Latest News On North Carolina

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Montana Seeks to Insulate Nursing Homes From Future Financial Crises

KFF Health News Original

Lawmakers are considering creating standards to set Medicaid reimbursement rates. But industry observers wonder whether the move would be too little, too late to bolster a beleaguered industry.

States Seek Crackdown on Toxic Ingredients in Cosmetics to Close Gaps in Federal Oversight

KFF Health News Original

Washington state regulators found formaldehyde, lead, and arsenic in lipstick, powder foundations, skin lotions, and hair products marketed to and popular with women of color. Now legislators there are seeking to ban the products and, like at least a dozen other states, make up for lax federal rules.

A Law Was Meant to Free Sick or Aging Inmates. Instead, Some Are Left to Die in Prison.

KFF Health News Original

The First Step Act was supposed to help free terminally ill and aging federal inmates who pose little or no threat to public safety. But while petitions for compassionate release skyrocketed during the pandemic, judges denied most requests.

Congress Told HHS to Set Up a Health Data Network in 2006. The Agency Still Hasn’t.

KFF Health News Original

Since 2006, federal officials have been charged with setting up a network to let various parts of the U.S. health system share information during emergencies. It still hasn’t been built or even planned, even after the communication and data-sharing failures put on display during the pandemic.

Some Addiction Treatment Centers Turn Big Profits by Scaling Back Care

KFF Health News Original

Private equity groups are cashing in on rising rates of alcohol and drug addiction in the U.S. But they aren’t necessarily investing in centers with the best treatment standards, and they often cut extra services.

Unmet Needs: Critics Cite Failures in Health Care for Vulnerable Foster Children

KFF Health News Original

More states are moving to specialized managed-care contracts solely to handle medical and behavioral services for foster kids. But child advocates, foster parents, and even state officials say these and other care arrangements are shortchanging foster kids’ health needs.

Siete preguntas que una persona mayor debe hacer antes de someterse a una cirugía compleja

KFF Health News Original

En muchos casos, la cirugía puede salvar la vida del paciente o mejorar su calidad de vida. Pero la edad avanzada los expone a un mayor riesgo de resultados no deseados, como dificultades en las actividades cotidianas, hospitalizaciones prolongadas, problemas de movilidad y pérdida de independencia.

Why Medicaid Expansion Ballots May Hit a Dead End After a Fleeting Victory in South Dakota

KFF Health News Original

Since 2017, Medicaid expansion has been adopted in seven states where a question was placed directly on the ballot. But campaign leaders say that strategy may not work in Florida and Wyoming, where Republican opposition remains strong.

In Rural America, Deadly Costs of Opioids Outweigh the Dollars Tagged to Address Them

KFF Health News Original

Some people say it’s reasonable for densely populated areas to receive more settlement funds, since they serve more of those affected. But others worry this overlooks rural communities disproportionately harmed by opioid addiction.

KHN Investigation: The System Feds Rely On to Stop Repeat Health Fraud Is Broken

KFF Health News Original

A months-long KHN examination of the system meant to bar fraudsters from Medicaid, Medicare, and other federal health programs found gaping holes and expansive gray areas through which banned individuals slip to repeatedly bilk taxpayer-funded programs.

Racial Disparities in Lung Cancer Start With Research

KFF Health News Original

Improving lung cancer outcomes in Black communities will take more than lowering the screening age, experts say. Disparities are present in everything from the studies that inform when people should get checked to the availability of care in rural areas.

Cómo el optimismo puede cerrar la brecha de cobertura de Medicaid

KFF Health News Original

Más de 2 millones de personas de bajos ingresos, la mitad de ellos en Florida y Texas, no tienen seguro porque están atrapados en una brecha de cobertura. Y sus estados no han expandido Medicaid.

How Optimism Can Close the Medicaid Coverage Gap

KFF Health News Original

Low-income residents in states that haven’t expanded Medicaid are in a tough spot: They don’t qualify for the subsidies that people with slightly higher incomes get to buy marketplace plans because of a glitch in the federal health law. But a court decision last year makes it easier for them to make good-faith estimates of a pay increase, and there is no financial penalty if they don’t hit that figure.