Latest KFF Health News Stories
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.
Profit Strategy: Psychiatric Facilities Prioritize Out-of-State Kids
Nearly all psychiatric residential treatment centers for children in South Carolina operate as for-profit businesses — some backed by private equity — and many prioritize out-of-state kids because it’s better for the bottom line. The scramble to secure treatment for children and teenagers has become so competitive that South Carolina will spend millions more each year as of April 1 to keep out-of-state patients from flooding the state’s treatment facilities.
Los retrasos en el diagnóstico y tratamiento del autismo aumentaron durante la pandemia
La pandemia retrasó muchos servicios médicos críticos, entre ellos los del autismo. Estos tratamientos son esenciales para los niños recién diagnosticados.
Delays for Autism Diagnosis and Treatment Grew Even Longer During the Pandemic
Despite increased public awareness, research advances, and wider insurance coverage for autism therapies, children often wait months — in some cases more than a year — to get an autism diagnosis and begin intervention services. The waits can be longer for Black and Latino children, and families in rural areas are also disadvantaged, without access to providers.
Montana Is Sending Troubled Kids to Out-of-State Programs That Have Been Accused of Abuse
State health officials are using Medicaid funds to send children in their care to treatment programs in states with less stringent regulations, including programs accused of abuse and mistreatment.
Muchas familias están usando masticables de melatonina para hacer dormir hasta a bebés. Pediatras generan controversia.
Can Melatonin Gummies Solve Family Bedtime Struggles? Experts Advise Caution
Throughout history, parents have searched for the secret to getting fretful children to sleep through the night. The latest strategy involves giving children melatonin-infused gummies and tablets, a trend that concerns some doctors.
Poco más del 57% de los adolescentes de 12 a 17 años y el 62% de los jóvenes de 18 a 24 años están completamente vacunados. Para estas franjas de edad covid también puede ser mortal.
When Teens Blow Off Parents’ Pleas to Get Vaccinated, the Consequences Can Be Deadly
Kennedy Stonum, a 17-year-old high school junior, resisted getting vaccinated against covid-19, as did 20-year-old Tyler Gilreath, whose mother had nagged him for months to get the shots. Both died.
Dangerous Levels of Lead Were Found in the Water of About Half the Schools Tested in Montana
Officials testing water found high lead levels in more than 100 of the state’s nearly 600 school buildings. But as of mid-February, half the state’s schools had yet to provide samples.
Targeted by Politicians, Trans Youth Struggle With Growing Fear and Mental Health Concerns
Transgender young people and their parents have stepped up to testify against legislation targeting them. But as rhetoric escalates in the political fray, what does the anti-trans legislative push mean for their mental health?
An $80,000 Tab for Newborns Lays Out a Loophole in the New Law to Curb Surprise Bills
The insurance company said that the birth of the Bull family’s twins was not an emergency and that NICU care was “not medically necessary.” The family’s experience with a huge bill sent to collections happened in 2020, but it exposes a hole in the new No Surprises law that took effect Jan. 1.
Teen Traveled to Philly to Get Vaccinated Against His Parents’ Wishes
Nicolas Montero is 16, and that’s old enough to get a vaccine on his own in Philadelphia. Vaccine regulations vary around the country and, in more than a dozen states, teens can consent to their own medical care.
This Doctor Thought She Could Navigate US Health Care. Then Her Autistic Son Needed Help.
Dr. Mai Pham left her corporate career to spark change in a system that is failing millions of Americans with autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities.
La historia muestra que vacunar a los niños ayuda a prevenir brotes de enfermedades graves. ¿Qué pasará con covid?
Polio, Chickenpox, Measles, Now Covid. It’s Time to Consult History on School Vaccine Mandates
As some states adopt covid vaccine requirements, not everyone agrees mandates for children are the way forward. Taking a page from history: We have two paths to putting the pandemic behind us: a quicker, more certain one of mandatory vaccination or a stuttering, drawn-out, likely more deadly affair.
