Latest News On Virginia

Latest KFF Health News Stories

A Third of Schools Don’t Have a Nurse. Here’s Why That’s a Problem.

KFF Health News Original

School nurses treat children daily for a wide range of illnesses and injuries, and sometimes serve as a young patient’s only health provider. They also function as a point person for critical public health interventions. Yet many states don’t require them, and school districts struggle to hire them.

These Appalachia Hospitals Made Big Promises to Gain a Monopoly. They’re Failing to Deliver.

KFF Health News Original

Ballad Health, the only hospital system across a large swath of Tennessee and Virginia, has fallen short of quality-of-care and charity care obligations — even as it’s sued thousands of patients for unpaid bills.

As Covid Infections Rise, Nursing Homes Are Still Waiting for Vaccines

KFF Health News Original

“People want covid-19 to be in the rearview mirror,” one nursing home official says. Faced with a slow rollout of the updated covid vaccines, and without state mandates for workers to get vaccinated, most skilled nursing facilities are relying on persuasion to boost vaccination rates among staff and residents.

Massive Kaiser Permanente Strike Looms as Talks Head to the Wire

KFF Health News Original

Both sides, still at loggerheads over pay and staffing, agreed to keep bargaining after unions announced a possible strike Oct. 4-7. If no deal is reached, a walkout by about 75,000 KP workers in five states could disrupt care.

Biden Administration Proposes New Standards to Boost Nursing Home Staffing

KFF Health News Original

The proposal would require major hiring at the most sparsely staffed homes. But the proposal is already badly received by the nursing home industry, which claims it can’t boost wages enough to attract workers.

Doctors Advocate Fresh Efforts to Combat Chagas Disease, a Silent Killer

KFF Health News Original

Chagas disease, caused by a parasite, affects people primarily in rural Latin America. But an estimated 300,000 residents of the U.S. have the disease, which can cause serious heart problems. Patient advocates call for much more aggressive efforts to fight it.

Médicos abogan por nuevos esfuerzos para combatir al Chagas, un asesino silencioso

KFF Health News Original

La enfermedad de Chagas, causada por un parásito, afecta principalmente a personas en las zonas rurales de Latinoamérica. Pero se estima que 300,000 personas en Estados Unidos viven con la enfermedad, que puede causar problemas cardíacos graves. Defensores de pacientes piden esfuerzos mucho más agresivos para combatirla.

More States Drop Sales Tax on Disposable Diapers to Boost Affordability

KFF Health News Original

Last month, Florida joined a growing number of states in banning sales taxes on diapers to make them more affordable for older adults and families with young children. Though diapers are essential for many, they are not covered by food stamps. Nor are incontinence products for older adults typically covered by Medicare. The cost can easily add up on a fixed income.

As Medicaid Purge Begins, ‘Staggering Numbers’ of Americans Lose Coverage

KFF Health News Original

In what’s known as the Medicaid “unwinding,” states are combing through rolls to decide who stays and who goes. But the overwhelming majority of people who have lost coverage so far were dropped because of technicalities, not because officials determined they are no longer eligible.

Small, Rural Communities Have Become Abortion Access Battlegrounds

KFF Health News Original

After local leaders in rural Nevada reached an impasse over a proposed Planned Parenthood clinic, an anti-abortion activist pitching local abortion bans across the U.S. arrived at their remote City Hall.

Pequeñas comunidades rurales se han convertido en campos de batalla por el acceso al aborto

KFF Health News Original

La búsqueda por promulgar prohibiciones locales se ha vuelto particularmente crítica en pueblos pequeños, situados en las fronteras entre estados que han restringido el aborto y estados donde las leyes preservan el acceso.

People With Down Syndrome Are Living Longer, but the Health System Still Treats Many as Kids

KFF Health News Original

The median life expectancy for a U.S. baby born with Down syndrome jumped from about four years in 1950 to 58 years in the 2010s. That’s largely because they no longer can be denied lifesaving care, including surgeries for heart defects. But now, aging adults with Down syndrome face a health system unprepared to care for them.

California Bill Would Mandate HPV Vaccine for Incoming College Students

KFF Health News Original

A state lawmaker wants all incoming college students to get an HPV vaccine, as part of a push to drive up vaccination rates and prevent cervical cancer. At least four other states have enacted a similar mandate.