JoNel Aleccia

JoNel Aleccia was a senior correspondent for KFF Health News until October 2022.

@JoNel_Aleccia

Supreme Court Declines To Hear Military Medical Malpractice Case

KFF Health News Original

Justices won’t alter the rule that prevents active-duty military members from suing the government for negligence. The challenge came from the family of Navy nurse Lt. Rebekah “Moani” Daniel, who died in 2014 after bleeding to death following childbirth.

Lethal Plans: When Seniors Turn To Suicide In Long-Term Care

KFF Health News Original

In a nation where the suicide rate continues to climb, such deaths among older adults are often overlooked. A six-month investigation by KHN and PBS NewsHour finds that older Americans are quietly killing themselves in nursing homes, assisted living centers and adult care homes.

¿Cuán fácil es eximir a los niños de sus vacunas? Solo hay que mirar a Oregon

KFF Health News Original

A medida que continúan los brotes de sarampión en el noroeste y se extienden a todo el país, registros de salud de Oregon sugieren lo fácil que que es optar por no recibir las vacunas requeridas en ese estado, como en muchos otros.

State Laws Ban Surprise Medical Bills. She Got One for $227K And Fought Back.

KFF Health News Original

No one told a Washington state woman she was racking up massive out-of-pocket charges during a month-long emergency stay in an Oregon hospital. For six months, she and her husband were haunted by looming debt — and bill collectors.

Insured But Still In Debt: 5 Jobs Pulling In $100K A Year No Match For Medical Bills

KFF Health News Original

An Arizona couple played by the rules and bought employer-provided health insurance. But after they had a baby this year, their out-of-pocket hospital costs and doctors’ bills climbed to more than $12,000 — and medical debt now threatens their new family.

FDA Allows Food Makers To Fortify Corn Masa To Halt Birth Defects, But Few Do

KFF Health News Original

The decision aimed at adding folic acid — a vitamin that can prevent devastating defects of the brain, spine or spinal cord — to flours, chips and tortillas hasn’t caught on with many makers of widely used corn products.

‘Grossly Unfair’? Widower Takes Ban On Military Injury Claims To Supreme Court

KFF Health News Original

When a young Navy lieutenant died following low-risk childbirth, her husband claimed military doctors botched her care. But his wrongful death claim was dismissed because of a 1950 ruling that bars active-duty service members from suing the U.S. government — for any reason.

‘No One Is Ever Really Ready’: Aid-In-Dying Patient Chooses His Last Day

KFF Health News Original

With its expansion to Hawaii this year, medical aid-in-dying is now approved in eight U.S. jurisdictions. Even when legal, the controversial practice of choosing to die after a terminal diagnosis is difficult, said one Seattle man who shared his final deliberations.