KFF Health News Weekly Edition: Aug. 16, 2024

Amid Medicaid ‘Unwinding,’ Many States Wind Up Expanding
By Phil Galewitz The end of pandemic-era Medicaid coverage protections coincided with changes in more than a dozen states to expand coverage for lower-income people, including children, pregnant women, and the incarcerated.

Inside Conservative Activist Leonard Leo’s Long Campaign To Gut Planned Parenthood
By Rachana Pradhan Illustration by Oona Zenda Anti-abortion groups and their allies secured a generational victory in 2022 when the Supreme Court overturned "Roe v. Wade." A lawsuit in Texas demonstrates how those same forces threaten access to other health services, including birth control and screenings for cancer and sexually transmitted infections.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Happy 50th, ERISA
What does a law to protect worker pensions have to do with how health insurance is regulated? Far more than most people may think. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA, turns 50 in September. The law fundamentally changed the way the federal and state governments regulate employer-provided health insurance and continues to shape health policy in the United States. In this special episode of “What the Health?”, host and KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner speaks to Larry Levitt of KFF, Paul Fronstin of the Employee Benefit Research Institute, and Ilyse Schuman of the American Benefits Council about the history of ERISA and what its future might hold.

The FDA Calls Them ‘Recalls,’ Yet the Targeted Medical Devices Often Remain in Use
By David Hilzenrath With medical devices, recalls are not always what they seem. In some recalls, including some of the most serious, the FDA and the manufacturers let doctors and hospitals continue to use the devices.

New Lines of Attack Form Against the Affordable Care Act
By Julie Appleby While fighting potential fraud in government programs has long been a conservative rallying cry, recent criticisms of the Affordable Care Act represent a renewed line of attack on the program when repealing it is unlikely.

Most Black Hospitals Across the South Closed Long Ago. Their Impact Endures.
By Lauren Sausser Taborian Hospital in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, was established to exclusively admit Black patients during a time when Jim Crow laws barred them from accessing the same health care facilities as white patients. Its closure underscores how hundreds of Black hospitals in the U.S. fell casualty to social progress.

Kids Who Survived Super Bowl Shooting Are Scared, Suffering Panic Attacks and Sleep Problems
By Bram Sable-Smith and Peggy Lowe, KCUR Six months after the Feb. 14 parade, parents of survivors under 18 years old say their children are deeply changed. In this installment of “The Injured,” we meet kids who survived the mass shooting only to live with long-term emotional scars.

Opioid Settlements Promise Mississippi a Windfall. What Happens Next?
By Violet Jira, Mississippi Today and Henry Larweh Millions of dollars from national opioid settlements are pouring into Mississippi. The state and localities haven’t spent much yet. In many cases, how the money will be used is up in the air.

Listen to the Latest ‘KFF Health News Minute’
“Health Minute” brings original health care and health policy reporting from the KFF Health News newsroom to the airwaves each week.

California Bill Would Require State Review of Private Equity Deals in Health Care
By Bernard J. Wolfson Proposed legislation would require the state attorney general’s consent for a wide range of private equity acquisitions in health care. The hospital lobby negotiated an exemption for for-profit hospitals.

Exercise Is Key for Parkinson’s Relief. But Bias, Underdiagnosis Hold Black Patients Back.
By Elizabeth Cohen Exercise is considered fundamental treatment for Parkinson’s disease, a progressive condition that attacks the central nervous system. But there’s a huge equity gap, researchers say, with Black people missing from popular treatment programs.

Watch: Where the Presidential and VP Candidates Stand on Health Policy
Video by Hannah Norman How do the top-of-the-ticket candidates compare on abortion, medical debt, and more? Here’s what you need to know.

Watch: How Patients Get Charged Hospital Prices for Doctor’s Office Care
By Caresse Jackman, InvestigateTV This installment of InvestigateTV and KFF Health News’ “Costly Care” series digs into patients' getting charged hospital prices for doctor’s office care. For five years, a patient got the same injection from the same office. Then it changed how it billed and she owed more than $1,100 for one treatment.

Journalists Highlight Maternal Health Challenges in Rural America, From Iowa to Georgia
KFF Health News and California Healthline staff took to the airwaves in the last couple of weeks to discuss maternal health care challenges in rural areas. Here’s a collection of their appearances.