KFF Health News Weekly Edition: Nov. 3, 2023
Nursing Homes Say They Can’t Afford Higher Staffing. But Their Finances Are Often Opaque.
By Jordan Rau
States Reconsider Religious Exemptions for Vaccinations in Child Care
By Matt Volz
Providers and health care advocates warn a proposed rule change in Montana would jeopardize immunity levels in child care centers and communities. Efforts to change vaccination exemption rules are underway in other states, too.
For ACA Plans, It’s Time to Shop Around
It’s Obamacare open enrollment season, which means that, for people who rely on these plans for coverage, it’s time to shop around. With enhanced premium subsidies and cost-sharing assistance, consumers may find savings by switching plans. It is especially important for people who lost their coverage because of the Medicaid unwinding to investigate their options. Many qualify for assistance. Meanwhile, the countdown to Election Day is on, and Ohio’s State Issue 1 is grabbing headlines. The closely watched ballot initiative has become a testing ground for abortion-related messaging, which has been rife with misinformation. This week’s panelists are Mary Agnes Carey of KFF Health News, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Rachana Pradhan of KFF Health News.
Medical School on Cherokee Reservation Will Soon Send Doctors to Tribal, Rural Areas
By Arielle Zionts
Native Americans and rural residents are underrepresented in medical schools. But in this new program, 25% of students are Indigenous and half are from rural areas.
Gubernatorial Candidates Quarrel Over Glory for Winning Opioid Settlements
By Aneri Pattani
Some gubernatorial candidates are sparring over bragging rights for their state’s share of $50 billion in opioid settlement funds. Many of the candidates are attorneys general who pursued the lawsuits that produced the payouts.
The AMA May Reconsider Single-Payer Health Care
By Julie Rovner
Street Medicine Practitioners Are Getting Paid. Now They Want Higher Rates.
By Angela Hart
A New Era of Vaccines Leaves Old Questions About Prices Unanswered
By Elisabeth Rosenthal
The CDC’s RSV vaccination recommendations beg the question: How much should an immunization that will possibly be given to millions of Americans cost to be truly valuable?
Smaller Employers Weigh a Big-Company Fix for Scarce Primary Care: Their Own Clinics
By Phil Galewitz
Company health clinics are most common at large workplaces, but some small employers say they see advantages, too: healthier workers, lower costs, and better access to primary care.
Dads Drive Growth in California’s Paid Family Leave Program
By Phillip Reese
The number of men in the state taking paid family leave to bond with a new child has risen nearly 20% since the start of the pandemic.
Watch: California and Feds Invest in Health Care for Homeless People
KFF Health News senior correspondent Angela Hart discusses big developments in street medicine, both statewide and nationally.
John Green vs. Johnson & Johnson (Part 2)
By Dan Weissmann
The high price of lifesaving tuberculosis drugs makes them inaccessible to many who need them most. On this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” hear how a decades-long global fight to reform drug patents is helping to lower the cost.
When That Supposedly Free Annual Physical Generates a Bill
By Julie Appleby
Completing a routine depression screening questionnaire during an annual checkup is cost-free under federal law. But, as one woman discovered, answering a doctor’s follow-up questions might not be.
Start Shopping: Enrollment Begins Nov. 1 for Most Obamacare Insurance Plans
By Julie Appleby
More than 16 million Americans who buy their own health insurance through state and federal marketplaces have until Jan. 15 to compare prices, change their coverage, or enroll for the first time.
Medical Debt and Nurse Shortages Haunt Winning Halloween Haikus
Entries for our fifth annual Halloween haiku contest left us terrified. Based on a review by our panel of judges, here’s the winner and runners-up — plus the original artwork they inspired.
Medical Debt Is Disappearing From Americans’ Credit Reports, Lifting Scores
By Noam N. Levey
As credit rating agencies have removed small unpaid medical bills from consumer credit, scores have gone up, a new study finds.
‘Worse Than People Can Imagine’: Medicaid ‘Unwinding’ Breeds Chaos in States
By Phil Galewitz and Katheryn Houghton and Brett Kelman and Samantha Liss
As Medicaid programs across the nation review enrollees' status in the wake of the pandemic, patients struggle to navigate the upheaval.
Biden Pick to Lead Social Security Pledges Action on ‘Heartbreaking’ Clawbacks
By David Hilzenrath and Jodie Fleischer, Cox Media Group
At a Senate confirmation hearing, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley said he would address hardships the Social Security agency has caused by demanding money back from beneficiaries.
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.
Medicare Expands the Roster of Available Mental Health Professionals
By Judith Graham
Medicare is expanding access to mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists come Jan. 1. But the belief that seniors who suffer from mental health problems should just grin and bear it remains a troubling barrier to care.