Latest News On Disparities

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Escasez crónica de salvavidas resalta desigualdades raciales

KFF Health News Original

Cuando las autoridades locales toman decisiones sobre el cierre de piscinas o la reducción de horarios, lo hacen sabiendo que la natación tiene un tenso historial de desigualdades raciales.

Cardiovascular Disease Is Primed to Kill More Older Adults, Especially Blacks and Hispanics

KFF Health News Original

Cardiovascular disease is the biggest killer of older Americans, with Black and Hispanic people at higher risk. Despite medical advances, researchers say, disparities are expected to worsen in the coming decades.

La enfermedad cardiovascular podría matar a más adultos mayores hispanos

KFF Health News Original

El dramático envejecimiento de la población de Estados Unidos y el número creciente de personas con afecciones como hipertensión, diabetes y obesidad —que aumentan el riesgo cardíaco— se espera que contribuyan a este escenario alarmante.

Study Reveals Staggering Toll of Being Black in America: 1.6M Excess Deaths Over 22 Years

KFF Health News Original

The profound and painful loss — 80 million years of life, compared with the white population — is a call to action to improve the health of Black Americans, especially infants, mothers, and seniors, researchers say.

Students in Rural Colorado Are Left Without Options as Specialized Schools Close

KFF Health News Original

A new state law aims to keep the doors open at schools that accept students with intensive needs. One preteen in rural Colorado shows how the current system leaves some students bouncing between institutions far from home.

Gun Assault Rates Doubled for Children in 4 Major Cities During the Pandemic, New Data Shows

KFF Health News Original

A study of roughly 2,700 shootings in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Philadelphia found that racial disparities in gun injuries and deaths widened during the covid-19 pandemic. Researchers looked only at assaults, excluding accidents or incidents of self-harm.

The Nation’s Health Secretary Has This Doctor on Call

KFF Health News Original

Carolina Reyes, a physician who specializes in high-risk pregnancies, says providers and health systems have a role in tackling systemic racism. She’s also married to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.

Truly Random Drug Testing: ADHD Patients Face Uneven Urine Screens and, Sometimes, Stigma

KFF Health News Original

Doctors have no national standards on when to order urine tests to check whether adult ADHD patients are properly taking their prescription stimulants. Some patients are subjected to much more frequent testing than others.

Fresh Produce Is an Increasingly Popular Prescription for Chronically Ill Patients

KFF Health News Original

Fresh produce prescription programs are getting a boost in Montana as a way of helping people with chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure. The approach may be a model for other rural states to promote healthy eating in food deserts.

Prescription for Housing? California Wants Medicaid to Cover 6 Months of Rent

KFF Health News Original

Gov. Gavin Newsom is making a bold push for Medicaid health plans to provide more housing support. He argues it’s cheaper to pay for rent than to allow homeless people to fall into crisis, which requires costly care in hospitals, nursing homes, and jails.

Estados Unidos sigue siendo uno de los países con más partos prematuros. ¿Se puede solucionar?

KFF Health News Original

Aproximadamente uno de cada 10 nacimientos vivos en 2021 ocurrió antes de las 37 semanas de gestación, según un informe de March of Dimes publicado en 2022. En comparación, investigaciones recientes citan tasas de nacimientos prematuros del 7,4% en Inglaterra y Gales, del 6% en Francia y del 5,8% en Suecia.

The US Remains a Grim Leader in Preterm Births. Why? And Can We Fix It?

KFF Health News Original

American women are more likely to deliver their babies prematurely than women in most developed countries. It’s a distinction that coincides with high rates of maternal and infant death, billions of dollars in costs, and even lifelong disabilities for the children who survive.

Feds Move to Rein In Prior Authorization, a System That Harms and Frustrates Patients

KFF Health News Original

The federal government wants to change the way health insurers use prior authorization — the requirement that patients get permission before undergoing treatment. Designed to prevent doctors from deploying expensive, ineffectual procedures, prior authorization has become a confusing maze that denies or delays care, burdens physicians with paperwork, and perpetuates racial disparities. New rules may not be enough to solve the problems.

Pacientes negros visten elegante y hablan distinto para evitar prejuicios cuando van al médico

KFF Health News Original

Estos comportamientos se recogen en una encuesta con 3,325 participantes como parte de un estudio cuyo objetivo fue llamar la atención sobre el esfuerzo que deben realizar los pacientes negros para obtener una atención médica de calidad.