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KFF Health News, in collaboration with The Washington Post, examines and decodes your perplexing medical bills.
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Americans are split over many issues, but helping people with cancer and other serious illnesses retains broad bipartisan support.
1-20 of 524 results
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Fed Up With the Healthcare Industry, This Red State Capped Insulin Prices for Patients
Republicans and Democrats in North Dakota worked together to limit what people with diabetes have to pay for insulin, joining a growing bipartisan push across the country to protect patients.
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Opioid Settlement Cash and Homelessness: It’s Not Always Clear How Addiction Fits In
State and local governments are using some of their opioid settlement dollars for initiatives to curb homelessness. The spending raises concerns that those investments don’t always focus on addiction, as many believe the money is meant to.
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Dubious Buys Raise Alarm Over Local Control of Opioid Cash
Much of the questionable opioid settlement spending in 2025 occurred at the county and city level, where decision-makers often have no background in addiction policy.
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Trump Administration Delays Awards Slated To Improve Rural America’s Health
State leaders who scrambled to win and begin spending their first-year shares of Republicans’ five-year, $50 billion fund are in the dark about how much they’ll receive in the Rural Health Transformation Program’s second year after a federal office notified states that more time is needed to make allocations.
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Stuck in Shelters for Months, Some Migrant Children Abandon Hopes of Staying in US
The federal Office of Refugee Resettlement is supposed to care for migrant children who arrive in the country alone. But new policies are stranding kids in shelters and undermining their mental health. Some children have chosen to return to the countries they fled.
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She Needed an EpiPen. But First, an Urgent Care Asked Her To Pay.
An uninsured woman sought help at a Virginia urgent care center after being stung by a wasp. She said she was stunned when the center asked her to pay before giving her a shot to reverse her allergic reaction.
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Jacksonville, Florida’s Gun Violence Is Rooted in Redlining and Homes Built on Toxic Waste
Poisons from Jacksonville, Florida’s “Brown’s Dump” seeped into the lifeblood of residents. The harm to their physical and mental health is tied today to another public health crisis: high rates of gun violence among children.
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The Cost of Healthcare Is Hitting America Where It Hurts: The Wallet
Rising healthcare costs are upending the lives of Americans. People are forgoing health insurance, rationing medications, cutting back on doctor visits, and putting off health procedures they can’t afford. But bringing the costs down won’t be easy.
By Renuka Rayasam and Sam Whitehead -
Many Medicare Patients Could Lose Access to Remote Monitoring Devices
A proposed federal rule could dramatically reduce access to remote patient monitoring programs for people on Medicare. The services aim to keep patients out of the hospital by giving them devices to monitor their health at home, but critics say there isn’t enough oversight.
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Digging Into the Money Behind the US Healthcare System
Healthcare makes up a growing share of the U.S. economy — and household budgets. We break down how much money the nation is spending and on what.
By Lydia Zuraw and Renuka Rayasam -
Trump Dangles Rural Health Dollars To Push States To Change Hospital Laws
The Trump administration has tied billions in rural health funding for states partly to the policy commitments they make, including ending their certificate of need, or CON, laws governing the construction of new hospitals.
By Andrew Jones -
New Arrivals in the ER? Georgia Gears Up To Solve Rural Maternal Health Crisis
Most of Georgia’s counties are without a labor and delivery unit. To fill the gap, the state is looking to equip emergency rooms to handle obstetric emergencies. Advocates and doctors worry, however, that the ER is being used as a stopgap.
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Hidden Help
States Are Forcing Hospitals To Offer More People Financial Aid. In Oregon, It’s Working.
Oregon passed a law to require hospitals to proactively screen patients to see if they qualify for financial aid. Patients got immediate relief. Hospitals pushed to roll back the law following federal cuts to Medicaid and Affordable Care Act subsidies.
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Hidden Help
7 Takeaways From an Investigation Into Financial Aid at Texas Hospitals
Hospitals can prevent medical debt by preemptively wiping out a patient’s bill. But a Tradeoffs analysis finds that few nonprofit facilities in Texas use this tool to the maximum benefit of patients.
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Hidden Help
What Texas Reveals About the Obstacles to Getting Hospital Financial Aid
Hospitals can prevent medical debt by offering financial help before sending big bills. A Tradeoffs investigation found that nearly half of nonprofit facilities in Texas say they will bill patients before screening them for aid. And most will not offer refunds to patients who pay and are later found to qualify for free care.
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AI, Tech Leaders Are Lobbying Trump Health Officials in a Government-Run Chat Room
A Slack workspace managed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has served as an extraordinary war room for AI industry insiders and Trump administration officials to launch a rapid campaign aimed at persuading Americans to manage their healthcare and medical records on apps.
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Hidden Help
Medical Debt Is Crushing Hospital Patients in Los Angeles. Health Officials May Have a Fix.
In Los Angeles County, the nation’s most populous, a new system could screen hospital patients for financial aid, preventing hundreds of thousands from getting bills they can’t pay.
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Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Divides Rural Voters, KFF-AP Poll Finds
Many rural voters say immigrants are a key part of their local economy, but views on whether President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has had positive or negative effects on their communities are split.
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Hidden Help
Hospitals Have a Little-Known Tool To Prevent Medical Debt. Here’s How It Works.
Getting financial assistance from hospitals often involves filling out cumbersome forms. Some states now require hospitals to identify and automatically enroll patients eligible for charity care.
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Rural MAHA Followers Say Trump Health Policies Haven’t Reached Their Communities
President Donald Trump has championed sprawling health policy changes under the Make America Healthy Again movement, but a KFF-Associated Press survey of rural voters found people aren’t seeing the initiatives reach their communities.