Latest KFF Health News Stories
Sheriffs Who Denounced Colorado’s Red Flag Law Are Now Using It
Petitions for protective orders under Colorado’s red flag law have been filed in more than half the counties that opposed it and declared themselves “Second Amendment sanctuaries.”
Covid Funding Pries Open a Door to Improving Air Quality in Schools
Researchers say the billions in pandemic funding available for ventilation upgrades in U.S. schools provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to combat covid-19, as well as making air more breathable for students living with allergies, asthma, and chronic wildfire smoke.
Long Wait for Justice: People in Jail Face Delays for Mental Health Care Before They Can Stand Trial
People in jail who have serious mental illness and cannot stand trial because of their condition are waiting months, or even more than a year, to get into their state psychiatric hospitals.
‘Desperate Situation’: States Are Housing High-Needs Foster Kids in Offices and Hotels
Some foster children with complex mental, behavioral, and physical health needs without a foster placement are having to stay in hotel rooms and even office buildings, a practice called “hoteling.”
Few Eligible Families Have Applied for Government Help to Pay for Covid Funerals
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will reimburse many families up to $9,000 in funeral expenses for loved ones who died of covid-19. But fewer than half of eligible families have applied, while others have run into application problems.
Washington State Retools First-in-the-Nation Long-Term Care Benefit
The WA Cares Fund program, which would provide workers in the state a lifetime benefit of $36,500, was set to begin collecting money through a payroll tax in January, but it was delayed while lawmakers made adjustments to address equity problems. Now the payroll deductions will begin in July 2023, and benefits will become available in 2026.
Senators Ask GAO to Examine Medicaid’s Low Covid Vaccination Rates
Sens. Robert Casey Jr. and Ron Wyden want a probe into what barriers are keeping Medicaid plans from reaching enrollees.
Desperate for Cash: Programs for People With Disabilities Still Not Seeing Federal Funds
Almost a year after the American Rescue Plan Act allocated what could amount to $25 billion to home and community-based services run by Medicaid, many states have yet to access much of the money due to delays and red tape.
From Alabama to Utah, Efforts to Vaccinate Medicaid Enrollees Against Covid Run Into Obstacles
Inoculation rates remain low despite massive outreach efforts and incentives from federal and state programs and Medicaid plan operators, leaving many low-income people vulnerable to the virus.
Other States Keep Watchful Eye on Snags in Washington’s Pioneering Public-Option Plan
Washington was the first state in the U.S. to introduce a public option for health insurance, but the rollout hasn’t been smooth. Other states with public options in the works are taking notice.
State Constitutions Vex Conservatives’ Strategies for a Post-Roe World
Conservative lawmakers may find their anti-abortion agendas complicated by state constitutions that explicitly grant citizens the right to privacy, regardless of what the U.S. Supreme Court does.
Reluctant Localities Are Being Dragged Into Court to Fix Sidewalks for People With Disabilities
Hundreds of towns, cities and states across the U.S. have ignored part of the Americans With Disabilities Act, and now it’s costing them billions of dollars to comply.
Bomberos en la línea de batalla se resisten a los mandatos de vacunación contra covid
Los bomberos han estado en el frente de batalla de la pandemia desde el principio. ¿Por qué muchos se resisten a vacunarse contra covid?
Firefighters on Front Lines, No Strangers to Risk, Push Back Against Covid Vaccine Mandates
Among the people still reluctant to get vaccinated — and pushing against mandates — are firefighters, many of whom also respond to medical calls as paramedics and EMTs and have witnessed the ravages of the pandemic firsthand.
‘My Time to Live’: Through Novel Program, Kidney Patients Get Palliative Care, Dialysis ’Til the End
Seattle’s Northwest Kidney Centers, which pioneered kidney failure treatment 50 years ago, now pairs dying patients with hospice services, without forcing them to forgo the comfort dialysis can provide.
Jaw Surgery Takes a $27,119 Bite out of One Man’s Budget
A Seattle patient discovers the hard way that you can still hit a lifetime limit for certain types of care. And health plans can vary a lot from one job to the next, even if the insurer is the same.
A Chilling Cure: Facing Killer Heat, ERs Use Body Bags to Save Lives
Doctors in Washington state used human body bags filled with ice and water to rapidly cool the sickest patients affected by record heat last month.
Expertos en salud pública temen que los fondos desaparezcan cuando termine la pandemia
El Congreso ha enviado miles de millones a los departamentos de salud para luchar contra covid. Pero históricamente, esta financiación se acaba cuando termina la emergencia sanitaria.
Public Health Experts Worry About Boom-Bust Cycle of Support
Congress has poured tens of billions of dollars into public health since last year. While health officials who have juggled bare-bones budgets for years are grateful for the money, they worry it will soon dry up, just as it has after previous crises such as 9/11, SARS and Ebola. Meanwhile, they continue to cope with an exodus from the field amid political pressure and exhaustion that meant 1 in 6 Americans lost their local health department leader.
Battle Brews Over Neutral Zone Where Border-Crossing Parties Rendezvous, Risking Infection
Peace Arch Park on the U.S.-Canadian border has become a rare place where families and friends on either side of the border can see one another in person. But it raises questions on covid safety as the two countries handle the pandemic differently.
