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Latest KFF Health News Stories

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 […]

California Official Comes out of Retirement To Lead Troubled Mental Health Commission

KFF Health News Original

Former California social services head Will Lightbourne has come out of retirement to lead the state’s mental health accountability commission following its executive director’s resignation in the wake of conflict of interest allegations.

Resources Are Expanding for Older Adults on Their Own

KFF Health News Original

Aging alone, without a spouse, a partner, or children, requires careful planning. New programs for this growing population offer much-needed help.

Expanden los recursos para las personas mayores que viven solas

KFF Health News Original

Todos estos recursos abordan la necesidad de estos adultos mayores de relacionarse con otras personas, evitar el aislamiento y prepararse para un futuro en el que podrían tener menos energía, más problemas de salud y necesitar más ayuda.

Georgia Said It Would Fix Care for the Disabled Years Ago. It’s Still Not Done.

KFF Health News Original

In recent decades, the Justice Department has sued several states for unnecessarily confining people with disabilities in places such as state psychiatric hospitals, nursing homes and segregated workspaces. Such treatment violates a key part of the Americans With Disabilities Act — as affirmed in the 1999 Olmstead decision from the Supreme Court: that people with […]

How Measles, Whooping Cough, and Worse Could Roar Back on RFK Jr.’s Watch

KFF Health News Original

Inoculation campaigns that protect children and adults from dangerous diseases rely on a delicate web of state and federal laws and programs. If senior officials cast doubt on vaccine safety, the whole system might collapse, especially in red states.

Six Years Into an Appalachia Hospital Monopoly, Patients Are Fearful and Furious

KFF Health News Original

Ballad Health, with the largest state-sanctioned hospital monopoly in the nation, has failed for years to meet many quality-of-care goals, leaving some patients afraid of their local hospitals but with no other nearby options.