PBM Math: Big Chains Are Paid $23.55 To Fill a Blood Pressure Rx. Small Drugstores? $1.51.
By Andy Miller
October 24, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Criticism of prescription drug middlemen has intensified recently in the wake of a federal agency’s actions and legislative reform attempts. Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, though, vetoed a related bill that would have helped independent pharmacies, citing the unfunded cost of the move.
Listen: Inroads for Women in California’s Health Care Workforce
October 16, 2023
KFF Health News Original
KFF Health News senior correspondent Angela Hart leads a discussion about the role women play as California grapples with a shortage of health care providers.
Health Issues Motivating Black Women Voters for Harris
By Stephanie Armour
October 14, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Vice President Kamala Harris, now on the presidential campaign trail, is making inroads with a key voting bloc: Black women, who are rallying behind her because of her work on issues such as preserving abortion access, curbing gun violence and reducing maternal deaths. What has become clear is not just that this voting group supports […]
I Was There When Bird Flu First Appeared. It’s Different Today.
By Elisabeth Rosenthal
May 21, 2024
KFF Health News Original
The H5N1 flu virus and I go way back. In 1997, I watched as more than a million chickens were slaughtered in Hong Kong to combat the first major global outbreak of the disease. Eighteen people were sickened by the virus and six died, all of whom had close contact with the birds. They were […]
Can You Rely on Your Mammogram To Identify Heart Disease Risk?
By Michelle Andrews
October 23, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Clinicians and researchers are searching for answers to whether an incidental finding on breast X-rays could improve the detection of cardiovascular disease risk among women.
Harris’ Emphasis on Maternal Health Care Is Paying Dividends With Black Women Voters
By Stephanie Armour
October 2, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Polls are showing renewed support from Black women voters for the Democratic ticket. Vice President Kamala Harris has backed key health priorities for Black women.
Amid Mental Health Staffing Crunch, Medi-Cal Patients Help One Another
By Indira Khera
March 19, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Peer leaders can help ease the shortage of mental health providers and build trust through shared experiences, state health officials say. In 2022, California started allowing counties to use Medicaid dollars to pay them for their work.
Trump’s White House Return Poised To Tangle Health Care Safety Net
By Stephanie Armour
November 6, 2024
KFF Health News Original
The new Trump administration is likely to reduce subsidies for Affordable Care Act insurance plans and roll back Medicaid coverage. Public health authorities worry that anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be empowered.
Georgia’s Medicaid Work Requirements Costing Taxpayers Millions Despite Low Enrollment
By Andy Miller Renuka Rayasam
March 20, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s Georgia Pathways to Coverage program has seen anemic enrollment while chalking up millions in start-up costs — largely in technology and consulting fees. Critics say the money’s being wasted on a costly and ineffective alternative to Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion.
Biden Plan To Save Medicare Patients Money on Drugs Risks Empty Shelves, Pharmacists Say
By Susan Jaffe
June 11, 2024
KFF Health News Original
President Joe Biden is campaigning for reelection on his efforts to cut costs for Medicare patients at the pharmacy counter. But independent pharmacists say one strategy makes it unaffordable for them to keep some brand-name medicines in stock.
Medicaid Unwinding Deals Blow to Tenuous System of Care for Native Americans
By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez
May 20, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Although Native American and Alaska Native adults are enrolled in Medicaid at higher rates than their white counterparts, many tribal leaders feel they’ve been left in the dark as states roll through the tumultuous Medicaid unwinding that started last year.
Mysterious Morel Mushrooms at Center of Food Poisoning Outbreak
By Keely Larson
Illustration by Oona Zenda
December 18, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Federal officials issued their first guidelines on preparing morel mushrooms after a deadly food poisoning outbreak in Montana, noting the toxins in the delicacy aren’t fully understood.
Surge in Syphilis Cases Leads Some Providers to Ration Penicillin
By Catherine Sweeney, WPLN
February 1, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Injectable penicillin is the go-to treatment for syphilis and the only treatment considered safe for pregnant people with the disease. But as rates of syphilis increase across the U.S., a shortage of the injectable has prompted some public health agencies to ration it.
Abortion Bans Are Motivating Midterm Voters, Poll Shows
By Emmarie Huetteman
October 12, 2022
KFF Health News Original
A new KFF poll shows Democrats and those living in states where abortion is illegal say the issue has made them more motivated to vote. It also shows that 70% of Republicans oppose total abortion bans.
1st Biden-Trump Debate of 2024: What They Got Wrong, and Right
By KFF Health News and PolitiFact staffs
June 28, 2024
KFF Health News Original
A debate marked by President Joe Biden’s faltering performance featured clashes over insulin costs, inflation, abortion, immigration, and Jan. 6.
Catholic Hospital Offered Bucket, Towels to Woman It Denied an Abortion, California AG Said
By Molly Castle Work
October 7, 2024
KFF Health News Original
In California, where abortion rights are guaranteed, there’s a loophole. The growth of Catholic hospital systems, which restrict reproductive health care, has left patients with no other option for care. That will be the case for pregnant women in Northern California, with a hospital set to close its birth center.
¿Se puede confiar en una mamografía para identificar el riesgo de enfermedad cardíaca?
By Michelle Andrews
October 25, 2024
KFF Health News Original
La enfermedad cardíaca es la principal causa de muerte en los Estados Unidos. Fue responsable de más de 300,000 —o aproximadamente 1 de cada 5— muertes de mujeres en 2021.
Colorado Voters to Decide Whether All Schoolkids Get a Free Lunch
By John Daley, Colorado Public Radio Ivy Winfrey, NPR
November 3, 2022
KFF Health News Original
In September, a popular pandemic benefit expired: free school lunch for all children attending public schools. Some states are stepping up to try to keep the free food available, and it is on the ballot next week in Colorado.
‘A Bottomless Pit’: How Out-of-Pocket TMJ Costs Drive Patients Into Debt
By Brett Kelman Anna Werner, CBS News
July 11, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Millions of Americans suffer from temporomandibular joint, or TMJ, disorders. The high cost and poor insurance coverage of TMJ care can bury patients in debt even as the treatments do more harm than good.
