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Flawed Federal Programs Maroon Rural Americans in Telehealth Blackouts

By Sarah Jane Tribble and Holly K. Hacker Data visualizations by Lydia Zuraw May 14, 2025 KFF Health News Original

Taxpayers — through federal infrastructure programs — have paid billions of dollars to internet companies to hook up rural Americans. Some communities have nothing to show for it, leaving medically vulnerable rural patients disconnected and without access to telehealth.

California’s Primary Care Shortage Persists Despite Ambitious Moves To Close Gap

By Bernard J. Wolfson and Vanessa G. Sánchez May 1, 2025 KFF Health News Original

The state has in recent years embraced several initiatives recommended in an influential health care workforce report, including alternative payment arrangements for primary care doctors to earn more. Despite increasing residency programs, student debt forgiveness, and tuition-free medical school, California is unlikely to meet patient demand, observers say.

Medi-Cal Under Threat: Who’s Covered and What Could Be Cut?

By Don Thompson April 23, 2025 KFF Health News Original

Federal law requires states to offer health insurance to many people with low incomes or disabilities. But some states, including California, are far more generous than what’s required. Budget pressures may force lawmakers to cut benefits that have led to a historic low in the uninsured rate.

Beyond Ivy League, RFK Jr.’s NIH Slashed Science Funding Across States That Backed Trump

By Rae Ellen Bichell and Rachana Pradhan April 17, 2025 KFF Health News Original

A KFF Health News analysis underscores how the terminations have spared no part of the country, politically or geographically. Of the organizations that had grants cut in the first month, about 40% are in states President Donald Trump won in November.

Rural Hospitals and Patients Are Disconnected From Modern Care

By Sarah Jane Tribble and Holly K. Hacker and Caresse Jackman, InvestigateTV April 9, 2025 KFF Health News Original

Technological gaps handicap rural hospitals as billions in federal funding to modernize infrastructure lags. The reliance on outdated technology and piecemeal systems challenge staffs and erode patient care.

The House Speaker’s Eyeing Big Cuts to Medicaid. In His Louisiana District, It’s a Lifeline.

By Phil Galewitz April 7, 2025 KFF Health News Original

The GOP-controlled Congress is weighing cuts to Medicaid, the government health program that covers millions of Americans — including nearly 40% of Louisianans represented in the House by Speaker Mike Johnson.

Immigration Crackdowns Disrupt the Caregiving Industry. Families Pay the Price.

By Vanessa G. Sánchez and Daniel Chang April 4, 2025 KFF Health News Original

Families, nursing facilities, and home health agencies rely on foreign-born workers to fill health care jobs that are demanding and do not attract enough American citizens. The Trump administration’s anti-immigration policies threaten to cut a key source of labor for the industry, which was already predicting a surge in demand.

‘If They Cut Too Much, People Will Die’: Health Coalition Pushes GOP on Medicaid Funding

By Christine Mai-Duc April 3, 2025 KFF Health News Original

As House Republicans mull a massive $880 billion cut from federal programs likely including Medicaid, constituents, disability advocates, and health care providers are joining forces to lobby GOP members in California — including those who represent rural, deeply conservative pockets that stand to lose the most.

With Few Dentists and Fluoride Under Siege, Rural America Risks New Surge of Tooth Decay

By Brett Kelman March 27, 2025 KFF Health News Original

The anti-fluoride movement has more momentum than ever. In rural counties with few dentists, tooth decay could surge to levels that have not been seen in decades, experts warn.

Thought Inflation Was Bad? Health Insurance Premiums Are Rising Even Faster

By Phillip Reese March 11, 2025 KFF Health News Original

California businesses saw employees’ monthly family insurance premiums rise nearly $1,000 over a 15-year period, more than double the pace of inflation. And employees’ share grew as companies shifted more of the cost to workers.

Millions in US Live in Places Where Doctors Don’t Practice and Telehealth Doesn’t Reach

By Sarah Jane Tribble and Holly K. Hacker Data visualizations by Lydia Zuraw March 10, 2025 KFF Health News Original

Nearly 3 million Americans live sicker, shorter lives in the hundreds of rural counties where doctor shortages are the worst and poor internet connections mean little or no access to telehealth services.

The Growing Inequality in Life Expectancy Among Americans

By Amy Maxmen January 22, 2025 KFF Health News Original

To deliver on pledges from the new Trump administration to make America healthy again, policymakers will need to close gaps in longevity among racial and ethnic groups.

Helicopters Rescued Patients in ‘Apocalyptic’ Flood. Other Hospitals Are at Risk, Too.

By Lauren Sausser and Holly K. Hacker December 16, 2024 KFF Health News Original

The helicopter evacuation of 70 people from a Tennessee hospital during Hurricane Helene is considered a success story. The building was destroyed by floodwaters, but no one died. In hindsight, why was it built next to a river?

How Are States Spending Opioid Settlement Cash? We Built a Database of Answers

By Aneri Pattani Data visualizations by Lydia Zuraw December 16, 2024 KFF Health News Original

From addiction treatment to toy robot ambulances, we uncovered how billions in opioid settlement funds were used by state and local governments in 2022 and 2023. Find out where the money went.

More Californians Are Freezing to Death. Experts Point to More Older Homeless People.

By Phillip Reese December 13, 2024 KFF Health News Original

Hypothermia deaths have risen in California and across the nation. Experts point to the growing number of older, unsheltered homeless people as a key factor in the trend.

9 States Poised To End Coverage for Millions if Trump Cuts Medicaid Funding

By Phil Galewitz December 4, 2024 KFF Health News Original

About 3.7 million people are at immediate risk of losing health coverage should the federal government cut funding for Medicaid expansions, as some allies of President-elect Donald Trump have proposed. Coverage could be at risk in the 40 states that have expanded Medicaid.

12 States Promised To Open the Books on Their Opioid Settlement Funds. We Checked Up on Them.

By Aneri Pattani November 7, 2024 KFF Health News Original

Victims of the opioid crisis, health advocates, and public policy experts have repeatedly called on state and local governments to transparently report how they’re using the funds they are receiving from settlements with opioid makers and distributors.

Super Bowl Rally Shooting Victims Pick Up Pieces, but Gun Violence Haunts Their Lives

By Peggy Lowe, KCUR and Bram Sable-Smith Updated November 14, 2024 Originally Published October 17, 2024 KFF Health News Original

Eight months after the Feb. 14 shooting, people wounded at the Kansas City Chiefs parade are wary of more gun violence. In this installment of “The Injured,” survivors of the shooting say they feel gun violence is inescapable and are desperately seeking a sense of safety.

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.

The Medicare Advantage Influence Machine

By Fred Schulte and Holly K. Hacker September 30, 2024 KFF Health News Original

New court filings and lobbying reports reveal an industry drive to tamp down critics — and retain billions of dollars in overcharges.

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