The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
1-20 of 176 results
States must submit Rural Health Transformation Program progress reports to the federal government, but they aren’t required to proactively post those reports, or related information, publicly.
Federal programs that support brain injury research and services are in flux, with lapsed legislation and a diminished injury-tracking workforce. Still, in rural Pennsylvania, children with acquired brain injuries gathered for a summer camp that emphasized community, confidence, and fun.
Virginia Medicaid started covering doula care four years ago. But logistical and administrative challenges leave many expectant parents without the support of a doula.
The Department of Justice in June issued a legal opinion saying states aren’t required to provide services that help people with disabilities remain in their homes. The new position has added momentum to states’ existing legal challenges to the requirement and triggered worries among people who rely on these services.
The government will cap how much graduate students may borrow in federal loans. The new policy could leave many at the mercy of private lenders with higher interest rates. The borrowing limits will affect students pursuing expensive healthcare careers, and some worry they may impede efforts to diversify the healthcare workforce.
KFF Health News is working to collect and post approved plans as more states respond to emails and public records requests for their documents.
Nursing homes and assisted living facilities can be fertile ground for violence between residents with dementia, including fatal assaults. A KFF Health News examination of health reports and court records shows how warning signs are missed and safeguards fall short.
Many Americans are shopping around for affordable options as the cost of health insurance soars. But some who hope to keep the same doctors and medications face a thicket of red tape and disruption after they switch plans.
Four years after the Volunteer State enacted the nation’s first law allowing drugstores to sell ivermectin without patient-specific prescriptions, dozens of pharmacies dispense the drug in highly concentrated pills — many with the help of one anti-vaccine physician.
Big cuts to healthcare programs in the 2025 GOP budget law are creating an affordability crunch for many Americans: Higher health insurance premiums. Confusion about who Medicaid will cover under the new rules. KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner explains how the changes could leave nearly 2 million children uninsured.
Some states bar professional midwives from attending home births if they don’t have a nursing license. Their advocates say laws to allow midwife licensing would make home birth safer and more accessible, plus help address a maternity care shortage.
As artificial intelligence embeds itself into health care, some physicians and patient advocates worry it could be used by insurance companies to refuse payment for care. Maryland passed one law banning AI from acting alone on a denial. Meanwhile, Virginia’s then-governor vetoed that state’s attempt at regulating AI in health insurance.
As President Donald Trump’s heightened immigration enforcement continues across the country, some states are updating temporary guardianship laws to keep the children of detained and deported immigrants out of state custody.
The administration has largely converted the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement into an arm of immigration enforcement, detaining children longer while helping immigration officers arrest their parents or other family members. One father was chained when he went to an ICE office to discuss being reunited with his son and daughter.
Patchwork state policies and limited federal oversight have led to a fragmented system for tracking when potential organ donors provide consent or change their minds.
Last summer, the Trump administration announced a voluntary pledge by health insurers to reform prior authorization, which often requires patients or their doctors to seek preapproval from insurers before proceeding with medical care. Patient advocates and medical providers remain skeptical.
Cancer treatments, disease outbreaks, addiction science: Scientists say an exodus from the National Institutes of Health will harm the nation's ability to respond to illness.
More than three dozen states cover dental services for low-income and disabled individuals on Medicaid, in recognition of such care’s importance to overall health. But with about $900 billion in funding cuts expected to hit states over the next decade, many programs could roll back dental coverage.
Aging means “becoming a target” of the industry, one expert said. After decades of debate, politicians of all stripes are proposing bans.
Experts say Affordable Care Act sign-up data won’t be clear until people who were enrolled have paid — or haven't paid — their new, often much higher, premiums.
© 2026 KFF