Mental Health and Substance Misuse Treatment Is Increasingly a Video Chat or Phone Call Away
More Californians are getting mental health or substance use disorder treatment online or over the phone than in person, according to a KFF Health News analysis of UCLA’s latest California Health Interview Survey. But the telehealth experience isn’t always positive.
Watch: How the FDA Opens the Door to Risky Chemicals in America’s Food Supply
To a great extent, the FDA leaves it to food companies to determine whether their ingredients and additives are safe. Some chemicals and additives are tied to health risks while others are absent from product labels. Watch this video explainer to learn more.
A Call for Comfort Brought the Police Instead. Now the Solution Is in Danger.
Emotionally overwhelmed, an Indiana woman dialed a mental health hotline. She didn’t find the help she was looking for and hung up. Ultimately, she was handcuffed and hospitalized overnight. Now, amid federal cuts, she and others fear the U.S. response to similar crises will revert to more responses like that.
Families of Transgender Youth No Longer View Colorado as a Haven for Gender-Affirming Care
Colorado was long considered a haven for gender-affirming care. But under this Trump administration, hospitals in the state have limited the treatments available for people under 19. Some services have been restored, but trans youth and their families say the state isn’t the rock they thought it was.
‘I Am Going Through Hell’: Job Loss, Mental Health, and the Fate of Federal Workers
Since the Trump administration began firing federal workers, they say they feel overwhelmed, have obtained or considered seeking psychiatric care and medication, and are anxious about paying their bills. And soon, their health insurance will run out.
Pain Clinics Made Millions From ‘Unnecessary’ Injections Into ‘Human Pin Cushions’
Pain MD, which once ran as many as 20 clinics across three states, gave chronic-pain patients about 700,000 total injections near their spines, according to court documents. Last year, federal prosecutors proved at trial that the shots were medically unnecessary and part of an extensive fraud scheme.
A Dose of Love: The Winning Health Policy Valentines
KFF Health News shares our favorite reader-submitted health policy valentines. One struck us in the heart and inspired an original cartoon.
Republican States Claim Zero Abortions. A Red-State Doctor Calls That ‘Ludicrous.’
In several red states, officials say few or no abortions happened in 2023, raising alarm among researchers about the politicization of vital statistics.
Some Incarcerated Youths Will Get Health Care After Release Under New Law
It’s common for young people leaving jails and prisons to end up back behind bars, often after lapses related to untreated mental health issues or substance abuse. A new law is aimed at getting them on Medicaid before they’re released. But the government coordination required to make it happen is significant.
Voters Backed Abortion Rights but State Judges Have Final Say
Though abortion rights supporters prevailed on ballot measures in seven of the 10 states where abortion was up for a vote on Nov. 5, the state supreme courts voters have elected indicate legal fights to come aren’t clear-cut.
As Nuns Disappear, Many Catholic Hospitals Look More Like Megacorporations
The nation’s Catholic health systems were largely founded and led by nuns with a mission to serve the sick regardless of their creed or financial means. Today, no nuns run any U.S. Catholic health system, while many of these hospitals pull in billions, according to their financial reports.
Dentists Are Pulling ‘Healthy’ and Treatable Teeth To Profit From Implants, Experts Warn
Americans are getting dental implants more than ever — and at costs reaching tens of thousands of dollars. Experts worry some dentists have lost sight of the soul of dentistry: preserving and fixing teeth.
How North Carolina Made Its Hospitals Do Something About Medical Debt
State officials threatened to withhold public money from hospitals, pioneering a strategy that could become a national model.
Abortion Clinics — And Patients — Are on the Move, as State Laws Keep Shifting
Clinics in states where most abortions are legal, such as Kansas and Illinois, are reporting an influx of inquiries from patients hundreds of miles away — and are expanding in response. Despite the Supreme Court’s overturning of federal protections in 2022, abortions are now at their highest numbers in a decade.
Inside Conservative Activist Leonard Leo’s Long Campaign To Gut Planned Parenthood
Anti-abortion groups and their allies secured a generational victory in 2022 when the Supreme Court overturned “Roe v. Wade.” A lawsuit in Texas demonstrates how those same forces threaten access to other health services, including birth control and screenings for cancer and sexually transmitted infections.
Social Media Bans Could Deny Teenagers Mental Health Help
Congress and state legislatures are considering age bans and other limits for Instagram and TikTok out of concern that they harm kids’ mental health. But some researchers and pediatricians question whether there’s enough data to support that conclusion.
‘I Feel Dismissed’: People Experiencing Colorism Say Health System Fails Them
Colorism — a form of prejudice and discrimination in which lighter skin is favored over darker skin — has been associated with mental health conditions such as depression, low self-esteem, and anxiety. But skin tone often goes unaddressed with therapists and clinical specialists.
Why Millions Are Trying FDA-Authorized Alternatives to Big Pharma’s Weight Loss Drugs
Although Novo Nordisk and Lilly lump together the pharmacies that compound semaglutide and tirzepatide with internet cowboys selling fake drugs, there is a distinction. The FDA has offered Americans little clarity about the vast gray and black markets for the drugs.
Fake Therapist Fooled Hundreds Online Until She Died, State Records Say
A Florida woman with no training in mental health services pretended to be a licensed social worker during online therapy sessions with Brightside Health patients.
How Primary Care Is Being Disrupted: A Video Primer
Under pressure from increased demand, consolidation, and changing patient expectations, the model of care no longer means visiting the same doctor for decades.
