Latest News On Environmental Health

Latest KFF Health News Stories

In Jackson, the Water Is Back, but the Crisis Remains

KFF Health News Original

Unsafe water and all that comes with it — constant vigilance, extra expenses, and hassle — complicate every aspect of daily life for residents of Jackson, Mississippi. Health advocates say stress exacerbates underlying health problems. That is why a free clinic in one of Jackson’s poorest neighborhoods has been organizing water giveaways for the past year and a half.

Niños del norte de California aprenden a lidiar con el trauma que dejan los incendios

KFF Health News Original

A medida que los incendios forestales de California se vuelven más intensos, frecuentes y generalizados, muchos niños que los sobreviven experimentan traumas psicológicos duraderos, como ansiedad, depresión y trastorno de estrés postraumático.

Children in Northern California Learn to Cope With Wildfire Trauma

KFF Health News Original

Doctors and health officials say more children in the state are growing up with wildfire, which can cause stress, depression, anxiety, and other lasting trauma. Experts say there are ways to help kids stay calm.

‘American Diagnosis’: As Climate Crises Batter the Bayou, Houma People Are Being Displaced

KFF Health News Original

Rising sea levels and severe hurricanes are displacing Indigenous people in Southern Louisiana and harming health. Episode 11 explores the United Houma Nation’s push for federal tribal recognition and the climate-change help that could come with it.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: A Big Week for Biden

KFF Health News Original

Congress is leaving for its annual summer break having accomplished far more than many expected, including, barring unforeseen snags, a bill to address the cost of prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries and extend the enhanced subsidies for insurance premiums under the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, the abortion issue continues to roil the nation as Indiana becomes the first state to ban the procedure in almost all cases since the Supreme Court overruled the constitutional right to abortion in June. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

EPA Action Boosts Grassroots Momentum to Reduce Toxic ‘Forever Chemicals’

KFF Health News Original

Experts say the EPA’s recent declaration that some PFAS chemicals are unsafe at detectable levels in drinking water signals acceleration in efforts to curb exposure to compounds found in nearly every American’s blood.

Kids Want to Put Montana on Trial for Unhealthy Climate Policies

KFF Health News Original

Sixteen children and young adults are suing the state over energy policies they say are hurting their health and environment. The flooding that closed Yellowstone National Park may show they have a point.

Las medidas de Colorado no sirven para frenar los altos niveles de ozono peligrosos para la salud

KFF Health News Original

El ozono se crea cuando las sustancias químicas que se emiten a la atmósfera a través de los tubos de escape de los vehículos, la explotación de petróleo y gas y los incendios forestales se calientan con el sol. La contaminación por ozono es un problema persistente en la región.

Primera oficial para el clima de LA dice que ayudar a comunidades vulnerables es clave para alcanzar metas climáticas

KFF Health News Original

El calor extremo puede causar calambres, agotamiento por calor e insolación. El calor extremo contribuyó a la muerte de unas 12,000 personas en Estados Unidos cada año entre 2010 y 2020, según un estudio de la Universidad de Washington. Es probable que esas cifras aumenten.

LA’s First Heat Officer Says Helping Vulnerable Communities Is Key to Achieving Climate Goals

KFF Health News Original

Los Angeles taps Marta Segura, director of the city’s climate emergency mobilization office, as its first heat officer. Segura, the first Hispanic person to hold such a position in the country, will work across city departments on an early warning system while developing cooling strategies.

Sobering Lessons in Untying the Knot of a Homeless Crisis

KFF Health News Original

The homeless tragedy in Portland, Oregon, now spills well beyond the downtown core, creating a crisis of conscience for a fiercely liberal city that has generously invested in homeless support services.

It’s Hot Outside — And That’s Bad News for Children’s Health

KFF Health News Original

An article in the New England Journal of Medicine takes a sweeping look at how heat — which can be a byproduct of air pollution and climate change — adversely affects people’s health, especially that of kids.

Covid Funding Pries Open a Door to Improving Air Quality in Schools

KFF Health News Original

Researchers say the billions in pandemic funding available for ventilation upgrades in U.S. schools provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to combat covid-19, as well as making air more breathable for students living with allergies, asthma, and chronic wildfire smoke.

Some People in This Montana Mining Town Worry About the Dust Next Door

KFF Health News Original

Residents of a Butte neighborhood are concerned about the dust from a nearby open-pit mine that can coat their homes and vehicles. In a city where past mining left a legacy of soil and water pollution, is the air unsafe, too?

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Washington’s Slow Churn

KFF Health News Original

Stemming gun violence is back on the legislative agenda following three mass shootings in less than a month, but it’s hard to predict success when so many previous efforts have failed. Meanwhile, lawmakers must soon decide if they will extend current premium subsidies for those buying health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, and the Biden administration acts, belatedly, on Medicare premiums. Margot Sanger-Katz of the New York Times, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Michelle Andrews, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about a too-common problem: denial of no-cost preventive care for a colonoscopy under the Affordable Care Act.