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Latest KFF Health News Stories

Armed With Hashtags, These Activists Made Insulin Prices a Presidential Talking Point

KFF Health News Original

Twitter has been a hotbed for the burgeoning insulin access movement and activism surrounding other medical conditions. For people with diabetes, the platform has helped propel concern about insulin prices into policy. Can it continue to win with hashtags?

Why Two States Remain Holdouts on Distracted Driving Laws

KFF Health News Original

Missouri and Montana are the only states without distracted driving laws for all drivers. With traffic fatalities rising significantly nationwide, some Missouri lawmakers and advocates for roadway safety are eyeing bills in the new legislative session that would crack down on texting while driving in the Show Me State.

As States Seek to Limit Abortions, Montana Wants to Redefine What Is Medically Necessary

KFF Health News Original

Montana officials are looking to tighten rules around medically necessary abortions for those who use Medicaid as their health insurance. Reproductive health advocates and Democratic lawmakers have said the move is part of a broader agenda to whittle away access to the procedure.

After a Brief Pandemic Reprieve, Rural Workers Return to Life Without Paid Leave

KFF Health News Original

Coastal and politically progressive states have passed stronger paid sick and family leave policies, but many workers in rural America are left out, facing tough decisions when choosing between caring for themselves or sick family members or keeping their jobs.

Behavioral Telehealth Loses Momentum Without a Regulatory Boost

KFF Health News Original

As flexible treatment options spurred by the covid pandemic wane, patients relying on medications classified as controlled substances worry that without action to extend the loosened rules, it’ll be harder to get their meds.

The Official Who Investigates Suspicious Deaths in Your Town May Be a Doctor — Or Not

KFF Health News Original

Across the country, there are no consistent requirements for the officials who investigate suspicious and unexpected deaths. Some have no medical training, others are doctors trained in forensic pathology. Washington, California, Illinois, and Georgia are among the states that have recently attempted to make changes — with mixed success.

How Medicare Advantage Plans Dodged Auditors and Overcharged Taxpayers by Millions

KFF Health News Original

Facing rare scrutiny from federal auditors, some Medicare Advantage health plans failed to produce any records to justify their payments, government records show. The audits revealed millions of dollars in overcharges to Medicare over three years.

KHN Investigation: The System Feds Rely On to Stop Repeat Health Fraud Is Broken

KFF Health News Original

A months-long KHN examination of the system meant to bar fraudsters from Medicaid, Medicare, and other federal health programs found gaping holes and expansive gray areas through which banned individuals slip to repeatedly bilk taxpayer-funded programs.

The Disability Tax: Medical Bills Remain Inaccessible for Many Blind Americans

KFF Health News Original

Health insurers and health care systems across the country are violating disability rights laws by sending medical bills that blind and visually impaired people cannot read, a KHN investigation has found. By hindering the ability of blind Americans to know what they owe, some bills get sent to debt collections.

Un nuevo uso de las aplicaciones de citas: perseguir infecciones sexuales

KFF Health News Original

Con un surgimiento de las infecciones de transmisión sexual, trabajadores de salud pública encuentran en los apps de citas un espacio ideal para mensajes de prevención y rastreo de contactos.

A New Use for Dating Apps: Chasing STDs

KFF Health News Original

For contact tracers of sexually transmitted diseases, telephones and text messages have become ineffective. Dating apps increasingly are their best bet for informing people of their exposure risks.

Medicare Plan Finder Likely Won’t Note New $35 Cap on Out-of-Pocket Insulin Costs

KFF Health News Original

In August, Congress approved a $35 cap on what seniors will pay for insulin, but that change came too late to add to the online tool that helps Medicare beneficiaries compare dozens of drug and medical plans. Federal officials say beneficiaries who use insulin will have the opportunity to switch plans after open enrollment ends Dec. 7.