Daniel Chang

Doctors Hesitate to Ask About Patients’ Immigration Status Despite New Florida Law

KFF Health News Original

Florida’s new immigration law requires hospitals to ask patients about their immigration status at admission and in emergency rooms, and report that information plus the cost of care for residents without legal status. Doctors and nurses who oppose the policy seem reluctant to criticize lawmakers for fear of political retribution.

US Officials Want to End the HIV Epidemic by 2030. Many Stakeholders Think They Won’t.

KFF Health News Original

The federal government’s ambitious plan to end the HIV epidemic, launched in 2019, has generated new ways to reach at-risk populations in targeted communities across the South. But health officials, advocates, and people living with HIV worry significant headwinds will keep the program from reaching its goals.

Shaved Costs, High Risk, Maximum Profits: Regulators Worry About Florida’s Butt Lift Boom

KFF Health News Original

Social media marketing lures people to South Florida’s lucrative cosmetic surgery scene with the promise of cheap Brazilian butt lifts. But some researchers, patient advocates, and surgeon groups say that the risks of the procedure are generally not understood by prospective patients, and that an unsafe number of surgeries can be performed per day in office settings, maximizing profits.

How Optimism Can Close the Medicaid Coverage Gap

KFF Health News Original

Low-income residents in states that haven’t expanded Medicaid are in a tough spot: They don’t qualify for the subsidies that people with slightly higher incomes get to buy marketplace plans because of a glitch in the federal health law. But a court decision last year makes it easier for them to make good-faith estimates of a pay increase, and there is no financial penalty if they don’t hit that figure.

States Opting Out of a Federal Program That Tracks Teen Behavior as Youth Mental Health Worsens

KFF Health News Original

Colorado, Florida, and Idaho are the latest states to opt out of a survey that tracks concerning behaviors in high school students. Officials cite low participation and state laws that require parental permission. But some advocates say dwindling state participation is an “enormous loss” that will make it harder to track signs of poor mental health — like drug and alcohol misuse and suicidal ideation — among teens.

Southern States’ Lackluster Monkeypox Efforts Leave LGBTQ+ Groups Going It Alone

KFF Health News Original

The gay community is disproportionally affected by the monkeypox outbreak, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says public health efforts should prioritize gay and bisexual men. But in the South, some LGBTQ+ advocates fear that this is not happening consistently. They say they are having to take matters into their own hands in the absence of a coordinated response from state governments.