Latest KFF Health News Stories
Montana Mice May Hold the Secret to Virus Spillover
Researchers in Montana are working to figure out how climate change and biodiversity affect viruses’ jump from animals to people.
Bounties and Bonuses Leave Small Hospitals Behind in Staffing Wars
A hospital in Wisconsin sued to keep seven employees from taking jobs with a competitor. A health system in South Dakota is offering nurses $40,000 signing bonuses. Facilities with fewer resources are finding it difficult or impossible to compete for health care workers.
States Were Sharing Covid Test Kits. Then Omicron Hit.
The omicron variant upended a system in which states shared rapid covid tests with those that needed them more. Cooperation has turned into competition as states run out of supplies, limit which organizations get them, or hold on to expired kits as a last resort.
In Super-Vaxxed Vermont, Covid Strikes — But Packs Far Less Punch
With its highest-in-the-nation vaccination rates, Vermont offers a glimpse of what’s possible as the U.S. learns to live with coronavirus.
‘Heart’ of Little Shell: Newest Federally Recognized Tribe to Open First Clinic
The Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana plans to open the nation’s newest Indian Health Service clinic in Great Falls on Jan. 31 — marking the first time the tribe will have its culture reflected in health care offerings.
South Dakota Voters to Decide Medicaid Expansion
Despite state Republican leaders’ rigid opposition to expanding the health program designed for low-income residents, advocates successfully gathered enough signatures to get the measure on the fall ballot.
With Sexually Transmitted Infections Off the Charts, California Pushes At-Home Tests
A new law makes California the first state to require that health insurance plans, including Medicaid, cover home STI tests. But some details still need to be worked out.