Latest KFF Health News Stories
A Law Was Meant to Free Sick or Aging Inmates. Instead, Some Are Left to Die in Prison.
The First Step Act was supposed to help free terminally ill and aging federal inmates who pose little or no threat to public safety. But while petitions for compassionate release skyrocketed during the pandemic, judges denied most requests.
Cleanup Workers Got Sick After Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. They Want BP to Pay.
After the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2020, Rodney Boblitt’s job was to patrol a 14-mile stretch of coastline in the Florida Panhandle looking for signs of oil washing ashore. Today, the 54-year-old is among thousands of other cleanup workers who are experiencing health issues and suing BP. But proving their health conditions were caused by the oil has been challenging.
California Attorney General Sues Drugmakers Over Inflated Insulin Prices
California Attorney General Rob Bonta is taking three major drugmakers and three distributors to court, alleging the companies illegally raised prices at the expense of diabetes patients.
Fiscal general de California demanda a farmacéuticas por “inflar” los precios de la insulina
En la demanda, Rob Bonta argumentó que los precios se han disparado y que algunos pacientes se han visto obligados a racionar sus medicamentos o renunciar por completo a comprar insulina.
What Germany’s Coal Miners Can Teach America About Medical Debt
Coal mining ended in Germany’s Saarland a decade ago, but the transition away from coal has been smoother than in West Virginia, which has more medical debt than any state in America.
For Patients With Sickle Cell Disease, Fertility Care Is About Reproductive Justice
The disease, which predominantly affects Black patients, can damage the body in ways that can make having a child difficult. But patients don’t always have access to fertility care.
Treating Long Covid Is Rife With Guesswork
With a dearth of evidence on effective treatments for long covid, patients and doctors in 400 clinics around the country still rely on trial and error.
People With Long Covid Face Barriers to Government Disability Benefits
Some people with long covid have fallen through the cracks of the government’s disability system, which was time-consuming and difficult to navigate even before the pandemic.
Pacientes de California temen consecuencias de nueva propuesta electoral sobre clínicas de diálisis
ELK GROVE, California – Toni Sherwin está ansiosa por someterse al procedimiento que reubicará su punto de diálisis de su pecho a su brazo, que será más fácil de mantener seco. Desde que empezó la diálisis en febrero —como parte del tratamiento contra un cáncer de sangre— se ha lavado el pelo en el fregadero […]
California Patients Fear Fallout From Third Dialysis Ballot Measure
Californians are facing the third statewide dialysis initiative in five years. The dialysis industry is spending tens of millions of dollars to defeat Proposition 29 and is running ads saying the measure would force clinics to close — a message that appears to be resonating with patients.
After ‘a Lot of Doors Shut in Our Face,’ Crusading Couple Celebrate Passage of Burn Pit Bill
Le Roy and Rosie Torres founded the Burn Pits 360 group that advocated for years for Congress to help veterans suffering from injuries caused by the massive disposal sites on overseas bases. Le Roy came home from Iraq suffering from breathing problems.
In America, Cancer Patients Endure Debt on Top of Disease
Medical breakthroughs mean cancer is less likely to kill, but survival can come at an extraordinary cost as patients drain savings, declare bankruptcy, or lose their homes, a KHN-NPR investigation finds.
Más de 100 millones de estadounidenses viven acosados por las deudas médicas
La investigación revela un problema mucho más extendido de lo que se había informado anteriormente. Esto se debe a que gran parte de la deuda que acumulan los pacientes figura como saldos de tarjetas de crédito, préstamos familiares o planes de pago a hospitales y otros proveedores médicos.
Hospital Lawsuits and Garnished Wages on Top of Diabetes
A small infection related to diabetes on one New York man’s foot set off a cascade of medical emergencies and financial struggles that his family is still struggling to cope with.
100 Million People in America Are Saddled With Health Care Debt
The U.S. health system now produces debt on a mass scale, a new investigation shows. Patients face gut-wrenching sacrifices.
Lawmaker Takes on Insurance Companies and Gets Personal About His Health
State Sen. Scott Wiener opens up about a weeklong stint in the hospital last year and what it’s like to live with Crohn’s disease. The San Francisco Democrat is pushing a bill that would require insurance companies to cover certain medications while patients appeal denials.
Betting on ‘Golden Age’ of Colonoscopies, Private Equity Invests in Gastro Docs
An aging population in need of regular cancer screenings has driven private equity companies, seeking profits, to invest in many gastroenterology practices and set up aggressive billing practices. Steep prices on routine tests are one consequence for patients.
‘That’s Just Part of Aging’: Long Covid Symptoms Are Often Overlooked in Seniors
Millions of older adults are grappling with long covid, yet the impact on them has received little attention even though research suggests seniors are more likely to develop the poorly understood condition than younger or middle-aged adults.
Covid’s ‘Silver Lining’: Research Breakthroughs for Chronic Disease, Cancer, and the Common Flu
Billions of dollars invested in mRNA vaccines and covid research could yield health care dividends for decades to come.
‘An Arm and a Leg’: Need an Expensive Drug? Here’s What You Need to Know
Even a personal finance expert can get stuck with a huge unexpected bill for a drug. Listen up for what you need to know about “copay accumulators.”
