Latest KFF Health News Stories
GOP Promotes MAHA Agenda in Bid To Avert Midterm Losses. Dems Point to Contradictions.
As fractures emerge in the Make America Great Again movement, some Republicans see its health-focused “MAHA” counterpart as the party’s next big thing. But doubts abound.
Readers Balk at ‘Gold Standard’ of Autism Treatment
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
As Insurance Prices Rise, Families Puzzle Over Options
Millions of middle-class Americans who have Affordable Care Act marketplace plans are facing soaring premium payments in 2026. Some people are contemplating big life changes to deal with new rates that kicked in on Jan. 1.
Journalists Update Listeners on Expiration of Insurance Subsidies and New Rural Health Funding
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on local and regional media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
On the Hook for Uninsured Residents, Counties Now Wonder How They’ll Pay
Millions of people gained health coverage under the Affordable Care Act, reducing pressure on counties in states that fund care for the uninsured. With federal policies expected to reverse that trend, county officials wonder how they will fill the gap — and who will pay for it.
Journalists Zero In on ‘Certificate of Need’ Laws and Turbulent Obamacare Enrollment Season
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on regional media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
State Exchange Directors Seeing Consumers’ Fears — In Real Time — About Obamacare Premium Hikes
Get our weekly newsletter, The Week in Brief, featuring a roundup of our original coverage, Fridays at 2 p.m. ET.
Readers Make Their Wish Lists, Checking Up on Health Care
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
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.
An Arm and a Leg: How To Pick Health Insurance — In the Worst Year Ever
As millions face skyrocketing health insurance premiums, the “An Arm and a Leg” team navigates their own limited options.
Journalists Talk Increasing Insurance Costs, From Marketplace Plans to Employer Coverage
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Seguros con deducibles altos ponen en aprietos a pacientes con afecciones crónicas
os planes con deducibles altos —es decir, la cantidad que los pacientes deben abonar por la mayoría de los servicios médicos antes que el seguro se haga cargo— se han vuelto cada vez más comunes.
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.
Health Care Consolidation and Rising Costs Happen, but Obamacare Is Not the Key Culprit
The debate over expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits has given Republicans room to resurface old criticisms — such as blaming the ACA for mergers and consolidation within the health care industry.
Plan-Switching, Sign-Up Impersonations: Obamacare Enrollment Fraud Persists
Investigators from the Government Accountability Office were able to register nearly 20 fake ACA enrollments in a probe of healthcare.gov. The federal government paid subsidies to insurers for some of the fake customers.
Out-of-Pocket Pain From High-Deductible Plans Means Skimping on Care
High-deductible health insurance plans are increasingly common, and many more enrollees will likely need to choose such plans for the coming year. For those with chronic conditions like diabetes, the gamble can mean compromised care and long-term consequences.
Trump’s Idea for Health Accounts Has Been Tried. Millions of Patients Have Ended Up in Debt.
Republican calls to give Americans cash instead of health insurance subsidies double down on a decades-old strategy of moving people into high-deductible plans with health savings accounts.
Watch: What Do Republicans Really Want on Health Care?
On “What the Health? From KFF Health News,” distributed by WAMU, chief Washington correspondent and podcast host Julie Rovner sat down with Avik Roy, a GOP health policy adviser, to talk about how health care has evolved as a Republican Party issue.
Health Savings Accounts, Backed by GOP, Cover Fancy Saunas but Not Insurance Premiums
Health savings accounts can be used to cover medical expenses, tax-free. But while wealthier Americans are using them to pay for gym equipment, cedar ice baths, and hemlock saunas, poorer Americans can’t use them to pay their skyrocketing health insurance premiums.
What the Health? From KFF Health News: The GOP Still Can’t Agree on a Health Plan
Senate Democrats were promised a vote by mid-December on extending enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, but Republicans still can’t decide whether they want to put forward their own alternative or what that might include. Meanwhile, the CDC and FDA are roiled by debates over vaccines. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Aneri Pattani about her project tracking opioid settlement payments.
