Latest KFF Health News Stories
Immigration Bureaucracy Threatens 11-Year-Old’s Spot on Transplant Lists
Julia Espinosa is a U.S. citizen who needs high-tech care and three transplants. But if the federal government won’t let her father work here, she could lose her insurance.
Para familias sin recursos, conseguir fórmula para bebés siempre ha sido un problema
La continua escasez de leche de fórmula ha causado un tremendo estrés a las familias de todo el país, especialmente a las que dependen del programa WIC. Oara este grupo de mamás, la dificultad para conseguirla no es algo nuevo.
For Many Low-Income Families, Getting Formula Has Always Been a Strain
Finding formula for children with allergies and other dietary restrictions was challenging even before the current shortage for families who rely on the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) food assistance program.
‘Desperate Situation’: States Are Housing High-Needs Foster Kids in Offices and Hotels
Some foster children with complex mental, behavioral, and physical health needs without a foster placement are having to stay in hotel rooms and even office buildings, a practice called “hoteling.”
Politics and Pandemic Fatigue Doom California’s Covid Vaccine Mandates
Even in deep-blue California, Democratic lawmakers pulled their proposed covid vaccine requirements before they had a vote. The lawmakers blamed the ebbs and flows of the coronavirus, the public’s short attention span, and opposition from public safety unions.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: A(nother) Very Sad Week
Two mass shootings in two weeks — one at a Texas elementary school that killed 19 fourth graders and two teachers — have reignited the “guns-as-public-health-problem” debate. But political consensus seems as far away as ever. Meanwhile, the FDA is in the congressional hot seat over its handling of the infant formula shortage. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Rachana Pradhan of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Dr. Richard Baron, head of the American Board of Internal Medicine, about how doctors should discipline colleagues who spread medical misinformation.
California Schools Try to Outrace Covid Outbreaks
A covid outbreak on a field trip. Another at prom. Yet administrators are reluctant to expose their schools to legal challenges by again requiring masks for students and staffers. That leaves parents fretful and confused.
As ‘Trigger Law’ Looms, New Clinic Preps to Provide Abortions in Conservative Bastion
A Wyoming clinic slated to open this summer would be the only one in the state to provide procedural abortions and the closest option for some people in surrounding states. But its fate is uncertain now that the Supreme Court looks poised to strike down Roe v. Wade.
El nuevo movimiento MADD: padres toman acción contra las muertes por drogas
Siguiendo el modelo de Mothers Against Drunk Driving, que generó un movimiento en la década de 1980, organizaciones como Victims of Illicit Drugs y Alexander Neville Foundation buscan aumentar la conciencia pública e influir en las políticas sobre drogas.
Caskets Wrapped in Colorful Images Pay Tribute to Young Lives Lost to Trauma and Violence
Mourners are wrapping caskets in imagery, similar to the way companies wrap logos around cars, trucks, and buses. Across the country, casket-wrap companies create custom designs, too often for grieving parents who have lost their children to gun violence.
The New MADD Movement: Parents Rise Up Against Drug Deaths
People who have lost children to pills laced with fentanyl are demanding that lawmakers adopt stricter penalties and are pressuring Silicon Valley for social media protections. The movement harks back to the 1980s, when Mothers Against Drunk Driving activated a generation of parents.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Waking Up to Baby Formula Shortage
The nationwide shortage of baby formula, which has been simmering for months, finally burst into public consciousness as more parents become less able to find food for their babies, prompting a belated federal response. Meanwhile, covid-19 cases rise but prevention activities don’t, and abortion-rights backers ready their legal arsenal for a post-Roe world. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists suggest their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
The Families of Trans Kids in Texas Consider Their Options Amid Crackdown on Care
After Texas limited transgender medical care for young people, patients are trying to figure out what’s next.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: More Covid Complications for Congress
Congress is back in session, but covid diagnoses for Vice President Kamala Harris and two Democratic senators have temporarily left the Senate without a working majority to approve continued covid funding. Meanwhile, opponents of the Affordable Care Act have filed yet another lawsuit challenging a portion of the law, and we say goodbye to the late Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, who left a long legacy of health laws. Rachel Cohrs of STAT News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Rebecca Adams of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
Sen. Orrin Hatch’s Legacy Tracks the GOP’s Evolution on Health
The man who forged a successful working relationship with Democratic health giants, such as Sen. Edward Kennedy and Rep. Henry Waxman, fell back on his deep conservative roots as opposition grew to the Affordable Care Act and the administration of President Barack Obama.
Journalists Cover the Gamut, From Rising Insulin Costs to Delays in Autism Care for Children
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Anti-Vaccine Ideology Gains Ground as Lawmakers Seek to Erode Rules for Kids’ Shots
Legislators in Kansas are pushing bills to expand exemptions for school vaccines, allowing religious exemptions for all vaccine requirements in the state’s schools without families having to provide any proof of their beliefs. Similar bills are being introduced around the nation as the anti-vaccine movement gains traction among politicians.
As Eating Disorders Spike During Pandemic, Rural Treatment Options Lag
More people have visited emergency departments for eating disorders during the pandemic. Those living in rural areas have limited pathways to treatment.
Babies Die as Congenital Syphilis Continues a Decade-Long Surge Across the US
Congenital syphilis rates keep climbing, according to newly released federal data. But the primary funding source for most public health departments has been largely stagnant, its purchasing power dragged even lower by inflation.
California Sees Dramatic Decline in Child Homicide Victims. What’s Changed?
Bucking the alarming spike in overall homicides in recent years, the homicide rate involving young children is down 70% in California from three decades ago. The nation has seen a parallel, albeit slower, decline.
