Latest KFF Health News Stories
En las grandes ciudades y en los pueblos pequeños, muchas ofrecen ahora servicios para acceder a vivienda, a cupones de alimentos, a la atención médica y, a veces, incluso a duchas o cortes de pelo.
From Book Stacks to Psychosis and Food Stamps, Librarians Confront a New Workplace
As public libraries morph into support hubs for homeless people with mental illness or addiction, librarians are struggling to reconcile their shifting roles.
‘American Diagnosis’: As Climate Crises Batter the Bayou, Houma People Are Being Displaced
Rising sea levels and severe hurricanes are displacing Indigenous people in Southern Louisiana and harming health. Episode 11 explores the United Houma Nation’s push for federal tribal recognition and the climate-change help that could come with it.
The $18,000 Breast Biopsy: When Having Insurance Costs You a Bundle
An online calculator told a young woman that a procedure to rule out cancer would cost an uninsured person about $1,400. Instead, the hospital initially charged almost $18,000 and, with her high-deductible health insurance, she owed more than $5,000.
California Wants to Snip Costs for Vasectomies
Vasectomies can cost hundreds of dollars out-of-pocket — or more. State lawmakers are debating whether to make the procedure free to millions of men.
El trabajo de base aumenta la tasa de vacunación en la comunidad de refugiados de Georgia
Funcionarios de salud pública y grupos de reasentamiento han utilizado estrategias exitosas y han logrado altas tasas de vacunación en comunidades vulnerables.
Grassroots Work Leads to Vaccination Success in Georgia Refugee Community
Public health officials and resettlement groups across the U.S. have used community organizers to encourage newly arrived refugees and other vulnerable people to get vaccinated against covid-19. In a Georgia city that is home to many refugees, the vaccination rate is higher than in the state, county, and surrounding communities of similar socioeconomic status.
Policies to Roll Back Abortion Rights Will Hit Incarcerated People Particularly Hard
People in jails and prisons are particularly vulnerable to the fallout from the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade.
Journalists Dig Into Questions About the 988 Hotline and Inflation Reduction Act
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Abortion Is Shaking Up Attorneys General Races and Exposing Limits to Their Powers
Abortion access is shaping races for legal office across the country, from local district attorneys to attorneys general. But it’s also highlighting the boundaries of their offices.
Indiana’s New Abortion Ban May Drive Some Young OB-GYNs to Leave a State Where They’re Needed
Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an Indiana OB-GYN, was publicly vilified for providing an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim. That treatment and new abortion restrictions in the state have left some medical residents reconsidering whether they will practice in Indiana.
More Communities Are Giving Flavored Tobacco the Boot. Will California Follow?
San Jose and Sacramento this summer joined scores of other California cities and counties that have banned the sale of flavored tobacco products such as menthol cigarettes and candy-flavored e-cigs. In November, California voters will decide whether to allow a statewide ban to take effect.
Readers and Tweeters Place Value on Community Services and Life-Sustaining Care
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
For Kids With Kidney Disease, Pediatric Expertise Is Key — But Not Always Close By
A study published in JAMA leads to questions about the uneven distribution of pediatric nephrologists nationwide. Children with end-stage kidney disease feel the impact.
Cada vez más comunidades rechazan el tabaco aromatizado. ¿Es el turno de California?
Aunque comunidades grandes y pequeñas de todo el estado ya han actuado, los californianos decidirán en noviembre si promulgan una de las prohibiciones estatales más completas del país sobre el tabaco aromatizado.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Wrapping Up Summer’s Health News
President Joe Biden has signed the Inflation Reduction Act and Congress is gone until after Labor Day. But the administration and lawmakers left lots of health policy achievements behind, including new rules to facilitate the sale of over-the-counter hearing aids and a potential reorganization of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, for extra credit, the panelists suggest their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
Local Health Officials to Feds: Where’s the Rest of Our Monkeypox Vaccine?
Los Angeles County is getting 60% fewer doses of monkeypox vaccine than officials expected, after the FDA said every vial could be split into five shots.
Her Brother Landed in a Nursing Home. She Was Sued Over His Bill.
Lucille Brooks, 74, Pittsford, New York Approximate Medical Debt: $8,000 Medical Issue: None. She was billed for her brother’s care. What Happened: Lucille Brooks was stunned to discover a nursing home in Monroe County, New York, was suing her. She had never been a patient there. Nor had her husband. “I thought this was crazy,” […]
Sleepless Nights Over Her Children’s Future as Debts Pile Up
Jeni Rae Peters, 44, Rapid City, South Dakota Approximate Medical Debt: More than $30,000 Medical Issue: Breast cancer What Happened: Jeni Rae Peters’ budget has always been tight. But Peters, a single mom and mental health counselor, has worked to provide opportunities for her children, including two girls she adopted and a succession of foster […]
Haunted for 13 Years by Debt From Childbirth, Then Rescued by a Nonprofit
Terri Logan, 42, Spartanburg, South Carolina Approximate Medical Debt: $1,400, now $0 Medical Issue: Premature childbirth What Happened: Two months ahead of her due date with her second daughter, Terri Logan felt weighed down by stress. She was a high school math teacher in Union City, Georgia, and was ending her relationship with the baby’s […]
