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Latest KFF Health News Stories

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

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

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.

Native American Patients Are Sent to Collections for Debts the Government Owes

KFF Health News Original

Federal law says Native Americans aren’t liable for medical bills the Indian Health Service promises to pay. Some are billed anyway as a result of backlogs or mistakes from the agency, financial middlemen, or health systems.

California’s ‘Care Courts’ Are Falling Short

KFF Health News Original

California’s controversial experiment to order mental illness and drug treatment for some of its sickest residents is rolling out statewide, but the latest data shows the new initiative is falling far short of early objectives. The Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment Act — known as Care — recently expanded from 11 pilot counties to all […]

Removing a Splinter? Treating a Wart? If a Doctor Does It, It Can Be Billed as Surgery

KFF Health News Original

Minor interventions are increasingly being rebranded and billed as surgery, for profit. This means a neurologist spending 40 minutes with a patient to tease out a diagnosis can be paid less for that time than a dermatologist spending a few seconds squirting a dollop of liquid nitrogen onto the skin.

As Rural America Grows More Diverse, Language Access Is Slow To Take Hold

KFF Health News Original

The share of people who are Hispanic or Latino has grown to a little more than a quarter of the population in Elko, Nevada, a small city in the remote northeastern corner of the state. That growth in diversity has also led to an increasing number of people who speak a language other than English […]

Patients Couldn’t Pay Their Utility Bills. One Hospital Turned to Solar Power for Help.

KFF Health News Original

Doctors in Boston got tired of writing letters to utility companies asking for assistance for their medically vulnerable patients who need power and heat to stay healthy. So a hospital decided to share the power its solar panels generate with patients who needed help with their electricity and gas bills.

Faltan iniciativas de gobiernos rurales para comunicarse con los residentes que no dominan el inglés

KFF Health News Original

A pesar de la creciente demanda para que los gobiernos rurales locales se comuniquen con los residentes en idiomas distintos al inglés, los legisladores estatales en Nevada excluyeron a los condados más pequeños de una ley estatal de acceso lingüístico que se promulgó recientemente.

Toxic ‘Forever Chemicals’ Taint Rural California Drinking Water, Far From Known Sources

KFF Health News Original

Researchers found toxic “forever chemicals” in drinking water wells dotting California’s rural farming regions, far from known contamination sources. The discovery complicates the state’s drinking water problem, which disproportionately affects farmworkers and communities of color.

Former Montana Health Staffer Rebukes Oversight Rules as a Hospital ‘Wish List’

KFF Health News Original

The push-pull in Montana reflects a national tension as states try to decide what counts as fair checks on tax-exempt hospitals and industry players weigh in. The debate centers on whether nonprofit hospitals do enough good to earn their charitable status.

Juez bloquea en 19 estados la norma que permite a Dreamers inscribirse en planes de salud de ACA

KFF Health News Original

Además de Kansas y Dakota del Norte, los estados que se unieron a la demanda son Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Carolina del Sur, Dakota del Sur, Tennessee, Texas y Virginia.

Federal Judge Halts Dreamers’ Brand-New Access to ACA Enrollment in 19 States

KFF Health News Original

A federal judge sided with 19 states seeking an injunction against a Biden administration rule allowing recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals to enroll in Affordable Care Act coverage and qualify for subsidies amid the annual open enrollment period.

Florida’s Canada Drug Importation Plan Has Yet to Launch

KFF Health News Original

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) spent years complaining that the Biden administration was slow-walking federal approval of his plan to import lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada — a concept endorsed by Donald Trump in 2020 just before his first presidential term ended. But nearly a year since the Food and Drug Administration green-lit the state’s […]

Rural Governments Often Fail To Communicate With Residents Who Aren’t Proficient in English

KFF Health News Original

Access to information in languages other than English is protected by various federal, state, and local policies. But researchers tracking them say that as rural America grows more diverse, people not proficient in English face added barriers to critical public health information and services.

A Centenarian Thrives Living Alone, Active and Engaged

KFF Health News Original

Many older adults living alone, isolated and vulnerable, struggle with health issues. But a noteworthy slice of this growing group of seniors maintain a high degree of well-being. Meet Hilda Jaffe, age 102.

Centenaria vive sola en Nueva York, y se mantiene comprometida y activa con su comunidad

KFF Health News Original

Entre las cualidades asociadas a la resiliencia en los mayores se incluyen el optimismo y la esperanza, la capacidad de adaptarse a circunstancias cambiantes, las relaciones personales relevantes, las conexiones con la comunidad y la actividad física.

Are States Keeping Their Promises on Opioid Settlement Transparency?

KFF Health News Original

It’s been about two years since most states began receiving millions of dollars in opioid settlement payments from companies that made or distributed prescription painkillers. But whether you can track how that windfall has been spent depends largely on where you live. That’s because there is no federal standard dictating the information that must be […]