Latest KFF Health News Stories
Medicaid Cuts Could Have Vast Ripple Effects in This Rural Colorado Community
In rural Colorado and across rural America, Medicaid is a lifeline, especially for people who wouldn’t otherwise have easy access to health care. That includes low-income seniors who need supplemental coverage in addition to Medicare, and people of all ages with disabilities.
Even in States That Fought Obamacare, Trump’s New Law Poses Health Consequences
GOP lawmakers in 10 states have refused for a decade to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. But when President Donald Trump got another whack at Obamacare, these holdout states went unrewarded.
Patient Numbers at NIH Hospital Have Plummeted Under Trump, Jeopardizing Care
The renowned research hospital that cares for people with rare or life-threatening diseases has been pummeled by an employee exodus and the gutting of research, both driven by the Trump administration.
A Tourist Ended Up With a Wild Bat in Her Mouth — And Nearly $21,000 in Medical Bills
Health insurance generally doesn’t cover treatment for injuries sustained shortly before a customer buys a policy. A Massachusetts woman found that out the hard way.
Readers Weigh In on Making American Health Care Affordable Again
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
A Brain-Dead Pregnant Woman Was Kept Alive in Georgia. It’s Unclear if State Law Required It.
The anti-abortion movement is rallying around new laws that establish fetal “personhood.” Doctors are scrambling to adjust, but even conservatives don’t always agree on how such laws should be applied.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Here Come the ACA Premium Hikes
Medicaid may have monopolized Washington’s attention lately, but big changes are coming to the Affordable Care Act as well. Meanwhile, Americans are learning more about what’s in Trump’s big budget law, and polls suggest many don’t like what they see. Julie Appleby of KFF Health News, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews historian Jonathan Oberlander to mark Medicare’s 60th anniversary.
$50B Rural Health ‘Slush Fund’ Faces Questions, Skepticism
Lawmakers added a $50 billion program for rural health to President Donald Trump’s massive tax and spending package with promises it would help plug the hole left by Medicaid cuts. Rural hospital and clinic leaders worry the infusion won’t reach the right places.
Medical Rehab Hospital Inspections Go Unpublicized by Federal Officials
Get our weekly newsletter, The Week in Brief, featuring a roundup of our original coverage, Fridays at 2 p.m. ET.
Surprise Medical Bills Were Supposed To Be a Thing of the Past. Surprise — They’re Not.
The No Surprises Act, which was signed in 2020 and took effect in 2022, was heralded as a landmark piece of legislation that would protect people who had health insurance from receiving surprise medical bills. And yet bills that take patients by surprise keep coming.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The Senate Saves PEPFAR Funding — For Now
The Senate narrowly approved the Trump administration’s request to claw back about $9 billion for foreign aid and public broadcasting but refused to cut funding for the international AIDS/HIV program PEPFAR. Meanwhile, a federal appeals court ruled that West Virginia can ban the abortion pill mifepristone, which could allow states to block other FDA-approved drugs. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Even Grave Errors at Rehab Hospitals Go Unpenalized and Undisclosed
For-profit hospitals provide most inpatient physical therapy but tend to have worse readmission rates to general hospitals. Medicare doesn’t tell consumers about troubling inspections.
How To Find the Right Medical Rehab Services
Specialized hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, and home health agencies provide rehab therapy. Insurers may limit the services you can get.
Journalists Tally State and Local Health Care Implications of GOP Megabill
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Watch: She’s at High Risk of Breast Cancer. She Moved, and Her Screening Costs Soared.
This installment of InvestigateTV and KFF Health News’ “Costly Care” series explores how the type of medical facility where a patient seeks care can affect the cost of that care — particularly when that facility is a hospital.
Journalists Assess Health Impacts of Trump’s Megabill, Who Will Feel Them, and When
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and regional media this week to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
GOP Governors Mum as Congress Moves To Slash Medicaid Spending for Their States
In 2017, when President Donald Trump tried to repeal Obamacare and roll back Medicaid coverage, Republican governors helped turn Congress against it. Now, as Trump tries again to scale back Medicaid, Republican governors — whose constituents stand to lose federal funding and health coverage — have gone quiet on the health consequences.
Feds Investigate Hospitals Over Religious Exemptions From Gender-Affirming Care
Federal health officials are investigating claims that a Michigan health system fired an employee who sought a religious exemption to avoid calling transgender patients by their pronouns or referring them for gender-affirming care. Legal experts say the investigation escalates the Trump administration’s effort to curb medical care for transgender patients.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Supreme Court Upholds Bans on Gender-Affirming Care
The Supreme Court this week said Tennessee may continue to enforce its law banning most types of gender-affirming care for minors. The ruling is likely to greenlight similar laws in two dozen states. And the Senate is preparing to vote on a budget reconciliation bill that includes even deeper Medicaid cuts than the House version. Victoria Knight of Axios, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Would Batter Rural Hospital Finances, Researchers Say
Rural hospitals would take an outsize hit from Republicans’ proposed cuts to Medicaid and other federal health programs. Researchers say the financial erosion would trigger hospital closures and service cuts, especially in communities where large shares of patients are enrolled in Medicaid.
