the limit<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Along with facing the turmoil of federal reduction in force<\/u><\/a>, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) experienced a fatal shooting this year at its headquarters in Atlanta and saw key leaders exit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A shooter who was reportedly discontent with the COVID-19 vaccinations fired 500 shots into six different CDC buildings<\/u><\/a> at its campus in Atlanta, killing DeKalb County police officer David Rose. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That came shortly before the dramatic firing of CDC Director Susan Monarez, a veteran federal health scientist who served in the role for less than a month. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump\u2019s first nominee failed to receive enough GOP Senate support, leading him to pick Monarez, who had been serving as acting CDC director prior to her nomination. <\/p>\n\n\n\n She told the Senate she was ousted from the role<\/u><\/a> for refusing to Kennedy\u2019s demand that she preapprove new vaccine policies before they were issued. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Her ouster coincided with the resignations of four top CDC leaders<\/u><\/a>, who left in protest of what they called political interference into their scientific work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Vaccine policy overturned<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the first major moves Kennedy made as HHS Secretary was firing and remaking<\/u><\/a> the CDC\u2019s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), filling seats with known vaccine skeptics and critics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n After this shakeup, the remade ACIP would go on to vote in favor of limiting who the COVID-19 vaccines are recommended for<\/u><\/a>, ending universal hepatitis B vaccinations<\/u><\/a> for newborns and delaying administration<\/u><\/a> of the vaccine for measles, mumps, rubella and varicella. <\/p>\n\n\n\n ObamaCare subsidy fight shuts down Congress<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Health care became a defining fight in Congress during the last half of the year, with Democrats trying to extend COVID-era enhanced premium tax credits for Affordable Care Act plans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The enhanced tax credits helped boost health plan enrollment, cutting down uninsurance rates. They expanded income eligibility and allowed some low-income households to access $0 plans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Republican leadership steadfastly remained resistant to extending these credits. Congress barreled through key deadlines, including when open enrollment began, and ultimately when the subsidies officially expire tonight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The fight peaked when the federal government shut down for a\u2002record\u200243 days<\/u><\/a>, only ending with the promise of a vote on extending the subsidies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But proposal after proposal was rejected or stalemated and Republicans left for their holiday recess this month with no plan in place, setting the stage for a post-expiration fight in the new year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>Controversial health nominees<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n