Latest KFF Health News Stories
In Rural America, Deadly Costs of Opioids Outweigh the Dollars Tagged to Address Them
Some people say it’s reasonable for densely populated areas to receive more settlement funds, since they serve more of those affected. But others worry this overlooks rural communities disproportionately harmed by opioid addiction.
For Republican Candidates, Talk About Moms and Babies Is a Thorny Issue
The abortion issue looms large over the midterm elections, and some in the Republican Party, long associated with efforts to restrict access, are looking to reassure voters they have women’s health in mind.
Ad Targeting Manchin and AARP Mischaracterizes Medicare Drug-Price Negotiations
The advocacy group American Commitment said empowering Medicare to negotiate drug prices would raid it of billions of dollars. Drug pricing experts say that that’s not the case and that such policies would instead reduce costs for the Medicare program and seniors.
The Push for Abortion Lawmaking After ‘Dobbs’ Is Unique, Legal and Political Experts Say
The surge of calls for special legislative sessions to pass abortion laws is an unusual occurrence in modern U.S. history, according to experts — one caused by the Supreme Court’s decision to give states more power to regulate abortion.
‘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.”
Caskets Wrapped in Colorful Images Pay Tribute to Young Lives Lost to Trauma and Violence
Mourners are wrapping caskets in imagery, similar to the way companies wrap logos around cars, trucks, and buses. Across the country, casket-wrap companies create custom designs, too often for grieving parents who have lost their children to gun violence.
This Rural, Red Southern County Was a Vaccine Success Story. Not Anymore.
Meigs County in Tennessee reported one of the highest covid-19 vaccination rates in the South for much of the past year. But those reports were wrong because of a data error that has surfaced in other states, such as West Virginia and Montana, as well.
A Travel Nurse Leaves Fears of Hospital Drug Tampering Across Three States
Kentucky nurse Jacqueline Brewster is accused of tampering with opioids in Tennessee and West Virginia, possibly contaminating drugs given to hospital patients.
Who Doesn’t Text in 2022? Most State Medicaid Programs
As states prepare for the end of the covid public health emergency, they are making plans to reevaluate each Medicaid enrollee’s eligibility. They will rely primarily on mail and email because not many states can text enrollees.
Inmates Who Died Asked for Release Before Falling Ill With Covid
Covid is running rampant through the Alderson women’s prison in West Virginia, in one of the deadliest outbreaks this year at a federal correctional facility. This comes as Bureau of Prisons officials take heat for how the agency has handled the pandemic.
West Virginia Sen. Manchin Takes the Teeth Out of Democrats’ Plan for Seniors’ Dental Care
In West Virginia, older residents often go without dental care, and a quarter of people 65 and older have no natural teeth, the highest rate of any state in the country. But a powerful senator from West Virginia, Joe Manchin, has rebuffed efforts to add a dental benefit to Medicare.
As Overdose Deaths Soar, DEA-Wary Pharmacies Shy From Dispensing Addiction Medication
A West Virginia pharmacy cleared a Drug Enforcement Administration investigation. But it shut down anyway, highlighting how the agency’s policies reduce the availability of buprenorphine, an important tool for recovery from opioid addiction.
Uninsured in South Would Win Big in Democrats’ Plan, but Hospitals Fear Funding Loss
The latest iteration of President Joe Biden’s social-spending package would close the health insurance gap for at least 2.2 million people, making a huge difference especially in the South, where political opposition has blocked Medicaid expansion.
Amid Covid Booster Debate, West Virginia to Check Immunity of Vaccinated Nursing Home Residents
The state says it will look at the levels of disease-fighting antibodies among nursing home residents vaccinated against covid, which could help indicate whether they need a booster shot.
Mientras los vulnerables esperan, cónyuges de políticos reciben la vacuna contra covid
Los políticos que recibieron la vacuna junto con sus cónyuges dijeron que querían dar el ejemplo y generar confianza. Pero algunos cuestionan esta razón.
As the Vulnerable Wait, Some Political Leaders’ Spouses Get Covid Vaccines
Spouses of governors and federal leaders are getting early access to scarce doses of covid-19 vaccines. Some officials have argued their inoculation sets an example for the public and shows the vaccines to be safe and effective. But critics say those doses should go to more vulnerable people first.
Distrusting Trump, States Plan to Vet COVID Vaccines Themselves. Bad Idea, Say Experts.
California and at least five other states have said they may independently vet any vaccines. Experts warn that could needlessly confuse the public.
Ex-West Virginia Health Chief Says Cuts Hurt Virus Response
The former West Virginia public health leader forced out by the governor says decades-old computer systems and cuts to staff over a period of years had made a challenging job even harder during a once-in-a-century pandemic.
COVID Tests Are Free, Except When They’re Not
Her doctor worried she had COVID-19 but couldn’t test her for it until she ruled out other things. That test cost a bundle.
Hace años, este doctor relacionó un misterioso mal pulmonar con el “vaping”
Este verano, funcionarios federales comenzaron a investigar un brote nacional de enfermedades pulmonares graves relacionadas con el vapeo que ha afectado a más de 150 pacientes en 16 estados.
