Selena Simmons-Duffin
Selena Simmons-Duffin reports on health policy for NPR, with a focus on Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., health insurance, reproductive health, and transgender health.
She won NLGJA's Excellence in Transgender Coverage Award in 2026 for a scoop about the Trump administration's plans to prohibit Medicaid from paying for gender-affirming care for youth.
Since joining the Science Desk in 2019 as a reporter, she's covered CDC during the COVID-19 pandemic, the fallout from the end of Roe v. Wade, and many stories about health insurance, including a story about a man who married his roommate for health benefits.
Before becoming a reporter, Simmons-Duffin worked for 10 years as a producer and editor for NPR's flagship programs, Morning Edition and All Things Considered. In 2014, she drove the full length of the U.S.-Mexico border with host Steve Inskeep for the "Borderland" series.
Simmons-Duffin is a graduate of Stanford University, where she studied English and started out in radio at KZSU. She studied documentary radio at the Salt Institute before coming to NPR as an intern in 2009.
She can be reached via encrypted message at selena.02 on Signal.
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Historically, most physicians who served in the House or Senate have been Republicans. In the next Congress, physicians who are Democrats made significant gains. -
About 157 million Americans get their health insurance through work. A survey of employers shows a moderate price uptick this year, but workers still say health costs are a top concern. -
As checks from President Trump for health costs hit millions of mailboxes, a poll shows Americans don't trust Republicans on healthcare. Experts doubt it will move the needle and say it is likely illegal. -
Starting Oct. 1, many immigrants who are here legally lose their Medicaid coverage because of the Republican budget bill passed last year. -
With days left to go in the 2026 fiscal year, lawmakers push the health department to spend the money Congress allocated to prevent teen pregnancy. An NPR exclusive. -
On Wednesday, the Senate committee on health held a confirmation hearing for three top health officials, including surgeon general. Dr. Nicole Saphier is President Trump's third attempt to nominate a surgeon general. -
Because of a data lag, the current reality of access may be even worse. -
As a federal appeals court considers Louisiana's lawsuit to end telehealth abortion access, a longtime OB-GYN in Arizona explains how telehealth works in his clinic. -
A longtime Republican living in California says the Trump administration's continuing actions to target transgender youth take a personal toll. -
Parents may be confused about the status of vaccines for their kids after President Trump's new executive order. It's important to know nothing is changing right away.
