Vice President JD Vance has announced that the Trump administration would "temporarily halt" some Medicaid funding to the state of Minnesota over fraud concerns, as part of what he described as an aggressive crackdown on misuse of public funds. Vance, who made the announcement Wednesday with Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the administration was taking the action "in order to ensure that the state of Minnesota takes its obligations seriously to be good stewards of the American people's tax money." Wednesday's move is part of a larger Trump administration effort to spotlight fraud around the country.

The Trump administration is set to launch TrumpRx, a website to help patients buy prescription drugs directly from manufacturers at discounted rates. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Thursday's expected unveiling in a social media post. The website is not a purchasing platform but directs users to drugmakers' own sites. President Trump first mentioned TrumpRx in September, highlighting deals with pharmaceutical companies to lower drug prices. The website's release faced delays, but it now showcases efforts to reduce costs through agreements with major companies like Pfizer and AstraZeneca. However, the actual savings for consumers remain unclear.

The Trump administration says pharmaceutical companies have agreed to slash the Medicare prices for 15 prescription drugs after months of negotiations and that it's expected to produce billions in savings for older adults. But the net prices unveiled Tuesday aren't what Medicare recipients will pay at their pharmacy counters because those final amounts will depend on each individual's plan and how much they spend annually on prescriptions. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. touted the deals as part of efforts to address affordability concerns. The negotiation program is mandated by law and began under the Biden administration.

Higher prices, less help and a government shutdown hang over health insurance markets as shoppers start looking for coverage this week. The annual enrollment window for millions of people to pick an individual plan opens Saturday. The federal government shut down this month as Democrats in Congress demanded negotiations to extend enhanced tax credits that have helped people buy coverage the past few years. Republicans say they won't negotiate until Democrats vote to reopen the government. Stuck in the middle are insurance shoppers, many of whom will be facing the biggest premium hikes they've seen in years.

A new poll finds most U.S. adults are worried about health care becoming more expensive. That comes as Americans make decisions about next year's health coverage and a government shutdown keeps future health costs in limbo for millions. The AP-NORC poll shows about 6 in 10 Americans are "extremely" or "very" concerned about their health costs going up in the next year, a worry that extends across age groups and includes people with and without health insurance. The findings show that many Americans are feeling vulnerable to spiking health care costs, with some expressing concerns about whether they'll have coverage at all.

The federal government was thrown into a shutdown with no easy endgame in sight. Democrats held firm Wednesday to their demands to salvage health care subsidies that President Donald Trump and Republican in Congress have refused to negotiate. The White House threatened mass layoffs of federal workers in a matter of days. No new talks were scheduled after the president failed this week to secure a deal with congressional leaders. Blame was being cast on all sides. A vote to end the government shutdown has failed. House Speaker Mike Johnson said he's praying that Democrats come to their senses.

Drugmaker Pfizer has agreed to lower drug costs under a deal struck with President Donald Trump's administration. Trump made the announcement Tuesday with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla at the White House. Under the agreement, New York-based Pfizer will charge most-favored-nation pricing to Medicaid and guarantee the same pricing on newly launched drugs. That involves matching the lowest price offered in other developed nations. The agreement by Pfizfer builds on an executive order Trump signed in May setting a deadline for drugmakers to electively lower prices or face new limits on what the government will pay.

Prices are falling for the popular obesity treatments Wegovy and Zepbound, but steady access to the drugs remains challenging. Reduced monthly costs for uninsured patients still amount to around $500. That can put the drugs out of reach for many. Coverage also continues to shift or restrict how patients get prescriptions. Doctors say the patchy coverage and costs force them to get creative in treating patients. But there's hope that prices for the injectable drugs may fall more in the future, especially once pill versions enter the market.

A new poll shows most U.S. adults don't think the government is overspending on the programs Republicans in Congress have focused on cutting, like Medicaid and food stamps. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll shows Americans broadly support increasing or maintaining existing levels of funding for popular safety net programs, including Social Security and Medicare. They're more divided on spending around the military and border security. As Republican senators debate President Donald Trump's bill that could slash federal spending and extend tax cuts, the survey points to a disconnect between Republicans' policy agenda and public sentiment around the domestic programs that are up for debate.