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Latest KFF Health News Stories

Listen: Nation’s Capital Cuts Traffic Deaths as Rates Rise Across US

KFF Health News Original

National traffic deaths are higher than they were a decade ago, despite safety initiatives at the local, state, and federal levels. But recently that trajectory has changed in Washington, D.C., itself.

They Need a Ventilator To Stay Alive. Getting One Can Be a Nightmare.

KFF Health News Original

Few nursing homes are set up to care for people needing help breathing with a ventilator because of ALS or other infirmities. Insurers often resist paying for ventilators at home, and innovative programs are now endangered by Medicaid cuts.

Feds Promised ‘Radical Transparency’ but Are Withholding Rural Health Fund Applications

KFF Health News Original

Proposals from states that have shared their applications to a new $50 billion rural health program include using drones to deliver medication, installing refrigerators to expand access to healthy produce, and bringing telehealth to libraries, day cares, and senior centers.

RFK Jr. Wants To Delay the Hepatitis B Vaccine. Here’s What Parents Need To Know.

KFF Health News Original

A CDC panel is reconsidering the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine. Renewed doubt could lead to fewer kids getting vaccinated, leaving them vulnerable to an incurable, preventable virus that can be acquired by indirect contact with infected blood.

Medicaid Work Rules Exempt the ‘Medically Frail.’ Deciding Who Qualifies Is Tricky.

KFF Health News Original

People on Medicaid deemed “medically frail” won’t need to meet new federal requirements that enrollees work 80 hours a month or perform another approved activity. But state officials are grappling with how to interpret who qualifies under the vague federal definition, which could affect millions.

Watch: Trump Considers Extending Obamacare Subsidies

KFF Health News Original

Amanda Seitz, KFF Health News’ Washington health policy reporter, appeared on NewsNation’s “NewsNation Live With Connell McShane” on Nov. 24 to discuss President Donald Trump’s latest health proposal.

South Carolina’s Measles Outbreak Shows Chilling Effect of Vaccine Misinformation

KFF Health News Original

When a measles outbreak emerged in Spartanburg, South Carolina, in October, health officials announced that most cases were tied to one public charter school, where only 17% of the 605 students enrolled during the 2024-25 academic year provided documentation showing they had received their required vaccinations.

After Shutdown, Federal Employees Face New Uncertainty: Affording Health Insurance

KFF Health News Original

Average premium payments in the federal government’s insurance program for its employees are set to jump more than 12% next year, on top of a 13.5% hike in 2025. The two-year increase is higher than many private employers and their workers are experiencing.

What the Health? From KFF Health News: Trump Almost Unveils a Health Plan 

Podcast

Just weeks before some tax credits for Affordable Care Act premiums expire, the Trump administration floated a plan to extend the enhanced aid — but it was met with immediate GOP pushback. Meanwhile, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he ordered the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to revise its website to suggest childhood vaccines might be linked to autism. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Joanne Kenen and Joshua Sharfstein about their new book, “Information Sick: How Journalism’s Decline and Misinformation’s Rise Are Harming Our Health — And What We Can Do About It.”

More People Are Caring for Dying Loved Ones at Home. A New Orleans Nonprofit Is Showing Them How.

KFF Health News Original

Demand for home health care, including at-home hospice care, has skyrocketed since the onset of the covid pandemic. A New Orleans nonprofit is teaching people how to provide end-of-life care for relatives and community members.