States Jostle Over $50B Rural Health Fund as Trump’s Medicaid Cuts Trigger Scramble

KFF Health News Original

States are battling for their piece of $50 billion in federal rural health funding, but it’s not just hospitals vying for the money. Tech startups and policy demands are raising the stakes as Medicaid cuts loom.

It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s a Chemtrail? New Conspiracy Theory Takes Wing at Kennedy’s HHS

KFF Health News Original

The idea that airplane vapors are toxic to people or that there are ongoing efforts to intentionally change the climate made the social media rounds. Now, it has found advocates at the Department of Health and Human Services.

Trump calificó de “racista” la Ley de Equidad Digital. Ahora, el dinero para que la gente del campo tenga internet ha desaparecido

KFF Health News Original

Políticos, investigadores, bibliotecarios y defensores afirmaron que la desfinanciación de los programas de banda ancha, pone en peligro los esfuerzos para ayudar a los residentes rurales y desfavorecidos a participar en la economía moderna y llevar una vida más saludable.

Cops on Ketamine? Largely Unregulated Mental Health Treatment Faces Hurdles

KFF Health News Original

Ketamine, long used as an anesthetic or illegal party drug, is being combined with psychotherapy to treat severe depression and post-traumatic stress — a potential tool for those with high trauma rates, like firefighters and police officers. Yet the drug’s stigma and unregulated marketplace leave first responders in uncharted territory.

Nuclear Missile Workers Are Contracting Cancer. They Blame the Bases.

KFF Health News Original

People who maintained the nation’s land-based nuclear missile arsenal are coming down with similar cancers. The Air Force is wrapping up a large study of the health risks they may have faced.

Workers’ Wages Siphoned To Pay Medical Bills, Despite Consumer Protections

KFF Health News Original

Health care providers and debt collectors are biting from people’s paychecks to cover old medical bills. A KFF Health News investigation in Colorado shows that this aggressive collection practice is widespread even in a state considered to have strong consumer protections.

At Least 170 US Hospitals Face Major Flood Risk. Experts Say Trump Is Making It Worse.

KFF Health News Original

As a warming climate intensifies storms, KFF Health News has identified more than 170 U.S. hospitals at risk of significant and potentially dangerous flooding. Climate experts warn that the Trump administration’s cuts leave the nation less prepared.

20 Years After Katrina, Louisiana Still Struggles With Evacuation Plans That Minimize Health Risks

KFF Health News Original

As the climate changes, hurricanes are intensifying more quickly, leaving Louisiana’s current mass evacuation plan in limbo. But transportation officials say the price is too high to switch to methods used in Florida and Texas.

As the Trump Administration and States Push Health Data Sharing, Familiar Challenges Surface

KFF Health News Original

Despite billions of tax dollars and two decades of effort invested in improving health care data sharing, Americans’ medical records often remain siloed, leading to duplicate testing, increased costs, and wasted time for patients and doctors.

States Are Cutting Medicaid Provider Payments Long Before Trump Cuts Hit

KFF Health News Original

North Carolina and Idaho are cutting their Medicaid programs to bridge budget gaps, raising fears that providers will stop taking patients and that hospitals will close even before the brunt of a new federal tax-and-budget law takes effect.