Latest News On North Carolina

Latest KFF Health News Stories

‘Not Accountable to Anyone’: As Insurers Issue Denials, Some Patients Run Out of Options

KFF Health News Original

Health insurers issue millions of prior authorization denials every year, leaving many patients stuck in a convoluted appeals process, with little hope of meaningful policy change ahead. For doctors, these denials are frustrating and time-consuming. For patients, they can be devastating.

‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Would Batter Rural Hospital Finances, Researchers Say

KFF Health News Original

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.

Trump Won’t Force Medicaid To Cover GLP-1s for Obesity. A Few States Are Doing It Anyway.

KFF Health News Original

Late last year, South Carolina Medicaid approved a class of medications known as GLP-1s to treat obesity, placing it among the few state programs covering these effective but expensive drugs. But access remains limited, even for patients covered by Medicaid, because of stringent prerequisites that must be satisfied before starting the drug.

Housing, Nutrition in Peril as Trump Pulls Back Medicaid Social Services

KFF Health News Original

About half of states have broadened Medicaid, the state-federal low-income health care program, to pay for social services such as housing and nutritional support. The Trump administration, however, views these experiments as distractions from the core mission to provide health care.

Con el fin de las becas de diversidad, jóvenes científicos temen por el futuro de sus carreras

KFF Health News Original

Adelaide Tovar, científica de la Universidad de Michigan que investiga genes relacionados con la diabetes, solía sentirse como una impostora en el laboratorio. Tovar, de 32 años, creció en la pobreza y fue la primera de su familia en graduarse de la secundaria. Durante su primer año en la universidad, se dio cuenta de que […]

Beyond Ivy League, RFK Jr.’s NIH Slashed Science Funding Across States That Backed Trump

KFF Health News Original

A KFF Health News analysis underscores how the terminations have spared no part of the country, politically or geographically. Of the organizations that had grants cut in the first month, about 40% are in states President Donald Trump won in November.

Tax Time Triggers Fraud Alarms for Some Obamacare Enrollees

KFF Health News Original

Consumers who were enrolled fraudulently in Affordable Care Act coverage could receive unexpected tax bills — the first and possibly only clue they were a victim of fraud. Getting help may become difficult as federal workers are laid off and funding for assistance programs is cut.

Hit Hard by Opioid Crisis, Black Patients Further Hurt by Barriers to Care

KFF Health News Original

The rate of overdose deaths from opioids has grown significantly among Black people. Yet, even after a nonfatal overdose, this group is half as likely to be referred to or get treatment compared with white people. Advocates and researchers cite implicit bias, insurance denials, and other systemic issues.

Indiana Lawmakers Seek To Forbid Hospital Monopolies, but One Merger Fight Remains

KFF Health News Original

Union Health has made a new bid to buy its only rival hospital in Terre Haute, Indiana. The system passed one hurdle after lawmakers watered down a bill that threatened the proposed deal. That means the merger will now face a likely showdown with Indiana’s new governor.

Thought Inflation Was Bad? Health Insurance Premiums Are Rising Even Faster

KFF Health News Original

California businesses saw employees’ monthly family insurance premiums rise nearly $1,000 over a 15-year period, more than double the pace of inflation. And employees’ share grew as companies shifted more of the cost to workers.

Pain Clinics Made Millions From ‘Unnecessary’ Injections Into ‘Human Pin Cushions’

KFF Health News Original

Pain MD, which once ran as many as 20 clinics across three states, gave chronic-pain patients about 700,000 total injections near their spines, according to court documents. Last year, federal prosecutors proved at trial that the shots were medically unnecessary and part of an extensive fraud scheme.

How Are States Spending Opioid Settlement Cash? We Built a Database of Answers

KFF Health News Original

From addiction treatment to toy robot ambulances, we uncovered how billions in opioid settlement funds were used by state and local governments in 2022 and 2023. Find out where the money went.

Helicopters Rescued Patients in ‘Apocalyptic’ Flood. Other Hospitals Are at Risk, Too.

KFF Health News Original

The helicopter evacuation of 70 people from a Tennessee hospital during Hurricane Helene is considered a success story. The building was destroyed by floodwaters, but no one died. In hindsight, why was it built next to a river?

Six Years Into an Appalachia Hospital Monopoly, Patients Are Fearful and Furious

KFF Health News Original

Ballad Health, with the largest state-sanctioned hospital monopoly in the nation, has failed for years to meet many quality-of-care goals, leaving some patients afraid of their local hospitals but with no other nearby options.