Latest KFF Health News Stories
Fearing the Worst, Schools Deploy Armed Police To Thwart Gun Violence
Officials reason that vigilance and familiarity with campuses would speed responses to shootings. But there is scant research about armed police in schools — and some studies suggest that racial bias in policing offers cause for caution.
Longtime Head of L.A. Care To Retire After Navigating Major Medi-Cal Changes
John Baackes, who steered Medi-Cal’s largest health plan following the Affordable Care Act expansion, and later prepared it for a state overhaul of Medi-Cal, will retire after this year. Baackes believes low payments to doctors and other providers, along with an acute labor shortage, hamper Medi-Cal’s success.
US Uninsured Rate Was Stable in 2023, Even as States’ Medicaid Purge Began
About 8% of Americans lacked health insurance in 2023, the Census Bureau announced. But its report doesn’t capture the effect of states winnowing their Medicaid rolls by millions of people since the pandemic emergency ended.
La tasa de personas sin seguro médico se mantiene estable, a pesar de la purga de Medicaid
Aproximadamente el 8% de los estadounidenses no tuvieron cobertura en 2023, un aumento estadísticamente insignificante de solo 0.1 puntos porcentuales con respecto al año anterior.
Harris and Trump Are Ready To Take on Big Pharma
Former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are both eager to take on high drug prices, leaving pharmaceutical companies on the defensive as they spend millions of dollars this election season. When Harris was California’s attorney general, she joined cases that resulted in almost $7.2 billion (about $22 per person in the United […]
ACA Enrollment Platforms Suspended Over Alleged Foreign Access to Consumer Data
Federal regulators provided more specifics about why they suspended two private sector Affordable Care Act enrollment sites, including concerns about potential overseas accessing of consumer data and suspicions of involvement in Obamacare enrollment and switching schemes. The companies reject the assertions.
Health Secretary Becerra Touts Extreme Heat Protections. Farmworkers Want More.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra has a plan to protect farmworkers from extreme heat and wildfire smoke, but farmworkers who pick California grapes say they need more, as climate change brings more extreme weather.
With TV Drug Ads, What You See Is Not Necessarily What You Get
The pharmaceutical industry has invented a new art form: finding ways to make their wares seem like joyous must-have treatments, while often minimizing lackluster efficacy and risks.
En los comerciales de medicamentos en TV, lo que ves no siempre es lo que es
Los anuncios de medicamentos han sido omnipresentes en la televisión desde finales de la década de 1990 y se han extendido a internet y las redes sociales. Pocas naciones en el mundo los permiten
El máximo responsable de salud del país, que está barajando la posibilidad de postularse para gobernador, se ha convertido en una de las voces principales de la administración Biden sobre el cambio climático.
Journalists Give Rundown on Bird Flu Risks, HIV Rates, and the Fate of Shuttered Hospitals
KFF Health News and California Healthline staff made the rounds on state and local media in recent weeks to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Thanks to Reddit, a New Diagnosis Is Bubbling Up Across the Nation
Social media has helped spread the word about a treatment that involves getting Botox in the neck. It’s for a condition that’s gaining awareness but still often dismissed: the inability to burp.
As Record Heat Sweeps the US, Some People Must Choose Between Food and Energy Bills
An increasing number of Americans struggle with energy poverty, the inability to adequately heat or cool one’s dwelling. Health officials and climate experts are sounding the alarm as record-breaking heat sweeps the nation.
Gracias a Reddit, un nuevo diagnóstico se está extendiendo por todo el país
La incapacidad de eructar puede causar hinchazón, dolor, gorgoteos en el cuello y el pecho, y flatulencias excesivas mientras el aire acumulado busca una salida alternativa.
Errors in Deloitte-Run Medicaid Systems Can Cost Millions and Take Years To Fix
As states wait for Deloitte to make fixes in computer systems, Medicaid beneficiaries risk losing access to health care and food.
Boom, Now Bust: Budget Cuts and Layoffs Take Hold in Public Health
State leaders are cutting public health spending and laying off workers hired during a pandemic-era grant boom. Public health officials say the bust will erode important advancements in the public health safety net, particularly in rural areas.
Patients Suffer When Indian Health Service Doesn’t Pay for Outside Care
The Indian Health Service has a program that can pay for outside appointments when patients need care not offered at agency-funded sites. Critics say money shortages, complex rules, and administrative fumbles often block access, however.
Del auge a la caída: falta de dinero y despidos golpean a la salud pública
Ante la pandemia, el Congreso asignó más de $800 mil millones para fortalecer la respuesta de los estados ante covid. Esto resultó en un notable aumento del número de trabajadores de salud pública en todo el país. Ese dinero se ha esfumado.
Tribal Health Officials ‘Blinded’ by Lack of Data
A strong public health system can make a big difference for those who face stark health disparities. But epidemiologists serving Native American communities, which have some of the nation’s most profound health inequities, say they’re hobbled by state and federal agencies restricting their access to important data. American Indians and Alaska Natives face life expectancy […]
Breast Cancer Rises Among Asian American and Pacific Islander Women
Asian American and Pacific Islander women once had a relatively low rate of breast cancer diagnoses. Now, researchers are scrambling to understand why it’s rising at a faster pace than those of many other racial and ethnic groups.
