Latest KFF Health News Stories
Mental Health Care by Video Fills Gaps in Rural Nursing Homes
In-person mental health care is hard to arrange in rural nursing homes, so video chats with faraway professionals are filling the gap.
Judge Signals He Could Rule to Halt Sales of Common Abortion Pill
A U.S. District Court case is being widely followed because the judge’s decision could overturn the FDA’s approval of mifepristone two decades ago. With abortion rights polling well even in red states, anti-abortion activists are increasingly turning to the courts to achieve their aims.
Temp Nurses Cost Hospitals Big During Pandemic. Lawmakers Are Now Mulling Limits.
Missouri is considering making it a felony to jack up temporary health care staffing prices during a statewide or national emergency. It’s one of at least 14 states looking to reel in travel nurse costs, after many hospitals struggled to pay for needed staffers earlier in the covid pandemic.
¿Ayudan las nuevas guías sobre opioides a los pacientes con dolor crónico?
Las recomendaciones dejaron a muchos pacientes lidiando con las consecuencias para la salud mental y física de la reducción rápida de la dosis o la suspensión abrupta de los medicamentos que habían estado tomando durante años, lo que conlleva riesgos de abstinencia, depresión e incluso suicidio.
New CDC Opioid Guidelines: Too Little, Too Late for Chronic Pain Patients?
In November, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidelines for prescribing opioids for pain, allowing physicians more flexibility. But doctors, patients, and advocates wonder if the updated standards will be too little, too late to help chronic pain patients in a country still focused on fighting the ongoing opioid crisis.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Biden Budget Touches All the Bases
Very little in the proposed budget released by the Biden administration is likely to become law, particularly with Republicans in charge of the U.S. House. Still, the document is an important statement of the president’s policy priorities, and it’s clear health programs are among those he feels are important. Meanwhile, five women who were denied abortions when their pregnancies threatened their lives are suing Texas. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Victoria Knight of Axios, and Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Harris Meyer, who reported and wrote the two latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” features. Both were about families facing unexpected bills following childbirth.
Una sorprendente decisión judicial emitida en diciembre, un juez federal dictaminó que estas clínicas violan la ley estatal de Texas y los derechos constitucionales federales, cortando de raíz una fuente vital de atención médica para mujeres jóvenes en el estado.
Girls in Texas Could Get Birth Control at Federal Clinics, Until a Christian Father Objected
A Donald Trump-appointed federal judge agreed that even the possibility that the father’s daughters might access contraception without his permission violated the tenants of his Christian faith.
For Young People on Medicare, a Hysterectomy Sometimes Is More Affordable Than Birth Control
While Medicare was designed as health insurance for those 65 and older, it also covers people with disabilities who are young enough to still get pregnant. Yet they often struggle to get their birth control covered and end up with large medical bills — or instead opt for hysterectomies or tubal ligations, which Medicare sometimes will cover.
Hospitales rurales aplican a nuevo programa federal para intentar sobrevivir
Más de 140 hospitales rurales han cerrado en todo el país desde 2010, y observadores de políticas de salud no están seguros de cuántas de las más de 1,700 instalaciones rurales elegibles para la nueva designación aplicarán a un nuevo programa.
Struggling to Survive, the First Rural Hospitals Line Up for New Federal Lifeline
Hospitals in New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma are among the first to apply for a new rural hospital payment model that shifts the focus of services away from overnight stays to outpatient and emergency care. Still, experts say the law needs to be amended to provide the right mix of care for rural communities.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': March Medicaid Madness
President Joe Biden and Republicans in Congress spent last month sparring over whether to shield Medicare and Social Security from budget cuts — leading some to wonder if Medicaid was on the table instead. Biden and Democrats say no, but some Republicans seem eager to trim federal spending on the health program for Americans with low incomes. And ready or not, artificial intelligence is coming to medical care. Benefits, as well as unintended consequences, are likely. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of STAT News, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KHN’s chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these issues and more.
NYC Makes Clear Its Intent to Lead on Abortion Access
Mayor Eric Adams’ announcement this year to provide abortion pills free of charge at four of New York’s sexual health clinics is the city’s latest move on abortion access. Other jurisdictions are also taking steps.
One Texas Judge Will Decide Fate of Abortion Pill Used by Millions of American Women
“What happens in Texas doesn’t stay in Texas,” warns an abortion rights advocate bracing for a district judge’s ruling on whether the abortion pill mifepristone was properly authorized by the FDA. His decision could force the medication off the U.S. market.
Ante vacío federal, estados promueven leyes duras contra el uso de sustancias tóxicas en cosméticos
Las hispanas y asiáticas han informado que usan más cosméticos en general que las mujeres negras y blancas no hispanas.
States Seek Crackdown on Toxic Ingredients in Cosmetics to Close Gaps in Federal Oversight
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.
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.
Cleanup Workers Got Sick After Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. They Want BP to Pay.
After the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2020, Rodney Boblitt’s job was to patrol a 14-mile stretch of coastline in the Florida Panhandle looking for signs of oil washing ashore. Today, the 54-year-old is among thousands of other cleanup workers who are experiencing health issues and suing BP. But proving their health conditions were caused by the oil has been challenging.
After Staying Away During Pandemic, Doctors Return to Lobby Congress
Hundreds of physicians came to Washington this week to lobby Congress about their “recovery plan” for physicians, which includes a Medicare pay boost and an end to some frustrating insurance company requirements.
As Covid Grabbed the World’s Attention, Texas’ Efforts to Control TB Slipped
Responding to covid has taken so much attention and energy that some public health workers believe it pushed tuberculosis off people’s radar.
