Oregon Hospital Races To Build a Tsunami Shelter as FEMA Fights To Cut Its Funding

KFF Health News Original

Columbia Memorial Hospital near Oregon’s coastline planned to add a tsunami shelter, counting on a FEMA grant. After the Trump administration cut the funding, hospital officials are building anyway, saying waiting is too risky. A judge ruled Dec. 11 that the administration unlawfully ended the program without congressional approval.

In the Vast Expanses of Indian Country, Broadband Gaps Create Health Gaps, Too

KFF Health News Original

On Idaho’s remote Fort Hall Reservation, thousands live without reliable high-speed internet, which supports health care, education, and daily life. Facing delays and wavering federal policy, Frances Goli is determined to spend more than $22 million in federal grant money before she runs out of time.

Disability Rights Lawyers Threatened With Budget Cuts, Reassignments

KFF Health News Original

The Trump administration wants deep funding cuts for state-based legal services for disabled people, as rights advocates say the Justice Department pushed out many of its lawyers who worked on such issues.

One Big Beautiful Bill Act Complicates State Health Care Affordability Efforts

KFF Health News Original

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

KFF Health News Original

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.

Rural Health Providers Could Be Collateral Damage From $100K Trump Visa Fee

KFF Health News Original

Dozens of health care organizations have asked the Trump administration to shield the doctors, nurses, and techs they need to fill shortages from the president’s new $100,000 visa fee for skilled foreign workers. So far, there’s no sign of a reprieve.

A North Carolina Hospital Was Slated To Open in 2025. Mired in Bureaucracy, It’s Still a Dirt Field.

KFF Health News Original

Regulations meant to prevent unfettered health care expansion are withholding needed hospital beds in a rural part of North Carolina. Here, as in communities around the country, some officials and health care providers are contesting such “certificate of need” laws.

While Scientists Race To Study Spread of Measles in US, Kennedy Unravels Hard-Won Gains

KFF Health News Original

Scientists are conducting genetic analyses to see if the measles outbreak that started in Texas is still spreading from state to state. It’s a contentious question, because the findings may determine whether America loses its measles-free status.

Republicans Left Tribes Out of Their $50B Rural Fund. Now It’s Up to States To Share.

KFF Health News Original

The Trump administration has championed its Rural Health Transformation Program as an investment in American families who have been left behind. But Native American tribes, whose communities have a significant presence in rural America and have some of the greatest health needs, are ineligible to apply directly for funding.

Feds Promised ‘Radical Transparency’ but Are Withholding Rural Health Fund Applications

KFF Health News Original

Proposals from states that have shared their applications to a new $50 billion rural health program include using drones to deliver medication, installing refrigerators to expand access to healthy produce, and bringing telehealth to libraries, day cares, and senior centers.

RFK Jr. Wants To Delay the Hepatitis B Vaccine. Here’s What Parents Need To Know.

KFF Health News Original

A CDC panel is reconsidering the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine. Renewed doubt could lead to fewer kids getting vaccinated, leaving them vulnerable to an incurable, preventable virus that can be acquired by indirect contact with infected blood.

More People Are Caring for Dying Loved Ones at Home. A New Orleans Nonprofit Is Showing Them How.

KFF Health News Original

Demand for home health care, including at-home hospice care, has skyrocketed since the onset of the covid pandemic. A New Orleans nonprofit is teaching people how to provide end-of-life care for relatives and community members.

Not Serious Enough To Turn on the Siren, Toddler’s 39-Mile Ambulance Ride Still Cost Over $9,000

KFF Health News Original

After her son contracted a serious bacterial infection, an Ohio mother took the toddler to a nearby ER, and staffers there sent him to a children’s hospital in an ambulance. With no insurance, the family was hit with a $9,250 bill for the 40-minute ride.

Una crisis de salud oculta tras los desastres naturales: la proliferación de moho en los hogares

KFF Health News Original

Se estima que el 47% de los edificios residenciales de Estados Unidos tiene humedad o moho. Así que, aunque la última temporada de huracanes esté por terminar, siguen presentes los problemas de salud asociados al moho.