Latest News On Hospitals

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Health Care Consolidation and Rising Costs Happen, but Obamacare Is Not the Key Culprit

KFF Health News Original

The debate over expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits has given Republicans room to resurface old criticisms — such as blaming the ACA for mergers and consolidation within the health care industry.

A North Carolina Hospital Was Slated To Open in 2025. Mired in Bureaucracy, It’s Still a Dirt Field.

KFF Health News Original

Regulations meant to prevent unfettered health care expansion are withholding needed hospital beds in a rural part of North Carolina. Here, as in communities around the country, some officials and health care providers are contesting such “certificate of need” laws.

Feds Promised ‘Radical Transparency’ but Are Withholding Rural Health Fund Applications

KFF Health News Original

Proposals from states that have shared their applications to a new $50 billion rural health program include using drones to deliver medication, installing refrigerators to expand access to healthy produce, and bringing telehealth to libraries, day cares, and senior centers.

El ICE puede estar en el hospital con un paciente bajo custodia. Pero los detenidos tienen derechos

KFF Health News Original

Expertos legales explican que los agentes del ICE pueden estar en áreas públicas de un hospital y pueden acompañar a pacientes que ya están detenidos mientras reciben atención médica, lo que refleja el alcance de la autoridad federal.

As Health Companies Get Bigger, So Do the Bills. It’s Unclear if Trump’s Team Will Intervene.

KFF Health News Original

As health systems, doctor groups, and insurers merge into ever-bigger giants, patient care gets more expensive. Yet the Trump administration has sent mixed signals about its willingness to intervene — and shown some disdain for Biden officials’ more aggressive approach.

California enfrenta barreras al querer frenar redadas del ICE en entornos de salud

KFF Health News Original

El gobernador demócrata Gavin Newsom promulgó el mes pasado la ley SB 81, que prohíbe a los centros médicos permitir el acceso de agentes federales a áreas privadas sin una orden judicial o de registro válidas.

California Faces Limits as It Directs Health Facilities To Push Back on Immigration Raids

KFF Health News Original

California now has a law requiring hospitals and clinics to improve patient privacy and have clear protocols for handling requests by immigration agents. Legal experts say the state can’t fully protect immigrant patients, because federal authorities are allowed in public places, including hospital lobbies, general waiting areas, and parking lots.

So Your Insurance Dropped Your Doctor. Now What?

KFF Health News Original

Patients sometimes find themselves scrambling for affordable care when a contract dispute causes a hospital — and most of the doctors and other clinicians who work there — to be dropped from an insurance network. Here are six things to know if that happens to you.

Doctor Tripped Up by $64K Bill for Ankle Surgery and Hospital Stay

KFF Health News Original

A doctor in Colorado became the patient after an accident totaled her car and sent her to the operating room. The hospital kept her overnight, but her insurer stopped paying after she left the emergency room.

Workers’ Wages Siphoned To Pay Medical Bills, Despite Consumer Protections

KFF Health News Original

Health care providers and debt collectors are biting from people’s paychecks to cover old medical bills. A KFF Health News investigation in Colorado shows that this aggressive collection practice is widespread even in a state considered to have strong consumer protections.

At Least 170 US Hospitals Face Major Flood Risk. Experts Say Trump Is Making It Worse.

KFF Health News Original

As a warming climate intensifies storms, KFF Health News has identified more than 170 U.S. hospitals at risk of significant and potentially dangerous flooding. Climate experts warn that the Trump administration’s cuts leave the nation less prepared.