Latest KFF Health News Stories
For the Love of Health Care and Health Policy
KFF Health News shares the crème de la crème of reader-submitted health policy valentines. Two of our favorites melted our hearts and inspired original illustrations.
California Prison Drug Overdoses Surge Again After Early Treatment Success
Drug overdose deaths in California state prisons rebounded to near record levels last year, a big setback for corrections officials who thought they were on the right track with medication-assisted treatment efforts. Prison officials and attorneys representing prisoners blame fentanyl.
Washington intenta ponerse al día con el uso de la inteligencia artificial en el sector de salud
El impacto de la IA en el sector de salud ya es generalizado. La Administración de Alimentos y Medicamentos ha aprobado unos 692 productos de inteligencia artificial.
‘Behind the Times’: Washington Tries to Catch Up With AI’s Use in Health Care
Lawmakers and regulators are trying to understand how AI is changing health care and how it should be regulated. The industry fears overreach.
In Fight Over Medicare Payments, the Hospital Lobby Shows Its Strength
Medicare pays hospitals about double what it pays other providers for the same services. The hospital lobby is fighting hard to make sure a switch to “site-neutral payments” doesn’t become law.
¿Ofrecer vivienda gratis es atención médica? Programas de Medicaid dicen que sí
Estados están invirtiendo miles de millones de dólares en un experimento de atención médica de alto riesgo: utilizar fondos ya escasos de seguros de salud públicos para proporcionar vivienda a los estadounidenses más pobres y enfermos.
GoFundMe, ¿realmente ayuda a pagar facturas médicas?
Incluso defensores de pacientes y personal del área de ayuda financiera en hospitales recomiendan iniciar una sesión en GoFundMe como una alternativa a terminar con una cuenta en una agencia de cobros.
GoFundMe Has Become a Health Care Utility
Resorting to crowdfunding to pay medical bills has become so routine, in some cases health professionals recommend it.
States Target Health Insurers’ ‘Prior Authorization’ Red Tape
Doctors, patients, and hospitals have railed for years about the prior authorization processes that health insurers use to decide whether they’ll pay for patients’ drugs or medical procedures. The Biden administration announced a crackdown in January, but some state lawmakers are looking to go further.
Senators Weigh Whether Health Care AI Needs a Leash
The Senate Finance Committee contemplated the future yesterday: artificial intelligence and its potential applications to health care. And it turns out the future looks an awful lot like the past and present: Democrats want regulations. And the industry wants money. “There are a lot of reasons to be optimistic,” Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) […]
Do We Simply Not Care About Old People?
Recently, thousands of older Americans have been dying weekly of covid. But most Americans aren’t wearing masks in public, a move that could prevent infections. Many at-risk seniors aren’t getting antiviral therapies, and older adults in nursing homes aren’t getting vaccines. Why?
La FDA finalmente prohibiría peligroso químico en productos para alisar el cabello
El primer estudio que vinculó los alisadores de cabello con el cáncer de útero, publicado en 2022, encontró que el uso frecuente de estos químicos duplica con creces el peligro.
Cities Know That the Way Police Respond to Mental Crisis Calls Must Change. But How?
Cities are experimenting with new ways to meet the rapidly increasing demand for behavioral health crisis intervention, at a time when incidents of police shooting and killing people in mental health crisis have become painfully familiar.
FDA’s Plan to Ban Hair Relaxer Chemical Called Too Little, Too Late
The FDA’s recent notice that it would move to ban formaldehyde in hair-straightening products comes more than a decade after researchers raised alarms about health risks. Scientists say a ban would still leave many dangerous chemicals in hair straighteners.
Even in Bright-Blue California, Abortion Is on the Ballot
The race to replace the late Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein is in full swing in California. Although the state enshrined abortion rights into its constitution, the prospect of a national abortion ban has the candidates vying for a Senate seat putting a spotlight on reproductive rights. Or, at least the Democrats are. Steve Garvey, a […]
Colorado avanza con proyectos para conectar a trabajadores agrícolas con servicios de salud mental
Los proyectos de ley en consideración abordarían la creciente necesidad de tratar los problemas de salud mental en áreas rurales, que se han visto exacerbados por los impactos de la pandemia y el cambio climático.
Cerca de 10 millones ya perdieron Medicaid, y todavía faltan meses de purga
Medicaid y el Programa de Seguro de Salud Infantil crecieron hasta alcanzar un récord de 94 millones de inscritos durante la pandemia.
Halfway Through ‘Unwinding,’ Medicaid Enrollment Is Down About 10 Million
While more Medicaid beneficiaries have been purged in the span of a year than ever before, enrollment is on track to settle at pre-pandemic levels.
Colorado Moves to Connect Agricultural Workers With Mental Health Resources
Advocates say two bills under consideration could help migrant communities but that more needs to be done.
Halfway Through ‘Unwinding,’ Medicaid Enrollment Is Down About 10 Million
We’re halfway through the Medicaid “unwinding,” in which states are dropping people from the government health insurance program for the first time since the pandemic began. Millions of people have been dumped from the rolls since April, often for procedural issues like failing to respond to notices or return paperwork. But at the same time, […]
