Latest KFF Health News Stories
Why Hospitals Are Getting Into The Housing Business
Hospital systems now invest in housing to help some of their most frequent patients. This allows them to safely discharge patients who otherwise would have no place to go, freeing up beds for sicker patients and saving the hospitals money.
Uber And Lyft Ride-Sharing Services Hitch Onto Medicaid
Ride-sharing companies promise better service for enrollees and lower costs for states. But the services are not for everyone on Medicaid.
Hill Hodgepodge: Pelosi Draws From Democrats, GOP And Trump For Drug Plan
The House speaker announced her plan for lowering drug prices, which includes negotiations between drugmakers and federal health officials.
How Cruise Ship Passengers Should Prepare For Sickness Or Injury At Sea
Passengers on massive cruise ships could be struck by norovirus or accidents ranging from falls to broken bones. Then what?
States Pass Record Number Of Laws To Reel In Drug Prices
So far this year, 33 states have enacted more than 50 measures to address drug prices, affordability and access. Congress is eyeing the efforts to see what works.
Pharma Cash Rolls Into Congress To Defend An Embattled Industry
Congress has a variety of reforms in mind that could roil the drugmaking business and potentially slash prices.
Hepatitis A Races Across The Country
In the wake of the opioid crisis, the highly communicable hepatitis A virus is spreading in more than half the states and making its way into the general public. Underfunded health officials are valiantly trying to fight it with vaccines.
Genetic-Testing Scam Targets Seniors And Rips Off Medicare
Capitalizing on the growing popularity of genetic testing — and fears of terminal illness — scammers are persuading seniors to hand over cheek swabs with their DNA, not knowing it may lead to identity theft and Medicare fraud.
As Temperatures Climb, A New Push To Keep Workers Safe
Over the past decade, more than 350 workers nationwide have died from heat-related illness, and tens of thousands have had heat-related problems serious enough that they missed at least one day of work. Proposed federal legislation, modeled on California regulations, would create the first national standards for protecting workers from heat-related stress.
Sobering Up: In An Alcohol-Soaked Nation, More Seek Booze-Free Social Spaces
A national trend of boozeless bars is cropping up nationwide to create social spaces without the hangovers, DUIs and alcoholism culture. It’s part of a new push for sober options.
Trump Has Blessed States’ Exploration Of Importing Drugs. Will It Catch On?
Colorado, Florida and Vermont — with the support of President Donald Trump — are exploring plans to bring drugs across the border from Canada to help lower costs.
Miracle Machine Makes Heroic Rescues — And Leaves Patients In Limbo
The use of ECMO, the most aggressive form of life support in modern medicine, has skyrocketed — but along with miraculous rescues, it can leave patients in limbo, kept alive with machines but with no prospect of survival outside the ICU.
Why Your Perception Of ‘Old’ Changes As You Age
Boomers are aging reluctantly but, for the most part, gracefully. Many even have found the secret to shaving a decade or more off their physical age.
Churches Wipe Out Millions In Medical Debt For Others
In a mission of forgiveness, churches around the country are buying up medical debt for pennies on the dollar then erasing the debts of strangers. Since the start of 2018, at least 18 churches nationwide have abolished more than $34 million burdening America’s most debt-ridden patients.
Needle Exchanges Find New Champions Among Republicans
More Republicans, at the statehouse level, are saying research and results support their endorsement of a once-controversial plan to limit disease among drug users.
Planned Parenthood’s ‘Risky Strategy’ To Update Its Image
The nation’s largest reproductive health services provider is in the midst of a high-stakes effort to showcase what it considers its vital role in providing community health care.
Always Connected With Thousands Of ‘Friends’ — Yet Feeling All Alone
Millennials and Gen Zers say they often feel isolated even when surrounded by friends — both real and virtual.
Congress Squares Off With Pharma CEOs In Showdown Over High Drug Prices
Tuesday’s Senate Finance Committee hearing could produce fireworks over prices, R&D costs and executive compensation.
In Florida, Drug Importation From Canada Finds New Champions, Old Snags
The state’s governor said the plan has the full support of the White House. But the Trump administration was noncommittal about whether allowing states to buy and import cheaper drugs from up north could be the answer to the nation’s drug-pricing problem.
Vaccine Storage Too Often Fails To Meet Standards
Federal officials regulate the handling of vaccines that are provided through the Vaccines for Children program, which offers the medicines generally for children whose families could not afford them. But there is no federal oversight of how these drugs are stored among other health care providers.
