Latest KFF Health News Stories
Readers Embrace ‘Going It Alone’ Series on Aging and Chastise Makers of Pulse Oximeters
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Trump’s Nontraditional Health Picks
Not only has President-elect Donald Trump chosen prominent vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Trump also has said he will nominate controversial TV host Mehmet Oz to run the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which oversees coverage for nearly half of Americans. Meanwhile, the lame-duck Congress is back in Washington with just a few weeks to figure out how to wrap up work for the year. Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Riley Ray Griffin of Bloomberg News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Sarah Varney, who has been covering a trial in Idaho challenging the lack of medical exceptions in that state’s abortion ban.
Idaho Calls Abortion ‘Barbaric and Gruesome’ in Trial Challenging Strict Ban
Women with serious pregnancy complications who were denied abortion care have turned to state courts after appeals to state lawmakers to clarify medical exceptions have largely failed.
Pay First, Deliver Later: Some Women Are Being Asked To Prepay for Their Baby
Pregnant women are being asked to make large cash payments months before they deliver their babies. Some patient advocates worry this billing practice allows providers to hold treatment hostage.
Es difícil saber con qué frecuencia ocurre porque se considera una transacción privada entre el proveedor y el paciente. Por lo tanto, los pagos no se registran en los datos de reclamos de seguros y, por ende, los expertos no los analizan.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Readying for Republican Rule
With Republicans now set to control the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives starting in January, their health agenda remains unclear. What is clear, however, is that just about anything could be on the table, from Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act, to drug prices and public health. Meanwhile, anti-abortion groups are preparing to fight the implementation of abortion rights ballot measures just passed by voters in seven states. Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too.
Maryland Is Training More Health Workers To Offer Abortion Care
After the fall of “Roe v. Wade,” thousands of out-of-state patients traveled to Maryland for abortion care. The state is trying to diversify who can offer that care. Providers in the first training class say their new skills are especially needed in rural areas.
Hospitals Adjust as Rates of Maternal High Blood Pressure Spike
Health researchers are noticing a growing problem in American pregnancies: more cases of blood pressure so high it can be deadly for the parent and baby. U.S. rates of newly developed and chronic maternal high blood pressure skyrocketed from 2007 through 2019, and researchers say they haven’t slowed down. Hospitals are working to adjust their […]
Many Voters Backed Abortion Rights and Donald Trump, a Challenge for Democrats
Despite widespread support for protecting abortion rights, voters said the cost of gas, housing, food, and health care was more important to their choice for president.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Trump 2.0
As Donald Trump readies for his return to the White House — with the backing of a GOP majority in the Senate and, possibly, the House — the entire health care industry is waiting to see what happens next. Clearly on the agenda: the future of abortion and reproductive rights, Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and public health’s infrastructure. Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Jackie Fortiér, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-Washington Post “Bill of the Month” feature, about a 2-year-old who had a very expensive run-in with a rattlesnake.
7 of 10 States Backed Abortion Rights, but Don’t Expect Change Overnight
Voters backed abortion rights in seven of the 10 states where the issue appeared on ballots Tuesday, including in Missouri, among the first states to ban abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned federal abortion protections with its 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. At first glance, the nation’s patchwork of abortion […]
Prepared for Trump’s Comeback, California’s Attorney General Is Ready To Fight
Attorney General Rob Bonta, a longtime champion of reproductive rights, is ready to lead California in the fight to protect abortion under Trump’s second presidency. In a Q&A, he shares how his upbringing prepared him for the role.
7 of 10 States Backed Abortion Rights. But Little To Change Yet.
Voters in 10 states weighed in on abortion rights this election. Despite the results supporting abortion rights in seven of those states, much of the abortion landscape on abortion won’t change much immediately, as medical providers navigate the legal hurdles that remain.
El regreso de Trump a la Casa Blanca pondría en peligro la red de seguridad de atención médica
El triunfo electoral del ex presidente Donald Trump y su regreso a la Casa Blanca probablemente traerán cambios que reducirían los programas nacionales de salud públicos, aumentando la tasa de personas sin seguro e imponiendo nuevas barreras al aborto y otros servicios de salud reproductiva.
Trump’s White House Return Poised To Tangle Health Care Safety Net
The new Trump administration is likely to reduce subsidies for Affordable Care Act insurance plans and roll back Medicaid coverage. Public health authorities worry that anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be empowered.
What’s at Stake: A Pivotal Election for Six Big Health Issues
Health care has ebbed and surged as an election issue throughout the presidential campaign. Here are the ways some of the most consequential changes in health policies could hinge on whether Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump wins.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The Campaign’s Final Days
It’s the final days of the 2024 campaign, and Republicans are suddenly talking again about making changes to the Affordable Care Act if former President Donald Trump wins. Meanwhile, new reporting uncovers more maternal deaths under state abortion bans — and a case in which a Nevada woman was jailed after a miscarriage. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Emmarie Huetteman to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner interviews Irving Washington, a senior vice president at KFF and the executive director of its Health Misinformation and Trust Initiative.
‘A Pressure Campaign’: Beverly Hills Settles After Allegedly Blocking Abortion Clinic
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a settlement with Beverly Hills after finding city officials pressured the landlord to cancel DuPont Clinic’s lease. It’s the state’s first enforcement action under Proposition 1, which enshrined abortion rights in the state constitution.
¿Se puede confiar en una mamografía para identificar el riesgo de enfermedad cardíaca?
La enfermedad cardíaca es la principal causa de muerte en los Estados Unidos. Fue responsable de más de 300,000 —o aproximadamente 1 de cada 5— muertes de mujeres en 2021.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Less Than Two Weeks To Go
With Election Day rapidly approaching, abortion is gaining traction as a voting issue, according to public opinion polls. Meanwhile, states with abortion bans are reviving the lawsuit — dismissed by the Supreme Court on a technicality this year — that could roll back the availability of the abortion pill mifepristone. Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat, and Victoria Knight of Axios join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Tricia Neuman, senior vice president of KFF and executive director of its Program on Medicare Policy, about Medicare open enrollment and the changes to the federal program for 2025.
