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Latest KFF Health News Stories

Republicans Are Eyeing Cuts to Medicaid. What’s Medicaid, Again?

KFF Health News Original

Republicans in Congress have suggested big cuts to Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for people with low incomes or disabilities. The complex, multifaceted program touches millions of Americans and has become deeply woven into state budgets and the U.S. health care system.

Deny and Delay? California Seeks Penalties for Insurers That Repeatedly Get It Wrong

KFF Health News Original

A state lawmaker wants health insurers to disclose denial rates and explain those denials as anger grows over rising costs and uncovered medical care. If the bill is signed into law, health experts say, it could be one of the boldest attempts in the nation to rein in denials.

Childhood Vaccination Rates, a Rare Health Bright Spot in Struggling States, Are Slipping

KFF Health News Original

Mississippi, Tennessee, and West Virginia — states with some of the worst health outcomes — also have some of the highest childhood vaccination rates. But doctors and health officials worry a rising tide of vaccine skepticism is causing those public health bright spots to dim.

Who Gets Obesity Drugs Covered by Insurance? In North Carolina, It Helps If You’re on Medicaid

KFF Health News Original

GLP-1 agonist medications such as Ozempic accounted for 10% of the North Carolina state employee health plan’s prescription drug spending, so the state is no longer covering them for weight loss alone. Still, it did decide to cover them for Medicaid patients’ weight loss. A look inside the state’s coverage calculus.

California Sets 15% Target for Primary Care Spending Over Next Decade

KFF Health News Original

The state Office of Health Care Affordability has set a goal for insurers to direct 15% of their spending to primary care by 2034, part of a push to expand preventive care services. Health plans say it’s unclear how the policy will mesh with the state’s overarching goal to slow spending growth.

California Bill Would Require State Review of Private Equity Deals in Health Care

KFF Health News Original

Proposed legislation would require the state attorney general’s consent for a wide range of private equity acquisitions in health care. The hospital lobby negotiated an exemption for for-profit hospitals.

Federal Panel Prescribes New Mental Health Strategy To Curb Maternal Deaths

KFF Health News Original

The leading causes of pregnancy-related deaths in the United States — including suicides and fatalities linked to substance use disorders — stem from mental health conditions. Now a federal task force has recommended strategies to help women who are at risk during or after pregnancy.