Latest KFF Health News Stories
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Congress Punts to a Looming Lame-Duck Session
Congress left Washington for the campaign trail this week, but not before approving a spending bill that expires shortly before Christmas. Lawmakers will be busy after the election working on not just the legislation needed to keep the government running, but also several health programs set to expire. Meanwhile, Republicans continue to downplay abortion as Democrats press it as a campaign issue. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
In Montana Senate Race, Democrat Jon Tester Misleads on Republican Tim Sheehy’s Abortion Stance
Republican Senate candidate Tim Sheehy has said he supports letting states decide the abortion parameters within their borders and supports including exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the pregnant woman in legislation to restrict abortion.
Deadly High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy Is on the Rise
More pregnant women are being diagnosed with dangerously high blood pressure, which risks the life of the parent and child. Montana is one of the states improving screening and treatment as health facilities work to match care with best practices.
Aumentan los casos de hipertensión mortal durante el embarazo
Hoy en día, más embarazadas reciben diagnósticos de presión arterial peligrosamente alta, un hallazgo que podría salvar vidas.
She Was Accused of Murder After Losing Her Pregnancy. SC Woman Now Tells Her Story.
Amari Marsh, now 23, was a student at South Carolina State University when she lost her pregnancy in 2023. She was charged with murder and faced at least 20 years in prison. A grand jury cleared her in August. Now she’s sharing her story.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': American Health Under Trump — Past, Present, and Future
Dreaming of a Trump victory, Republicans have a wish list of health policy changes — including loosening Affordable Care Act regulations to make cheaper coverage available and ending Medicare drug price negotiations. Meanwhile, after a publicly reported death stemming from a state abortion ban, Vice President Kamala Harris is emphasizing the consequences of Trump’s work to overturn Roe v. Wade. Tami Luhby of CNN, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Joanne Kenen of Politico and Johns Hopkins University join KFF Health News senior editor Emmarie Huetteman to discuss these stories and more.
Las clínicas de abortos, y sus pacientes, se movilizan a medida que cambian las leyes estatales
El fallo de la Corte dejó en manos de los estados las políticas sobre el aborto. Desde entonces, 14 estados promulgaron prohibiciones a la práctica que contemplan unas pocas excepciones, mientras que otros han restringido el acceso.
Abortion Clinics — And Patients — Are on the Move as State Laws Shift
Last month, Planned Parenthood Great Plains opened its newest clinic in Pittsburg, Kan., a city of about 21,000 people mere minutes from the borders of both Missouri and Oklahoma. It’s the second new clinic the regional affiliate has opened in Kansas in a little over two years, to accommodate the growing number of patients coming […]
Abortion Clinics — And Patients — Are on the Move, as State Laws Keep Shifting
Clinics in states where most abortions are legal, such as Kansas and Illinois, are reporting an influx of inquiries from patients hundreds of miles away — and are expanding in response. Despite the Supreme Court’s overturning of federal protections in 2022, abortions are now at their highest numbers in a decade.
Arkansas’ Governor Says Medicaid Extension for New Moms Isn’t Needed
Federal law requires states to provide pregnancy-related Medicaid coverage through 60 days after delivery. Arkansas has not expanded what’s called postpartum Medicaid coverage, an option that gives poor women uninterrupted health insurance for a year after they give birth.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Trump-Harris Debate Showcases Health Policy Differences
As expected, the presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris offered few new details of their positions on abortion, the Affordable Care Act, and other critical health issues. But it did underscore for voters dramatic differences between the two candidates. Meanwhile, the Biden administration issued rules attempting to better enforce […]
Trump, Harris Spar Over Abortion Rights and Obamacare in Their First Face-Off
The generally combative face-off was marked by a series of false and sometimes bizarre statements from former President Donald Trump.
En su primer cara a cara, Harris y Trump se enfrentan por el Obamacare y el aborto
Los dos candidatos presidenciales abordaron una amplia gama de temas, desde cifras de empleo e inflación hasta el aborto y la inmigración, en intercambios marcados por ataques personales.
Breast Cancer Rises Among Asian American and Pacific Islander Women
Asian American and Pacific Islander women once had a relatively low rate of breast cancer diagnoses. Now, researchers are scrambling to understand why it’s rising at a faster pace than those of many other racial and ethnic groups.
UCSF Favors Pricey Doctoral Program for Nurse-Midwives Amid Maternal Care Crisis
UC-San Francisco is pausing its long-running master’s program in nurse-midwifery and plans to shift to a lengthier, costlier doctoral program. Midwives criticized the move and questioned the university’s motivations at a time of serious shortages of maternal care workers.
El cambio duplicará con creces el costo para los estudiantes. Expertos dicen que aumentará la escasez de estos profesionales de salud.
Her Life Was at Risk. She Needed an Abortion. Insurance Refused To Pay.
Insurance coverage for abortion care in the U.S. is a hodgepodge. Patients often don’t know when or if a procedure or abortion pills are covered, and the proliferation of abortion bans has exacerbated the confusion.
Cuando la aseguradora se niega a pagar un aborto que es médicamente necesario
En el país, la cobertura para la atención del aborto es laberíntica. A menudo, los pacientes no saben cuándo un procedimiento, o las píldoras abortivas, están cubiertas, si es que lo están; y la proliferación de prohibiciones ha exacerbado la confusión.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Let the General Election Commence
Abortion and reproductive health issues headlined the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, as expected. But what Vice President Kamala Harris has in mind for other health policies as the Democratic nominee remains something of a mystery. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump says he would not use the 19th-century Comstock Act to impose, in effect, a national ban on abortion, which angered his anti-abortion backers. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Johns Hopkins University, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Tony Leys, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about a woman who fought back after being charged for two surgeries despite undergoing only one.
Project 2025 Would Recast HHS as the Federal Department of Life
It has become a rhetorical theme for Democrats working to hold on to the White House: Allies of former president Donald Trump, they say, want to infuse conservative ideals into how the federal government does business. That vision is outlined in the Project 2025 “Mandate for Leadership,” a 900-page blueprint produced by the conservative Heritage Foundation and other conservative organizations […]