Latest News On Illinois

Latest KFF Health News Stories

The Colonoscopies Were Free. But the ‘Surgical Trays’ Came With $600 Price Tags.

KFF Health News Original

Health providers may bill however they choose — including in ways that could leave patients with unexpected bills for “free” care. Routine preventive care saddled an Illinois couple with his-and-her bills for “surgical trays.”

New York Joins Local Governments in Erasing Billions in Medical Debt

KFF Health News Original

New York City is the latest jurisdiction to buy and forgive a backlog of unpaid medical bills for its residents. Local governments across the country, including in the Chicago area, are doing the same to reduce debt burdens for lower-income residents.

Estados utilizan dinero de Medicaid para combatir la violencia con armas de fuego

KFF Health News Original

Una inyección de financiamiento federal confiable podría permitir que organizaciones sin fines de lucro amplíen su alcance para llegar a más residentes con mayor riesgo de ser víctimas de disparos, o de disparar a alguien.

Federal Program to Save Rural Hospitals Feels ‘Growing Pains’

KFF Health News Original

Fewer than two dozen rural hospitals were converted into Rural Emergency Hospitals in the program’s first year. Now, advocates and lawmakers say tweaks to the law are necessary to lure more takers and keep health care in rural communities.

States Begin Tapping Medicaid Dollars to Combat Gun Violence

KFF Health News Original

The Biden administration is allowing states to use money from the insurance program for low-income and disabled residents to pay for gun violence prevention. California and six other states have approved such spending, with more expected to follow.

Many People of Color Worry Good Health Care Is Tied to Their Appearance

KFF Health News Original

Many people from racial and ethnic minority groups brace themselves for insults and judgments before medical appointments, according to a new survey of patients that reaffirms the prevalence of racial discrimination in the U.S. health system.

“Peor de lo que la gente cree”, cambios en Medicaid crean caos en los estados

KFF Health News Original

Tanto beneficiarios como defensores de pacientes dicen que los funcionarios de Medicaid enviaron formularios de renovación obligatoria a direcciones viejas, calcularon mal los niveles de ingresos e hicieron malas traducciones de los documentos.

Doctors Abandon a Diagnosis Used to Justify Police Custody Deaths. It Might Live On, Anyway.

KFF Health News Original

The American College of Emergency Physicians agreed to withdraw its 2009 white paper on excited delirium, removing the only official medical pillar of support left for the theory that has played a key role in absolving police of culpability for in-custody deaths.

More Schools Stock Overdose Reversal Meds, but Others Worry About Stigma

KFF Health News Original

Colorado is among several states that ensure schools have access to the opioid overdose reversal medication naloxone for free or at reduced cost. But most districts hadn’t signed up by the start of the school year for a state distribution program amid stigma around the lifesaving treatment.

Who Polices Hospitals Merging Across Markets? States Give Different Answers

KFF Health News Original

Increasingly, hospitals are merging across separate markets within states. It’s a move that health economists and the Federal Trade Commission have been closely watching, as evidence shows such mergers raise prices for patients with no improvement in care.

A Decades-Long Drop in Teen Births Is Slowing, and Advocates Worry a Reversal Is Coming

KFF Health News Original

After three decades of declines in teen pregnancies, data shows the rates are starting to plateau. The reversal of “Roe v. Wade,” coupled with efforts to suspend sex education in schools and higher rates of youth mental health issues post-pandemic, could culminate in a perfect storm.