Deep Flaws in FDA Oversight of Medical Devices, and Patient Harm, Exposed in Lawsuits and Records
By Fred Schulte Holly K. Hacker
Illustration by Oona Zenda
December 21, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Thousands of medical devices are sold, and even implanted, with no safety tests.
Biden, Trump Swap Exaggerations On Abortion, Medicare, Insulin At Debate
June 28, 2024
Morning Briefing
But President Joe Biden’s age (81) and physical performance at Thursday night’s debate — he often struggled to find the right words — overshadowed all of the health topics the two men discussed.
Big Pharma Went All In to Kill Drug Pricing Negotiations
By Arthur Allen
August 12, 2022
KFF Health News Original
For more than a century, the drug industry has issued dire warnings of plunging innovation whenever regulation reared its head. In general, the threat hasn’t materialized.
On the Steps of the Supreme Court, Tears and Glee, Bitterness and Smiles
By Victoria Knight
May 3, 2022
KFF Health News Original
In the nation’s capital, abortion activists and lawmakers weigh in on the leaked ‘Roe v. Wade’ draft court opinion.
From Alabama to Utah, Efforts to Vaccinate Medicaid Enrollees Against Covid Run Into Obstacles
By Phil Galewitz
February 28, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Inoculation rates remain low despite massive outreach efforts and incentives from federal and state programs and Medicaid plan operators, leaving many low-income people vulnerable to the virus.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': At GOP Convention, Health Policy Is Mostly MIA
July 18, 2024
Podcast
After an assassination attempt last weekend sent former President Donald Trump to the hospital with minor injuries, the Republican National Convention went off with little mention of health care issues. And Trump’s newly nominated vice presidential pick, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, has barely staked out a record on health during his 18 months in office — aside from being strongly opposed to abortion. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Renuka Rayasam, who wrote June’s installment of KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month,” about a patient who walked into what he thought was an urgent care center and walked out with an emergency room bill.
North Carolina Approves Medicaid Funding, But Below Levels Requested
September 12, 2024
Morning Briefing
The figure approved by the legislature Wednesday is designed to address higher state Medicaid costs for the current fiscal year, but the total is $81 million less than the figure requested by state health officials. Separately, New York moves to address disparities in health care.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Year-End Bill Holds Big Health Changes
January 5, 2023
Podcast
The year-end spending bill passed by Congress in late December contains a wide array of health-related provisions, including a structure for states to begin to disenroll people on Medicaid whose coverage has been maintained through the pandemic. Meanwhile, the Biden administration is taking steps to make the abortion pill more widely available. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join KHN’s chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Mark Kreidler, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about a billing mix-up that took about a year to sort out.
How Pfizer Won the Pandemic, Reaping Outsize Profit and Influence
By Arthur Allen
July 5, 2022
KFF Health News Original
The drugmaker has the best-selling vaccine to prevent covid and the most effective drug to treat it. Its success has overshadowed the government’s covid-fighting strategy.
California Sees Dramatic Decline in Child Homicide Victims. What’s Changed?
By Phillip Reese
April 12, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Bucking the alarming spike in overall homicides in recent years, the homicide rate involving young children is down 70% in California from three decades ago. The nation has seen a parallel, albeit slower, decline.
¿Ahorrar miles de millones o quedarse con Humira? Intermediarios farmacéuticos guían hacia la opción más costosa
By Arthur Allen
September 19, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Humira lleva 20 años disfrutando de una exclusividad muy cara en el país. Sus competidores podrían ahorrarle al sistema sanitario $9,000 millones.
Long Waits for Montana State Hospital Leave Psychiatric Patients in Jail
By Katheryn Houghton
March 17, 2022
KFF Health News Original
A backlog at Montana’s psychiatric hospital for those facing criminal charges has left people with serious mental illness behind bars for months without adequate treatment. In some cases, judges have freed defendants over due-process violations.
Las medidas de Colorado no sirven para frenar los altos niveles de ozono peligrosos para la salud
By Jim Robbins
July 11, 2022
KFF Health News Original
El ozono se crea cuando las sustancias químicas que se emiten a la atmósfera a través de los tubos de escape de los vehículos, la explotación de petróleo y gas y los incendios forestales se calientan con el sol. La contaminación por ozono es un problema persistente en la región.
Readers and Tweeters Remain Vigilant on Masking and Billing
By Terry Byrne
March 16, 2022
KFF Health News Original
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Biden’s Physical Didn’t Include A Cognitive Test
February 29, 2024
Morning Briefing
The latest physical evaluating President Joe Biden’s health reportedly drew on 20 doctors’ expertise, but did not involve a cognitive exam of the 81 year-old politician. Also in the news, protections for disabled travelers; a challenge to the bump stock device weapons ban; and more.
Watch: Thinking Big in Public Health, Inspired by the End of Smallpox
September 18, 2023
KFF Health News Original
A conversation about how the lessons from the victory over smallpox could be applied to public health challenges today.
Health Experts Worry CDC’s Covid Vaccination Rates Appear Inflated
By Phil Galewitz
December 9, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Accuracy issues raise red flags because the data is used to plan and direct resources in the nation’s continuing response to the covid-19 pandemic.
Nursing Homes Are Suing the Friends and Family of Residents to Collect Debts
By Noam N. Levey
July 28, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Debt lawsuits — long a byproduct of America’s medical debt crisis — can ensnare not only patients but also those who help sick and older people be admitted to nursing homes, a KHN-NPR investigation finds.
With a Vaccine Mandate Looming, Nursing Homes Face More Staffing Problems
By Eric Berger
January 25, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Missouri has the worst covid-19 vaccination rate for nursing home health care workers in the nation. There, the federal mandate for workers to get vaccinated — upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court — reveals the problems that operators have hiring staff, keeping them, and providing decent care.
‘Somebody Is Gonna Die’: Medi-Cal Patients Struggle to Fill Prescriptions
By Samantha Young
February 9, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Problems with California’s new Medicaid prescription drug program are preventing thousands of patients from getting their medications, including some life-saving ones. State officials say they’re working on fixes.
