Emergency Medicine Archives - Page 2 of 14

The State of Federal Health Agencies Is Uncertain

Episode 387

March 6, 2025

The Supreme Court opined for the first time that Trump administration officials may be exceeding their authority to reshape the federal government by refusing to honor completed contracts, even as lower-court judges started blocking efforts to fire workers, freeze funding, and cancel ongoing contracts. Meanwhile, public health officials are alarmed at the Department of Health and Human Services’ public handling of Texas’ widening measles outbreak, particularly the secretary’s less-than-full endorsement of vaccines. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Stephanie Armour of KFF Health News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.

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A photo of a young man posing for a portrait outside. A white car drives up the street behind him.

Bill of the Month

A Runner Was Hit by a Car, Then by a Surprise Ambulance Bill

A San Francisco man had friends drive him to the hospital after he was hit by a car. Doctors checked him out, then sent him by ambulance to a trauma center — which released him with no further treatment. The ambulance bill? Almost $13,000.

By Sandy West

Feb. 28, 2025

A photo of an ambulance with lights on speeding along the road at night.

Blood Transfusions at the Scene Save Lives. But Ambulances Are Rarely Equipped To Do Them.

More than 60,000 people bleed to death every year in the United States. Many of those deaths occur before the patient reaches a trauma center where blood transfusions can be given.

By Michelle Andrews

Feb. 10, 2025

Letters to the Editor

Readers Offer ‘Solo Agers’ Support and Reflect on Ancestors

KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

Dec. 20, 2024

A woman in a pink shirt walks away from the camera while holding a young boy on her right him. The boy looks behind her at the camera.

Bill of the Month

Toddler’s Backyard Snakebite Bills Totaled More Than a Quarter Million Dollars

For snakebite victims, antivenom is critical — and costly. It took more than $200,000 worth of antivenom to save one toddler’s life after he was bitten by a rattlesnake.

By Jackie Fortiér

Oct. 30, 2024

A woman with a black and white striped shirt sits in a chair and feeds a baby in a white pajama with a bottle

Deadly High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy Is on the Rise

More pregnant women are being diagnosed with dangerously high blood pressure, which risks the life of the parent and child. Montana is one of the states improving screening and treatment as health facilities work to match care with best practices.

By Katheryn Houghton

Sept. 25, 2024

An exterior photograph of the UF Health emergency and urgent care facility in Jacksonville, Florida.

Urgent Care or ER? With ‘One-Stop Shop,’ Hospitals Offer Both Under Same Roof

Hospitals in several states are partnering with a private equity-backed company to offer combined emergency and urgent care in a single building. But patients may not realize prices vary between the two services — often by a lot.

By Phil Galewitz

Aug. 2, 2024

Health Brief

What’s Behind New Combined Urgent Care-ER Facilities

By Phil Galewitz

Aug. 1, 2024

Health Brief

It’s a Bird. It’s a Plane. It’s a Medical Response Drone.

By Michelle Andrews

July 30, 2024

A photo illustration of a drone carrying a emergency medical kit.

Rescue From Above: How Drones May Narrow Emergency Response Times

Public safety and health care organizations are using drones to speed up lifesaving treatment during medical emergencies in which every second counts.

By Michelle Andrews

July 22, 2024

The Nation’s 911 System Is on the Brink of Its Own Emergency

911 outages have hit at least eight states this year. They’re emblematic of problems plaguing emergency response communications due in part to wide disparities in capabilities and funding.

By Stephanie Armour

July 17, 2024

Health Brief

911 Faces Its Own Emergency

By Stephanie Armour

July 16, 2024

What the Health? From KFF Health News

SCOTUS Ruling Strips Power From Federal Health Agencies

Episode 353

June 28, 2024

In what will certainly be remembered as a landmark decision, the Supreme Court has overruled a 40-year-old precedent that gave federal agencies, rather than judges, the power to interpret ambiguous laws passed by Congress. Administrative experts say the decision will dramatically change the way key health agencies do business. Also, the court decided not to decide whether a federal law requiring hospitals to provide emergency care overrides Idaho’s near-total ban on abortion. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Victoria Knight of Axios, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.

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Protesters gather in front of the US Supreme Court building in Washington, DC, on a sunny day.

HealthBent

Republicans Are Downplaying Abortion, but It Keeps Coming Up

Torn between a base that wants more restrictions on reproductive health care and a moderate majority that does not, it seems many Republicans would rather take an off-ramp than a victory lap when it comes to abortion. But they can’t escape talking about it.

By Julie Rovner

June 28, 2024

A woman and man sit on a couch, smiling at each other, with arms intertwined

The Injured

$2 Million Disbursed to Victims and Community Groups in Wake of Super Bowl Mass Shooting

The United Way of Greater Kansas City gave $1.2 million to victims and $832,000 to 14 community groups Thursday, hoping to reach other victims from the violence at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade, as well as those working to prevent gun violence.

By Peggy Lowe, KCUR and Bram Sable-Smith

June 28, 2024

A photograph of a closed hospital taken from the parking lot.

Closing of Rural Hospitals Leaves Towns With Unhealthy Real Estate

Dozens of small cities and towns across the United States struggle not just with health care access and the loss of jobs, but also with the burden of what to do with big, empty buildings.

By Taylor Sisk

June 26, 2024

Jacob Gooch Sr. is standing on crutches in a room in his home. The room is dark, but he stands in a beam of light coming in through a window.

The Injured

Super Bowl Parade Shooting Survivors Await Promised Donations While Bills Pile Up

Families of the people hurt during the Feb. 14 mass shooting are carrying what one expert calls “victimization debt.” In the third story of our series “The Injured,” we learn about the strain of paying small and large medical bills and other out-of-pocket costs.

By Peggy Lowe, KCUR and Bram Sable-Smith

June 21, 2024

A man and woman embrace outdoors amid flowers and trees. The woman is wearing a black zip up hoodie and the man is wearing a black cap.

Montana Creates Emergency ‘Drive-Thru’ Blood Pickup Service for Rural Ambulances

The network is aimed at helping rural patients, who face higher rates of traumatic injuries and death but may not live near a hospital with a stockpile of blood.

By Arielle Zionts

June 17, 2024

Letters to the Editor