Latest KFF Health News Stories
To Get Disability Help In Kansas, Thousands Face A 7-Year Medicaid Waitlist
Nick Fugate has a cognitive disability but held a job and was independent for years. Then he lost his dishwashing job and learned there are long delays getting help he needs from Medicaid in Kansas.
In Depressed Rural Kentucky, Worries Grow Over Medicaid
Low-income residents in poverty-stricken Clay County worry what will happen to their health care if Gov. Matt Bevin’s ambitions to overhaul the state’s Medicaid program go forward.
Long-Term, Reversible Contraception Gains Traction With Young Women
Implants and intrauterine devices are endorsed by pediatricians, OB-GYNs and health officials as a way to help girls and women space their pregnancies and reduce the risk of having a premature baby.
To Curb Unintended Pregnancy, States Turn To IUDs — In The Delivery Room
States are contemplating whether access to IUD through post-delivery procedures could be an important step in curbing unintended pregnancies.
Emergency Room Use Stayed High In Oregon Medicaid Study
A new study on Oregon’s famed Medicaid experiment eight years ago shows no decline in emergency room care even after two years of coverage.
Report: States Increase Cost Controls To Manage Medicaid Growth
Medicaid enrollment and total Medicaid spending are projected to rise more slowly for 2017, but states’ tab will grow faster as the federal government begins to taper its funding for Obamacare expansions, the Kaiser Family Foundation reports in its annual 50-state survey.
Insurance Rules Can Hamper Recovery From Opioid Addiction
Medicaid and other health insurers require doctors to file time-consuming paperwork before allowing them to prescribe drugs that help people quit opioids. That delay fosters relapse, specialists say.
Kentucky And Feds Near Possible Collision On Altering Medicaid Expansion
By Aug. 1, Republican Gov. Matt Bevin is expected to ask the Obama administration to approve significant changes on many Medicaid enrollees, including monthly premiums and a work requirement.
Montana Medicaid Expansion By-The-Numbers
Enrollment is nearly double where the state expected to be at the seven-month mark.
Medicaid, Private Insurers Begin To Lift Curbs On Pricey Hepatitis C Drugs
Over the past few months, Massachusetts, Florida, New York, Delaware and Washington have lifted restrictions on the expensive medications, and private insurers around the country are also making the changes.
Will Louisiana’s Medicaid Expansion Be A Harbinger For Georgia?
Louisiana’s decision to accept the federal health law program to provide coverage to more low-income residents is being watched around the South, including in Georgia, where deep-seated opposition is showing some small signs of cracks.
Gaps In Women’s Health Care May Derail Zika Prevention In Texas, Florida
In these two high-risk states, public health workers face challenges in educating women about the virus and minimizing its impact.
Despite New Access To Health Insurance, Drug-Treatment Rates For Ex-Offenders Barely Changed
More emerging prisoners are covered by Medicaid, but they still face barriers in navigating the health system, researchers said.
Majority Of Texans And Floridians Want Medicaid Expansion, Survey Shows
Residents of California, New York and Ohio approve of Medicaid expansion in those states, the survey by a Houston-based think tank found.
Opioid Epidemic Fueling Hospitalizations, Hospital Costs
New research sheds light on the growing costs to the health care system associated with painkiller and heroin abuse.
HHS Acts To Help More Ex-Inmates Get Medicaid
Obama administration broadens eligibility for those in halfway houses, but advocates for former prisoners say HHS and states must do far more.
Study: Medicaid Expansion Encourages More Poor Adults To Get Health Care
Doctor visits and hospital stays were more likely for low-income adults in states after they expanded Medicaid under Obamacare, researchers reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine Monday.
In Conservative Indiana, Medicaid Expansion Makes Poorest Pay
The novel expansion model is testing how far a state can go under Obamacare in making poor people share responsibility for the cost of health care.
Montana Medicaid Expansion Earns Good Grades In First Report Card
Since its rollout on Jan. 1, Montana Medicaid expansion has enrolled more than 38,000 people and returned $3 million to the state’s general fund.
Ark. Governor: Feds Back Plan To Preserve Medicaid Expansion
Gov. Asa Hutchinson says HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell “accepts the framework” of his proposals but negotiations are continuing.
