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Latest KFF Health News Stories

UCSF Favors Pricey Doctoral Program for Nurse-Midwives Amid Maternal Care Crisis

KFF Health News Original

UC-San Francisco is pausing its long-running master’s program in nurse-midwifery and plans to shift to a lengthier, costlier doctoral program. Midwives criticized the move and questioned the university’s motivations at a time of serious shortages of maternal care workers.

With Only Gloves To Protect Them, Farmworkers Say They Tend Sick Cows Amid Bird Flu

KFF Health News Original

A Colorado picnic celebrated Farmworker Appreciation Day. But some dairy workers there said they aren’t feeling appreciated: They don’t have basic protective gear, even as bird flu spreads through area farms.

Feds Killed Plan To Curb Medicare Advantage Overbilling After Industry Opposition

KFF Health News Original

A private 2014 decision by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services faces new scrutiny in a multibillion-dollar Justice Department fraud case against UnitedHealth Group.

Public Voices Often Ignored in States’ Opioid Settlement Money Decisions

KFF Health News Original

In many places, victims of the opioid epidemic are silenced in decision-making about how to use opioid settlement money, a first-of-its-kind survey conducted by KFF Health News and Spotlight PA found.

For Pharma, Trump vs. Harris Is a Showdown Between Two Industry Foes

KFF Health News Original

Vice President Kamala Harris is seen as more aggressive than former President Donald Trump in taking on pharmaceutical companies, but Trump allies say he would also make lowering drug costs a top priority.

The New Covid Vaccine Is Out. Why You Might Not Want To Rush To Get It.

KFF Health News Original

Although public health officials recommend the newly approved covid vaccine for everyone 6 months and older, it may make more sense to wait until closer to the holiday season.

Her Life Was at Risk. She Needed an Abortion. Insurance Refused To Pay.

KFF Health News Original

Insurance coverage for abortion care in the U.S. is a hodgepodge. Patients often don’t know when or if a procedure or abortion pills are covered, and the proliferation of abortion bans has exacerbated the confusion.

Cuando la aseguradora se niega a pagar un aborto que es médicamente necesario

KFF Health News Original

En el país, la cobertura para la atención del aborto es laberíntica. A menudo, los pacientes no saben cuándo un procedimiento, o las píldoras abortivas, están cubiertas, si es que lo están; y la proliferación de prohibiciones ha exacerbado la confusión.

Ya está disponible la nueva vacuna contra covid, pero piensa bien cuándo conviene vacunarte

KFF Health News Original

La Administración de Drogas y Alimentos ha aprobado una vacuna actualizada contra covid para todas las personas de 6 meses en adelante, lo que renueva un dilema que ahora es anual: ¿Recibir la vacuna ya, con el brote de covid aún por todo el país, o reservarla para la ola invernal?

Journalists Talk Shooting’s Toll on Children and State Handling of Opioid Settlement Funds

KFF Health News Original

KFF Health News and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media in the last two weeks to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

Disability Rights Activist Pushes Government To Let Him Participate in Society

KFF Health News Original

Garret Frey won a U.S. Supreme Court case as a teenager who needed assistance to attend high school. Now, he’s gained concessions under Iowa’s Medicaid program to help him live at home instead of in a care facility.

Project 2025 Would Recast HHS as the Federal Department of Life

KFF Health News Original

It has become a rhetorical theme for Democrats working to hold on to the White House: Allies of former president Donald Trump, they say, want to infuse conservative ideals into how the federal government does business. That vision is outlined in the Project 2025 “Mandate for Leadership,” a 900-page blueprint produced by the conservative Heritage Foundation and other conservative organizations […]

Biden Administration Blocks Two Private Sector Enrollment Sites From ACA Marketplace

KFF Health News Original

Regulators have been under the gun to curb unauthorized Obamacare enrollment and switching of plans. Separately, a pending lawsuit was amended with additional defendants and new allegations regarding tactics to garner greater ACA sales commissions.

A Teen’s Murder, Mold in the Walls: Unfulfilled Promises Haunt Public Housing

KFF Health News Original

For years, federal lawmakers have failed to deliver the money needed to fix derelict public housing, leaving tenants — mostly people of color and families with low incomes — living with mold and gun violence that has had lasting health consequences.