Latest KFF Health News Stories
Many Voters Backed Abortion Rights and Donald Trump, a Challenge for Democrats
Despite widespread support for protecting abortion rights, voters said the cost of gas, housing, food, and health care was more important to their choice for president.
Voters in These Red States Okay Paid Sick Leave
Voters in Missouri and Nebraska approved ballot measures Tuesday that guarantee paid leave for sick workers. Alaska voters seem poised to pass a similar measure that has a wide lead. These two Republican-led states join 15 others and D.C. — largely Democratic-controlled places — in requiring some employers to provide workers with paid sick leave. Proponents cheered […]
7 of 10 States Backed Abortion Rights, but Don’t Expect Change Overnight
Voters backed abortion rights in seven of the 10 states where the issue appeared on ballots Tuesday, including in Missouri, among the first states to ban abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned federal abortion protections with its 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. At first glance, the nation’s patchwork of abortion […]
12 States Promised To Open the Books on Their Opioid Settlement Funds. We Checked Up on Them.
Victims of the opioid crisis, health advocates, and public policy experts have repeatedly called on state and local governments to transparently report how they’re using the funds they are receiving from settlements with opioid makers and distributors.
7 of 10 States Backed Abortion Rights. But Little To Change Yet.
Voters in 10 states weighed in on abortion rights this election. Despite the results supporting abortion rights in seven of those states, much of the abortion landscape on abortion won’t change much immediately, as medical providers navigate the legal hurdles that remain.
Trump’s White House Return Poised To Tangle Health Care Safety Net
The new Trump administration is likely to reduce subsidies for Affordable Care Act insurance plans and roll back Medicaid coverage. Public health authorities worry that anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be empowered.
As Nuns Disappear, Many Catholic Hospitals Look More Like Megacorporations
The nation’s Catholic health systems were largely founded and led by nuns with a mission to serve the sick regardless of their creed or financial means. Today, no nuns run any U.S. Catholic health system, while many of these hospitals pull in billions, according to their financial reports.
Sin monjas en sus pasillos, muchos hospitales católicos parecen más mega corporaciones
La Iglesia Católica aún regula la atención que se brinda a millones de personas en estos hospitales cada año, usando directrices religiosas para prohibir abortos y limitar anticonceptivos.
Paid Sick Leave Is Up for a Vote in Three States
The coronavirus pandemic underscored the importance of paid sick leave, a benefit to help workers and their families when they fall ill. Now voters in Missouri, Nebraska, and Alaska are deciding whether employers must provide it.
An Arm and a Leg: Can Racism Make You Sick?
In this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” host Dan Weissmann sits down with KFF Health News’ Cara Anthony to talk about the documentary and podcast series she produced about the impact of a 1942 lynching and a 2020 police killing on a rural Missouri community. The project is called “Silence in Sikeston.”
Watch: ‘Silence in Sikeston & The Effects of Racial Violence’
KFF Health News Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony talks about how racism affects health on Nine PBS’ “Listen, St. Louis with Carol Daniel,” stemming from her reporting for the “Silence in Sikeston” multimedia project, on the impact of a 1942 lynching and a 2020 police killing on a rural Missouri community.
Super Bowl Rally Shooting Victims Pick Up Pieces, but Gun Violence Haunts Their Lives
Eight months after the Feb. 14 shooting, people wounded at the Kansas City Chiefs parade are wary of more gun violence. In this installment of “The Injured,” survivors of the shooting say they feel gun violence is inescapable and are desperately seeking a sense of safety.
Esa incesante oleada de violencia con armas de fuego —desde incidentes puntuales hasta tiroteos masivos— ha terminado aniquilando la sensación de seguridad de quienes sobreviven.
Watch: ‘Breaking the Silence Is a Step’ — Beyond the Lens of ‘Silence in Sikeston’
KFF Health News Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony discusses her reporting for the “Silence in Sikeston” multimedia project, which explores the impact of a 1942 lynching and a 2020 police killing on a rural Missouri community — and what it led her to learn about her own family’s past.
Silence in Sikeston: Is There a Cure for Racism?
In the finale of “Silence in Sikeston,” Black residents organize a Juneteenth barbecue. The Department of Public Safety chief encourages officers to attend to build trust. But improving relations between Sikeston’s Black community and the police won’t be easy. Host Cara Anthony discusses the possibility of institutional change in Sikeston.
Trump Leads, and His Party Follows, on Vaccine Skepticism
Former President Donald Trump has presided over a landslide shift in Republican views on vaccines, reflected in false claims by candidates in election primaries, puzzling conspiracies from prominent conservatives, and a surge in anti-vaccine policies in statehouses.
Trump lidera el escepticismo por las vacunas, y el partido lo sigue
Trump ha liderado un cambio radical en la visión de su partido sobre las vacunas, reflejado esta temporada de campaña en afirmaciones falsas de candidatos republicanos durante las primarias y en teorías conspirativas desconcertantes de voces conservadoras prominentes.
Silence in Sikeston: Trauma Lives in the Body
Denzel Taylor, a young Black father, moved from Chicago to Sikeston, Missouri, for a fresh start in life. There, he proposed to his girlfriend, started a family, and then, in April 2020, was fatally shot by police officers. Taylor had two young daughters and another on the way when he was killed. Pediatrician Rhea Boyd talks about how children process such loss.
Journalists Weigh In on Racial Trauma, Medicaid Expansion, and Opioid Settlements
KFF Health News and California Healthline staffers made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
A Few Rural Towns Are Bucking the Trend and Building New Hospitals
A remote Wyoming community hoped for years to have more access to health care. Now, after receiving federal funding, it is bucking dismal closure trends throughout the rural U.S. and building its own hospital. And it’s not the only one.
