Latest KFF Health News Stories
What the Health? From KFF Health News: Culture Wars Take Center Stage
With lawmakers still mired over renewing enhanced tax credits for Affordable Care Act plans, much of Washington has turned to culture war issues. Meanwhile, “confusion” remains the watchword at HHS as personnel and funding decisions continue to be made and unmade with little notice. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Elisabeth Rosenthal, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” report.
Aunque lleva varios años en funcionamiento, el espacio se ha vuelto aún más crucial en los últimos meses, con la administración Trump recortando fondos a muchas organizaciones de servicios sociales y adoptando una postura agresiva frente a las personas sin hogar y el consumo de drogas.
Thrift Store. Clinic. Roller Rink. Center Becomes ‘Radical’ Lifeline Amid Homelessness, Drug Crises.
Located in the Lower 9th Ward, this abandoned building has become a community sanctuary and resource.
In Lodge Grass, Montana, a Crow Community Works To Rebuild From Meth’s Destruction
Meth is a problem most everywhere, but particularly in Indian Country. On the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana, new buildings serve as symbols of a town trying to rebuild after being devastated by addiction.
Inside the Battle for the Future of Addiction Medicine
The experiences of one doctor in Louisiana reveal the tensions around trying to get people to engage in addiction treatment, even if they’re not ready to stop using drugs.
Criminally Ill: Systemic Failures Turn State Mental Hospitals Into Prisons
There has been a steep rise in the share of people with severe mental illnesses being sent to state psychiatric hospitals on court orders after being accused of serious crimes. The shift has all but halted patients’ ability to get care before they have a catastrophic crisis.
Hay aproximadamente 5.100 personas sin hogar en Washington, D.C., incluyendo aquellas en albergues temporales, según un conteo realizado a inicios de 2025.
Washington’s Homeless Hide in Plain Sight, Growing Sicker and Costing Taxpayers More
The White House says encampment sweeps have enhanced the capital, but city leaders estimate nearly 700 homeless people roam by day and bed down outdoors by night. Some have scattered to the suburbs while others avoid detection, making it hard for medical providers to care for them.
Narcan, Drones, and Concerts: How Governments Spent Opioid Settlement Windfalls
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From Narcan to Gun Silencers, Opioid Settlement Cash Pays Law Enforcement Tabs
Local governments have received hundreds of millions of dollars from the opioid settlements to support addiction treatment, recovery, and prevention efforts. Their spending decisions in 2024 were sometimes surprising and even controversial. Our new database offers more than 10,500 examples.
Sock Hops and Concerts: How Some Places Spent Opioid Settlement Cash
States, counties, and cities are receiving millions in opioid settlement money to address the addiction crisis. The ways they spent the dollars in 2024 sometimes drew criticism from advocates and at least one state official, who alleged misuse.
Cops on Ketamine? Largely Unregulated Mental Health Treatment Faces Hurdles
Ketamine, long used as an anesthetic or illegal party drug, is being combined with psychotherapy to treat severe depression and post-traumatic stress — a potential tool for those with high trauma rates, like firefighters and police officers. Yet the drug’s stigma and unregulated marketplace leave first responders in uncharted territory.
‘Demon Copperhead’ Author Lays Foundation for Women in Appalachia To Beat Addiction
Barbara Kingsolver won a Pulitzer Prize for her bestselling novel about Appalachia’s drug crisis. She invested some of the proceeds into a home for women trying to beat substance use disorders.
An HIV Outbreak in Maine Shows the Risk of Trump’s Crackdown on Homelessness and Drug Use
Public health experts and advocates say the outbreak has been fueled by a confluence of local factors, including the sweeping of a homeless encampment and shuttering of a sterile-syringe program. But those issues may not remain local for long. The Trump administration is leading efforts to promote similar tactics nationwide.
As California’s Behavioral Health Workforce Buckles, Help Is Years Away
California has put a greater focus on behavioral health workers, but a huge spike in demand, an aging workforce, and employee burnout continue to hamper mental health and substance use treatment. The state is tapping Medicaid funds to train, recruit, and retain workers, but it will be a long time before the impacts are evident.
In a Nation Growing Hostile Toward Drugs and Homelessness, Los Angeles Tries Leniency
A new care center for homeless people on Los Angeles’ infamous Skid Row embraces the principle of harm reduction, a more lenient approach to drug use and addiction. County officials say criminalization only worsens homelessness.
Workplace Mental Health at Risk as Key Federal Agency Faces Cuts
Efforts to decrease alarmingly high rates of suicide among construction workers and prevent burnout in health care workers are in jeopardy after the firing of hundreds of employees at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
Peligran servicios de salud mental en lugares de trabajo por recortes federales
El lugar de trabajo es la nueva zona cero para abordar la salud mental. Esto significa que las empresas, tanto empleados como supervisores, deben hacer frente a crisis que van desde la adicción hasta el suicidio.
Opioid Settlement Windfall: Where the Billions Are Going
Opioid manufacturers, distributors, and retailers have been paying billions of dollars to settle lawsuits over their role in the overdose epidemic. How to spend the money remains an open question.
3 Things To Watch on Mental Health in Trump’s Early Budget Proposals
President Donald Trump’s budget office says he’ll continue to fund the new 988 suicide prevention hotline, but documents sent to Congress offer clues — amid some mixed messages — about the administration’s approach to two pressing public health issues: mental health and addiction.
