Listen: As Kids Head Back to School, Parents Sort Out Confusion Over Vaccine Access

KFF Health News Original

Confusion over federal immunization policy could have major implications for how families with private insurance and Medicaid pay for routine vaccinations. Some doctors are encouraging parents not to wait and get their children shots as soon as they are eligible.

Try This When Your Doctor Says ‘Yes’ to a Preventive Test but Insurance Says ‘No’

KFF Health News Original

A joint project of NPR and KFF Health News, Health Care Helpline helps you navigate the health system hurdles between you and good care. Send us your tricky questions, and we may tap a policy sleuth to puzzle them out. Here is what to do if your preventive care gets denied.

Fearing Medicaid Coverage Loss, Some Parents Rush To Vaccinate Their Kids

KFF Health News Original

Worried parents are hurrying to get their children vaccinated, fearing future federal policy changes will limit access to free immunizations. Pediatricians worry that any changes to the childhood vaccine schedule will leave families without affordable options for essential shots.

RFK Jr. Says Healthy Pregnant Women Don’t Need Covid Boosters. What the Science Says.

KFF Health News Original

Despite opposition by the leader of the Department of Health and Human Services, existing evidence on the safety and efficacy of getting a covid vaccine during pregnancy all points the same way: The shots are important for maternal and fetal health.

Se cancelan clínicas de vacunación por recortes federales, mientras aumentan los casos de sarampión

KFF Health News Original

Los esfuerzos de inmunización en todo el país se vieron afectados después que los Centros para el Control y Prevención de Enfermedades cancelaran abruptamente $11.400 millones en fondos relacionados con covid-19 que se usaban para muchas vacunas.

Slashed Federal Funding Cancels Vaccine Clinics Amid Measles Surge

KFF Health News Original

Federal funding cuts, though temporarily blocked by a judge, have upended vaccination clinics across the country, including in Arizona, Minnesota, Nevada, Texas, and Washington state, amid a rise in vaccine hesitancy and a resurgence of measles.

Workers Prep To Meet ICE Officials at the Health Clinic Door

KFF Health News Original

Recent arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in northern Virginia have put immigrant communities in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area on alert. Health clinics that serve those communities say they are working to continue to care for patients amid detention and arrest fears.

Human, Bird, or Dog Waste? Scientists Parsing Poop To Aid DC’s Forgotten River

KFF Health News Original

A huge infrastructure project coupled with a new scientific review of microbes in the water could be bringing Washington, D.C., closer to a once-unimaginable goal — a safely swimmable Anacostia River.

¿Heces humana, de aves o de perros? Científicos analizan excrementos para ayudar al río olvidado de Washington D.C.

KFF Health News Original

Debido a los riesgos para la salud, no se puede nadar en el Anacostia desde hace más de medio siglo. El agua contaminada puede causar enfermedades gastrointestinales y respiratorias, así como infecciones oculares, nasales y cutáneas.

Trabajadores de clínicas comunitarias repasan protecciones constitucionales mientras se avecinan redadas de inmigración

KFF Health News Original

Desde el regreso de Donald Trump a la Casa Blanca, el temor a las deportaciones masivas llevadas a cabo por el Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de Estados Unidos (ICE) se ha apoderado de las comunidades inmigrantes.

Your Next Hospital Stay Could Involve Fewer IV Fluid Bags. Here’s Why.

KFF Health News Original

When Hurricane Helene struck in late September, it flooded the largest IV fluid factory in the United States. The Baxter International facility in western North Carolina had been producing 1.5 million IV bags a day, 60 percent of the nation’s supply. The company immediately began rationing its products, and the shortage sent ripples through the […]

Nationwide IV Fluid Shortage Could Change How Hospitals Manage Patient Hydration

KFF Health News Original

Many U.S. hospitals are conserving critical intravenous fluid supplies to cope with a shortage that may last months. Some hospital administrators say the shortage accelerated their plans to change IV fluid hydration protocols altogether.