Latest KFF Health News Stories
Evidence Shows ACA’s Mandated Benefits Alone Don’t Drive Up Costs. The Debate Continues.
The Affordable Care Act put in place a package of benefits that health insurance plans must cover. Critics contend this mandate has jacked up premiums. Evidence supporting that claim is mixed.
In Switching to Original Medicare, Beware of Medigap Plan Refusals
Open enrollment season lasts until March 31 for people enrolled in Medicare Advantage who want to switch to original Medicare, but there’s a potential hitch.
Primary Care Is in Trouble. So Doctors Band Together To Boost Their Market Power.
Thousands of primary care practices are fighting to remain financially viable and independent. Many are banding together to form Independent Physician Associations, or IPAs, to increase their market power.
Newsom se enfrenta a Trump y RFK Jr. por la salud pública
El gobernador de California, Gavin Newsom, se ha posicionado como un líder nacional en salud pública al impulsar políticas respaldadas por la ciencia, en contraste con el gobierno federal.
Newsom Picks a Dogfight With Trump and RFK Jr. on Public Health
Scientists are cheering California Gov. Gavin Newsom as he builds a public health bulwark against health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s anti-vaccine stance and President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization. Still, federal cuts have sapped morale and left local health departments less prepared for outbreaks.
Trabajadores de salud pública renuncian antes de ir a Guantánamo
Oficiales del Servicio de Salud Pública que trabajaron en Guantánamo el año pasado describieron las condiciones en las que se encontraban los detenidos inmigrantes.
La falta de médicos de atención primaria es un problema nacional. Algunas grandes redes de salud están recurriendo a la inteligencia artificial en busca de soluciones.
Public Health Workers Are Quitting Over Assignments to Guantánamo
U.S. Public Health Service doctors and nurses are being deployed to Guantánamo and other detention centers as President Donald Trump escalates mass arrests in his campaign to curb immigration. Some have resigned in protest. Others offer a rare look into bleak conditions.
NIH Grant Disruptions Slow Down Breast Cancer Research
The Trump administration has made the future of federal funding for cancer research uncertain. At one groundbreaking breast cancer research lab, work that could save lives has slowed significantly.
Your Next Primary Care Doctor Could Be Online Only, Accessed Through an AI Tool
The largest hospital chain in Massachusetts is offering a new AI-assisted telehealth tool to patients who need primary care. Mass General Brigham says this and other AI tools can help relieve staff burnout and worker shortages, but some primary care physicians in the MGB system see it as a way to avoid fixing structural problems.
Sick of Fighting Insurers, Hospitals Offer Their Own Medicare Advantage Plans
Breakups between insurers and health systems, on top of plan cuts, left more than 3.7 million Medicare Advantage enrollees facing a tough choice last year: find new insurance or new doctors. But hospital systems say their Advantage plans can avert such upheaval, giving patients peace of mind.
Nuevas alternativas para resolver la crisis del cuidado de salud en casa
El cuidado en el hogar ya es una de las ocupaciones de más rápido crecimiento en el país: el año pasado había 3,2 millones de asistentes de salud en el hogar y de cuidado personal, frente a 1,4 millones una década atrás.
Solving the Home Care Quandary
Paid home care is buckling under the surging demands of an aging population. But there are alternatives that could upgrade jobs and improve patient care.
One Big Beautiful Bill Act Complicates State Health Care Affordability Efforts
The federal budget bill President Donald Trump signed into law in July is creating uncertainty for states trying to rein in health care spending. In California, a lawsuit by the hospital industry challenging state spending caps cites the law, which will slash Medicaid spending, as one of many financial pressures.
Sticker Shock: Obamacare Customers Confront Premium Spikes as Congress Dithers
With subsidies that give consumers extra help paying their health insurance premiums set to expire, lawmakers are again debating the Affordable Care Act. The difference this time: It’s happening in the middle of ACA open enrollment.
They Need a Ventilator To Stay Alive. Getting One Can Be a Nightmare.
Few nursing homes are set up to care for people needing help breathing with a ventilator because of ALS or other infirmities. Insurers often resist paying for ventilators at home, and innovative programs are now endangered by Medicaid cuts.
Conflicting Advice on Covid Shots Likely To Ding Already Low Vaccine Rates, Experts Warn
About 1 in 4 American adults got a covid vaccine shot during the 2024-25 virus season, a fraction health care experts warn could be smaller this year as millions wrestle with conflicting advice from the government and trusted medical organizations about the value of a shot.
From Narcan to Gun Silencers, Opioid Settlement Cash Pays Law Enforcement Tabs
Local governments have received hundreds of millions of dollars from the opioid settlements to support addiction treatment, recovery, and prevention efforts. Their spending decisions in 2024 were sometimes surprising and even controversial. Our new database offers more than 10,500 examples.
The Nation’s Largest Food Aid Program Is About To See Cuts. Here’s What You Should Know.
The federal government is making sweeping changes to SNAP, the program that helped feed about 42 million people in the U.S. last year. Here’s a breakdown of the changes to come and potential impacts.
Frente al auge de las apuestas deportivas, estados buscan frenar la adicción al juego
Algunos estados han establecido límites similares para frenar la ludopatía, pero otros tienen muy pocos.
