KFF Health News Weekly Edition: Sept. 6, 2024

Thanks to Reddit, a New Diagnosis Is Bubbling Up Across the Nation
By Rae Ellen Bichell Social media has helped spread the word about a treatment that involves getting Botox in the neck. It’s for a condition that’s gaining awareness but still often dismissed: the inability to burp.

As Record Heat Sweeps the US, Some People Must Choose Between Food and Energy Bills
By Melba Newsome An increasing number of Americans struggle with energy poverty, the inability to adequately heat or cool one’s dwelling. Health officials and climate experts are sounding the alarm as record-breaking heat sweeps the nation.

Boom, Now Bust: Budget Cuts and Layoffs Take Hold in Public Health
By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez State leaders are cutting public health spending and laying off workers hired during a pandemic-era grant boom. Public health officials say the bust will erode important advancements in the public health safety net, particularly in rural areas.

Patients Suffer When Indian Health Service Doesn’t Pay for Outside Care
By Arielle Zionts and Katheryn Houghton The Indian Health Service has a program that can pay for outside appointments when patients need care not offered at agency-funded sites. Critics say money shortages, complex rules, and administrative fumbles often block access, however.

Errors in Deloitte-Run Medicaid Systems Can Cost Millions and Take Years To Fix
By Samantha Liss and Rachana Pradhan As states wait for Deloitte to make fixes in computer systems, Medicaid beneficiaries risk losing access to health care and food.

As Interest From Families Wanes, Pediatricians Scale Back on Covid Shots
By Jackie Fortiér Pediatricians want to vaccinate kids, but some say they’re keeping their stockpile of covid vaccines low to avoid being stuck with costly, unwanted shots. They can’t afford to stock up on costly shots that parents don’t want.

Breast Cancer Rises Among Asian American and Pacific Islander Women
By Phillip Reese 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
By Ronnie Cohen 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.

Watch: Tips on Finding a Good Nursing Home
By Jordan Rau Video by Hannah Norman KFF Health News’ Jordan Rau explains how to tell the good nursing homes from the bad ones.

Feds Killed Plan To Curb Medicare Advantage Overbilling After Industry Opposition
By Fred Schulte A private 2014 decision by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services faces new scrutiny in a multibillion-dollar Justice Department fraud case against UnitedHealth Group.

With Only Gloves To Protect Them, Farmworkers Say They Tend Sick Cows Amid Bird Flu
By Rae Ellen Bichell A Colorado picnic celebrated Farmworker Appreciation Day. But some dairy workers there said they aren’t feeling appreciated: They don’t have basic protective gear, even as bird flu spreads through area farms.

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.

An Arm and a Leg: Don’t Get ‘Bullied’ Into Paying What You Don’t Owe
By Dan Weissmann In this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” host Dan Weissmann speaks with Caitlyn Mai, a woman in Oklahoma who received a six-figure bill for a surgery her insurance promised to cover. This episode is an extended version of the “Bill of the Month” series, produced in partnership with NPR.

Her Life Was at Risk. She Needed an Abortion. Insurance Refused To Pay.
By Sarah Varney 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.

The New Covid Vaccine Is Out. Why You Might Not Want To Rush To Get It.
By Arthur Allen and Eliza Fawcett, Healthbeat and Rebecca Grapevine, Healthbeat Although public health officials recommend the newly approved covid vaccine for everyone 6 months and older, it may make more sense to wait until closer to the holiday season.

Turning 26 and Struggling To Find Health Insurance? Tell Us About It.
By Elisabeth Rosenthal KFF Health News and The New York Times are looking into a dreaded “adulting” milestone: finding your own medical insurance at 26.

For Pharma, Trump vs. Harris Is a Showdown Between Two Industry Foes
By Stephanie Armour Vice President Kamala Harris is seen as more aggressive than former President Donald Trump in taking on pharmaceutical companies, but Trump allies say he would also make lowering drug costs a top priority.

Journalists Talk Shooting’s Toll on Children and State Handling of Opioid Settlement Funds
KFF Health News and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media in the last two weeks to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

Public Voices Often Ignored in States’ Opioid Settlement Money Decisions
By Aneri Pattani and Henry Larweh and Ed Mahon, Spotlight PA In many places, victims of the opioid epidemic are silenced in decision-making about how to use opioid settlement money, a first-of-its-kind survey conducted by KFF Health News and Spotlight PA found.