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Latest KFF Health News Stories

For California Farmworkers, Telehealth Visits With Mexican Doctors Fill a Gap

KFF Health News Original

The MiSalud app enables Spanish-speaking users in the U.S. to meet virtually with health professionals in Mexico via a smartphone app. At Taylor Farms in Salinas, California, the novel program has been a hit.

Indiana Governor Appoints Business Leader To Shake Up Health Care

KFF Health News Original

Gloria Sachdev, a pharmacist by training, has spent years taking on the health care establishment in Indiana, working to pull down high hospital prices and make information public to patients. Now, in a newly created position in the governor’s Cabinet, she’s no longer fighting from the outside.

Strike Us in the Heart: Send In Your Health Policy Valentines

KFF Health News Original

Make us swoon by sending us your sweetest “health policy valentines.” Submissions will be judged by an esteemed panel of experts. We’ll share favorites on our social media channels, and tenderhearted members of our staff will pick the winners, announced on Friday, Feb. 14.

Little Tracking, Wide Variability Permeate the Teams Tasked With Stopping School Shootings

KFF Health News Original

Several states require schools to assemble teams of law enforcement and education officials to identify students who could become mass shooters and intervene before it’s too late. But some experts say the efforts often face a lack of guidance and significant pressure, putting them at risk of maligning innocent students.

Across the South, Rural Health Care Has Become ‘Trendy.’ Medicaid Expansion Has Not.

KFF Health News Original

State legislatures nationwide, including several in the South, are spending millions to improve rural health outcomes and access. For years, though, most Southern states have refused billions of federal dollars to provide public health insurance to more low-income adults. That isn’t likely to change with Trump back in office.

At His HHS Job Interview, RFK Jr. Stumbles Over Health Policy Basics 

KFF Health News Original

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the anti-vaccine activist President Donald Trump nominated to lead the nation’s top health agency, did little to win over his critics at two Senate confirmation hearings this week.  Democrats argued he’s not qualified for the job. And by botching answers to basic questions about health policy, Kennedy supplied some evidence.  It’s […]

Trump’s Order on Gender-Affirming Care Escalates Reversal of Trans Rights

KFF Health News Original

The Jan. 28 executive order directs federal regulators to cut insurance coverage for hormonal or surgical treatments that help in young people’s gender transitions and cut federal funding for medical professionals or institutions that provide such care. It will likely be challenged in court.

Most Insurance Covers IUDs. Hers Cost More Than $14,000.

KFF Health News Original

The Affordable Care Act requires most insurance plans to cover preventive care, including many forms of contraception, without cost to patients — but not if they’re “grandfathered” plans, which predate the law.

Orden de Trump sobre procedimientos de afirmación de género pone en peligro los derechos trans

KFF Health News Original

Aunque está dirigida principalmente a programas de salud del gobierno, la orden también podría tener implicaciones para el sector privado y es probable que enfrente litigios por parte de los estados o grupos de defensa.

Telehealth Companies Boost Ad Spending While Taking on More Complex Medicine

KFF Health News Original

Telehealth startups including Ro and Nurx are spending millions to promote themselves as easy dispensers of medicines. Some companies offer care for birth control, sexual dysfunction, and more complex conditions, including behavioral health disorders and obesity.

Led by RFK Jr., Conservatives Embrace Raw Milk. Regulators Say It’s Dangerous.

KFF Health News Original

Controversy over raw milk reflects the push-pull the Trump administration faces in rolling back regulations and offering consumers more choices. For now, the CDC still recommends against consuming raw milk and the FDA bans its interstate sale.

Trump’s Funding ‘Pause’ Throws States, Health Industry Into Chaos

KFF Health News Original

A sweeping Trump administration order threw the nation’s health system into disarray Tuesday, as states and the health industry tried to make sense of what looked like a freeze on federal Medicaid funding.