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Latest KFF Health News Stories

California Falling Short of Enrollment Goal as Mental Health Courts Roll Out Statewide

KFF Health News Original

California’s goal was to help 2,000 seriously mentally ill people by the end of this year, but data shows fewer than 600 petitions have been filed. As the CARE program expands to every county, officials say it sometimes takes months to locate eligible adults and get them in treatment plans.

Who Gets Obesity Drugs Covered by Insurance? In North Carolina, It Helps If You’re on Medicaid

KFF Health News Original

GLP-1 agonist medications such as Ozempic accounted for 10% of the North Carolina state employee health plan’s prescription drug spending, so the state is no longer covering them for weight loss alone. Still, it did decide to cover them for Medicaid patients’ weight loss. A look inside the state’s coverage calculus.

Your Next Hospital Stay Could Involve Fewer IV Fluid Bags. Here’s Why.

KFF Health News Original

When Hurricane Helene struck in late September, it flooded the largest IV fluid factory in the United States. The Baxter International facility in western North Carolina had been producing 1.5 million IV bags a day, 60 percent of the nation’s supply. The company immediately began rationing its products, and the shortage sent ripples through the […]

A Toddler Got a Nasal Swab Test but Left Before Seeing a Doctor. The Bill Was $445.

KFF Health News Original

A mom in Peoria, Illinois, took her 3-year-old to the ER one evening last December. While they were waiting to be seen, the toddler seemed better, so they left without seeing a doctor. Then the bill came.

Trump Doesn’t Need Congress To Make Abortion Effectively Unavailable

KFF Health News Original

President-elect Donald Trump vowed on the campaign trail not to sign a nationwide abortion ban. But he wouldn’t need to do so to make abortion difficult, or illegal, writes KFF Health News’ chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner.

Efforts To Curb ACA Enrollment Fraud Face Real-World Test

KFF Health News Original

The current Affordable Care Act open enrollment season is the first big test of new federal guardrails against fraud. The rules aim to head off unauthorized ACA plan enrollments or switches by rogue agents and entities looking to make money via enrollment commissions. Such sign-ups triggered more than 274,000 consumer complaints through August this year. […]

Immigration Detention Center Contractor Sues Over California Health Inspections

KFF Health News Original

A private immigration detention center contractor has sued to block a California law allowing local public health officials to inspect facilities in response to allegations of medical neglect or unsanitary conditions.

Make America Healthy Again: An Unconventional Movement That May Have Found Its Moment

KFF Health News Original

Nonmainstream doctors and leaders in health business are wielding serious muscle in shaping the incoming Trump administration’s health policies and challenging prevailing thinking on public health, disease prevention, and chronic illness.

Qué es el movimiento para “Hacer a América saludable de nuevo” (MAHA)

KFF Health News Original

El regreso de Trump a la Casa Blanca ha dado un nuevo impulso a “Hacer América saludable de nuevo”, un movimiento controversial que desafía las ideas predominantes sobre la salud pública y las enfermedades crónicas.

Dicen que los esfuerzos contra el fraude en ACA han dado resultados. Pero hay que estar alerta

KFF Health News Original

Los Centros de Servicios de Medicare y Medicaid atribuyen esta reducción a las medidas adoptadas para prevenir problemas de inscripción y cambios de planes, que ya habían generado más de 274,000 quejas hasta agosto.