States Step In as Telehealth and Clinic Patients Get Blindsided by Hospital Fees
By Markian Hawryluk
April 3, 2023
KFF Health News Original
At least eight states have implemented or are considering limits on what patients can be billed for the use of a hospital’s facilities even without having stepped foot in the building.
More Cities Address ‘Shade Deserts’ as Extreme Heat Triggers Health Issues
By Lauren Peace, Tampa Bay Times Jack Prator, Tampa Bay Times
August 28, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Where trees are growing — and who has access to their shade — affects health and well-being, especially in one of the hottest states in the country.
As Hospitals Fill Up, Paramedics Spend More Time Moving Patients, Less on Emergencies
By Helen Santoro
December 17, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Gunnison paramedics cover the largest response zone in Colorado. Because of covid and the lack of nearby hospital beds, patients increasingly are transported long distances, leaving few ambulances to respond to emergencies.
Pandemic Unveils Growing Suicide Crisis for Communities of Color
By Aneri Pattani
August 23, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Suicides have risen among Black, Hispanic and other communities of color during covid. But the rates were already escalating before the pandemic struck.
Pandemia revela una creciente crisis de suicidios en comunidades de color
By Aneri Pattani
August 25, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Entrevistas con una docena de investigadores del suicidio, datos recopilados de todos los estados, y una revisión de décadas de investigación revelaron que el suicidio es una crisis creciente para las comunidades de color, que ya estaba impactando antes de la pandemia, y que se ha agravado desde entonces.
Now On The Menu At Closed Schools: Drive-Thru Lunches
By Anna Almendrala
March 20, 2020
KFF Health News Original
As schools shutter to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus, many districts are still offering free meals to their most vulnerable students. In two Southern California districts, families roll through school lunch drive-thrus to grab hot meals.
Millions Of Older Americans Live In Counties With No ICU Beds As Pandemic Intensifies
By Fred Schulte Elizabeth Lucas Jordan Rau Liz Szabo Jay Hancock
March 20, 2020
KFF Health News Original
A Kaiser Health News analysis shows that counties with ICUs average one ICU bed for every 1,300 older residents, those most at risk for needing hospitalization.
Liquid Gold: Pain Doctors Soak Up Profits By Screening Urine For Drugs
By Fred Schulte Elizabeth Lucas
Photos by Heidi de Marco
November 6, 2017
KFF Health News Original
With the nation’s opioid crisis, urine testing has become a booming business and is especially lucrative for doctors who operate their own labs, a Kaiser Health News investigation finds. And dozens of practitioners have earned “the lion’s share” of their Medicare income exclusively from urine drug screens.
Payment Disparities Puzzle, Intrigue Charlotte Health Execs
By Ann Doss Helms, Charlotte Observer
January 12, 2015
KFF Health News Original
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina says it decided to reveal how much it pays hospitals for particular procedures to help consumers hold down costs.
VA May Shutter Some Hospitals To Close Budget Gap
July 14, 2015
Morning Briefing
The Department of Veterans Affairs may have to take this step if Congress does not address the agency’s $2.5 billion, current-year budget shortfall. This news comes as the Huffington Post reports more than 238,000 of the 847,000 veterans in the backlog awaiting care may have already died.
Table: Caring for Migrant Farmworkers
June 6, 2012
KFF Health News Original
Details about the 156 health centers that get federal funds to provide primary care to migrant and seasonal farmworkers regardless of immigration status.
