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Latest KFF Health News Stories

A Revolutionary Drug for Extreme Hunger Offers Clues to Obesity’s Complexity

KFF Health News Original

A new drug is helping families who’ve spent years padlocking fridges, chaining garbage cans, and hiding food as their children with Prader-Willi syndrome deal with unrelenting hunger. But additional progress — and a broader understanding of obesity — is now under threat as the government dismantles the pipeline for promising new research.

‘Not Accountable to Anyone’: As Insurers Issue Denials, Some Patients Run Out of Options

KFF Health News Original

Health insurers issue millions of prior authorization denials every year, leaving many patients stuck in a convoluted appeals process, with little hope of meaningful policy change ahead. For doctors, these denials are frustrating and time-consuming. For patients, they can be devastating.

‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Would Batter Rural Hospital Finances, Researchers Say

KFF Health News Original

Rural hospitals would take an outsize hit from Republicans’ proposed cuts to Medicaid and other federal health programs. Researchers say the financial erosion would trigger hospital closures and service cuts, especially in communities where large shares of patients are enrolled in Medicaid.

Four Ways Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Would Undermine Access to Obamacare

KFF Health News Original

The combination of the House-passed spending and tax bill and the Trump administration’s regulatory action could change Affordable Care Act enrollment and the cost of insurance. The result, according to the Congressional Budget Office, is that millions of people may become uninsured.

What Are ‘Improper’ Medicaid Payments, and Are They as High as a Trump Official Said?

KFF Health News Original

The vast majority of improper payments stem from documentation mistakes and do not fit the definition of waste, fraud, or abuse. They also typically stem from health care providers’ actions, not beneficiaries’ abuse.

Echoing 2020, Police Use Rubber Bullets Against Protesters in Los Angeles

KFF Health News Original

“Less lethal” weapons are once again being used in Los Angeles — against people protesting the Trump administration’s immigration raids. With terms like “foam,” “sponge,” and “bean bag,” the projectiles may sound harmless. They’re not.

As Federal Health Grants Shrink, Memory Cafes Help Dementia Patients and Their Caregivers

KFF Health News Original

Memory cafes are small social gatherings for individuals with memory loss and their caregivers. The events are cheap to run and can offer measurable benefits. Memory loss experts say they may become an even more important tool in the face of federal cuts to health programs.

‘We Dissent’: NIH Workers Protest Trump Policies That ‘Harm the Health of Americans’

KFF Health News Original

A letter signed by more than 300 National Institutes of Health workers — some still working, others who were fired this year — is an extraordinary public rebuke of actions taken under Director Jay Bhattacharya and health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.