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Latest KFF Health News Stories

As Low-Nicotine Cigarettes Hit the Market, Anti-Smoking Groups Press for Wider Standard

KFF Health News Original

The first FDA-authorized cigarettes with 95% less nicotine than traditional smokes will go on sale in California, Florida, and Texas starting in early July. Anti-smoking groups oppose greenlighting just one plant biotech’s products and instead urge federal regulators to set a low-nicotine standard for the entire industry.

More States Drop Sales Tax on Disposable Diapers to Boost Affordability

KFF Health News Original

Last month, Florida joined a growing number of states in banning sales taxes on diapers to make them more affordable for older adults and families with young children. Though diapers are essential for many, they are not covered by food stamps. Nor are incontinence products for older adults typically covered by Medicare. The cost can easily add up on a fixed income.

Once-Resistant Rural Court Officials Begin to Embrace Medications to Treat Addiction

KFF Health News Original

As evidence supporting medication treatment for opioid addiction mounts, judges, district attorneys, and law enforcement officials in rural America are increasingly open to it after years of insisting on abstinence only.

La atención primaria está cambiando: el acceso y la calidad están en juego

KFF Health News Original

Una relación sólida y duradera con un médico de atención primaria —que conozca el historial del paciente y pueda vigilar nuevos problemas— se ha considerado durante mucho tiempo la base de un sistema sanitario de calidad.

New Charleston Museum Nods to Historical Roots of US Health Disparities

KFF Health News Original

The $120 million International African American Museum that opened this week in Charleston, South Carolina, allows visitors to step back in history at Gadsden’s Wharf, where tens of thousands of enslaved Africans arrived in America, the genesis of generations of health disparities.

The DEA Relaxed Online Prescribing Rules During Covid. Now It Wants to Rein Them In.

KFF Health News Original

Supporters say the proposed rules would balance the goals of increasing access to health care and helping prevent medication misuse. Opponents say the rules would make it difficult for some patients — especially those in rural areas — to get care.

Malpractice Lawsuits Over Denied Abortion Care May Be on the Horizon

KFF Health News Original

Physicians and attorneys say it’s a question of when — not if — a pregnant person dies from lack of care in a state with an abortion ban, potentially setting the stage for a malpractice lawsuit that could pressure providers to reconsider delaying or denying care.

Advocates Call for 911 Changes. Police Have Mixed Feelings.

KFF Health News Original

Though most California counties are experimenting with dispatching health professionals rather than law enforcement to respond to people experiencing mental health crises, powerful police unions fear defunding.

What’s It Really Like to Be HHS Secretary? Three Who’ve Done It Spill the Beans

KFF Health News Original

Three secretaries of Health and Human Services, who served under Presidents Joe Biden, Donald Trump, and Barack Obama, gathered this week for a rare, candid conversation hosted by the Aspen Ideas Festival and KFF Health News’ “What the Health?” about the experience of being the nation’s top health official.