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Latest KFF Health News Stories

Health Care Cuts Threaten Homegrown Solutions to Rural Doctor Shortages

KFF Health News Original

In a rural, largely Republican region of California, homegrown efforts to bolster the medical workforce face an uphill battle, in part because of federal health care cuts approved by the GOP Congress and signed by President Donald Trump in July, as well as a state budget deficit.

Affirmative Action Critics Refuse To Back Down in Fight Over Medical Bias Training

KFF Health News Original

A nonprofit fighting affirmative action in medicine and a Los Angeles ophthalmologist have launched a long-shot legal appeal aimed at ending California’s requirement that every continuing medical education class include training to recognize and address unconscious bias.

Do Pediatricians Recommend Vaccines To Make a Profit? There’s Not Much Money in It

KFF Health News Original

Four pediatricians said evidence-based science and medicine and a desire to keep kids healthy drive doctors’ childhood vaccination recommendations. And while pediatric practices might make money immunizing privately insured children, most practices likely break even or lose money from providing the shots.

Experts Say Rural Emergency Rooms Are Increasingly Run Without Doctors

KFF Health News Original

Some doctors and the groups that represent them say physicians’ extensive training leads to better emergency care, and that some hospitals are trying to save money by not hiring them. They support new laws in Indiana, Virginia, and South Carolina that require physicians to be on-site 24/7.

Amid PFAS Fallout, a Maine Doctor Navigates Medical Risks With Her Patients

KFF Health News Original

A doctor doing environmental health research in rural Maine is working to establish the best practices to treat patients exposed to “forever chemicals,” potentially leading the way for practitioners across the nation.

Push To Move OB-GYN Exam Out of Texas Is Piece of AGs’ Broader Reproductive Rights Campaign

KFF Health News Original

Following a petition from Democratic state attorneys general, the American Medical Association adopted a position that medical certification exams should not be required in person in states with restrictive abortion policies. The action’s success was hailed as a win for Democrats trying to regain ground after the fall of Roe.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Lands in Senate. Our 400th Episode!

Podcast

The House’s gigantic tax-and-spending budget reconciliation bill has landed with a thud in the Senate, where lawmakers are divided in their criticism over whether it increases the deficit too much or cuts Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act too deeply. Meanwhile, the Congressional Budget Office’s estimate that the bill, if enacted, could increase the ranks of the uninsured by nearly 11 million people over a decade won’t make it an easy sell. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Arielle Zionts, who reported and wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” feature, about a Medicaid patient who had an out-of-state emergency.

California’s Primary Care Shortage Persists Despite Ambitious Moves To Close Gap

KFF Health News Original

The state has in recent years embraced several initiatives recommended in an influential health care workforce report, including alternative payment arrangements for primary care doctors to earn more. Despite increasing residency programs, student debt forgiveness, and tuition-free medical school, California is unlikely to meet patient demand, observers say.

Covid Worsened Shortages of Doctors and Nurses. Five Years On, Rural Hospitals Still Struggle.

KFF Health News Original

The U.S. faces a crucial shortage of medical providers, especially in rural areas. The problem has been building for a while, experts say, but the pandemic accelerated it by pushing many doctors over the edge into early retirement or other fields.

In New York, Providers Must Put Patient Costs on the Table

KFF Health News Original

The governor’s fiscal year 2026 budget revises a law designed to limit unexpected bills that can put people at risk for unfair medical billing practices and reduce medical debt. Consumer groups say it doesn’t go far enough.

Amid Plummeting Diversity at Medical Schools, a Warning of DEI Crackdown’s ‘Chilling Effect’

KFF Health News Original

Enrollment of underrepresented groups at medical schools fell precipitously this academic year after the Supreme Court’s 2023 ban on affirmative action. Education and health experts worry the Trump administration’s anti-DEI measures will only worsen the situation, even in states like California that have navigated bans on race-conscious admissions for years.

States Facing Doctor Shortages Ease Licensing Rules for Foreign-Trained Physicians

KFF Health News Original

Amid doctor shortages, several states have stopped requiring foreign-trained providers to repeat residencies before they’re fully licensed. Critics say patients could be harmed because of the loosened training requirements.