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An Encore: 3 HHS Secretaries Reveal What the Job Is Really Like

Episode 317

Oct. 5, 2023

In this special encore episode, KFF Health News’ “What the Health?” asks three people who have served as the nation’s top health official: What does a day in the life of the U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services look like? And how much of their agenda is set by the White House? Taped in June before a live audience at Aspen Ideas: Health, part of the Aspen Ideas Festival, in Aspen, Colorado, host and chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner leads a rare conversation with the current and two former HHS secretaries. Secretary Xavier Becerra and former secretaries Kathleen Sebelius and Alex Azar talk candidly about what it takes to run a department with more than 80,000 employees and a budget larger than those of many countries.

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A health worker is typing at a computer.

Feds Rein In Use of Predictive Software That Limits Care for Medicare Advantage Patients

Software sifts through millions of medical records to match patients with similar diagnoses and characteristics and then predicts what kind of care an individual will need and for how long. New federal rules will ensure human experts are part of the process.

By Susan Jaffe

Oct. 5, 2023

KFF Health News / CMG TV Stations Investigation

Social Security Chief Orders Broad Review of Benefit Overpayments

In the wake of an investigation by KFF Health News and Cox Media Group, the SSA acting commissioner said a special team will review “overpayment policies and procedures” and report directly back to her.

By David Hilzenrath and Jodie Fleischer, Cox Media Group

Oct. 4, 2023

A photo of a Dollar General parking lot with a mobile health clinic van.

Primary Care Disrupted

What Mobile Clinics in Dollar General Parking Lots Say About Health Care in Rural America

Dollar General’s pilot mobile clinic program has been touted by company officials, rural health experts, and analysts as a model that could help solve rural America’s primary care shortage. But its Tennessee launch has been met with local skepticism.

By Sarah Jane Tribble

Oct. 4, 2023

An image of a cabinet on a wall with a glass door and a box reading Narcan and a defibrillator inside.

More Schools Stock Overdose Reversal Meds, but Others Worry About Stigma

Colorado is among several states that ensure schools have access to the opioid overdose reversal medication naloxone for free or at reduced cost. But most districts hadn’t signed up by the start of the school year for a state distribution program amid stigma around the lifesaving treatment.

By Rae Ellen Bichell and Virginia Garcia Pivik

Oct. 3, 2023

A closeup image of a woman's torso wearing a sweatshirt printed with the photo of a young man and lines of text, including one that reads "Single Parent of Elijah J Mclain".

Police Blame Some Deaths on ‘Excited Delirium.’ ER Docs Consider Pulling the Plug on the Term.

The American College of Emergency Physicians will vote in early October on whether to disavow its 2009 research paper on excited delirium, which has been cited as a cause of death and used as a legal defense by police officers in several high-profile cases.

By Markian Hawryluk and Renuka Rayasam

Oct. 2, 2023

Two vector images of a Black woman. In the left image, she is pregnant. In the right image, she is holding a newborn baby.

Facing Criticism, Feds Award First Maternal Health Grant to a Predominantly Black Rural Area

Mississippi has the highest rate of maternal mortality in the U.S. Now, it also has a federal grant to help in rural areas. The award could signal more flexibility from federal officials.

By Sarah Jane Tribble

Oct. 2, 2023

KFF Health News On Air

Journalists Track Opioid Settlement Cash and New Fees for Emailing Your Doctor

KFF Health News and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

Sept. 30, 2023

A split-screen photo showing Senator Sherrod Brown, Senator Maggie Hassan, Senator Rick Scott, Representative Mike Carey, and Representative John Larson.

KFF Health News / CMG TV Stations Investigation

Social Security Overpayments Draw Scrutiny and Outrage From Members of Congress

Lawmakers are faulting the Social Security Administration for issuing billions of dollars of payments that beneficiaries weren’t entitled to receive — and then demanding the money back — in the wake of an investigation by KFF Health News and Cox Media Group.

By David Hilzenrath and Jodie Fleischer, Cox Media Group

Sept. 29, 2023

A photo of a mother, father, and two children standing by a window.

Bill Of The Month

She Received Chemo in Two States. Why Did It Cost So Much More in Alaska?

A breast cancer patient who received similar treatments in two states saw significant differences in cost, illuminating how care in remote areas can come with a stiffer price tag.

By Arielle Zionts

Sept. 29, 2023

A photo of protesters with signs gathering outside of a hospital.

The Only Hospital in Town

These Appalachia Hospitals Made Big Promises to Gain a Monopoly. They’re Failing to Deliver.

Ballad Health, the only hospital system across a large swath of Tennessee and Virginia, has fallen short of quality-of-care and charity care obligations — even as it’s sued thousands of patients for unpaid bills.

By Brett Kelman and Samantha Liss

Sept. 29, 2023

A photo of the seven Republican presidential candidates at the second Republican debate of the 2024 campaign. From left to right, Governor Doug Burgum, former Governor Chris Christie, former Governor Nikki Haley, Governor Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, Senator Tim Scott, and former Vice President Mike Pence.

KFF Health News & PolitiFact HealthCheck

GOP Presidential Primary Debate No. 2: An Angry Rematch and the Same Notable No-Show

Though never framed as a marquee issue, the topic of health care crept into the chaotic seven-way faceoff throughout the evening, highlighting Republican culture-war themes.

By KFF Health News and PolitiFact staffs

Sept. 28, 2023

Letters to the Editor

Readers Rail at Social Security Overpayments and Insurers’ Prior Authorizations

KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

Sept. 28, 2023

A photo of three older Asian women outside practicing tai chi.

New Medicare Advantage Plans Tailor Offerings to Asian Americans, Latinos, and LGBTQ+

As more seniors opt for Medicare Advantage, a few small insurers have begun offering plans that provide culturally targeted benefits for cohorts including Asian Americans, Latinos, and LGBTQ+ people. The approach, policy researchers say, has potential and perils.

By Stephanie Stephens

Sept. 28, 2023

On the side of a hospital building, a large sign reads "HOSPITAL" under blue sky.

Who Polices Hospitals Merging Across Markets? States Give Different Answers

Increasingly, hospitals are merging across separate markets within states. It’s a move that health economists and the Federal Trade Commission have been closely watching, as evidence shows such mergers raise prices for patients with no improvement in care.

By Samantha Liss

Sept. 28, 2023

What the Health? From KFF Health News

More Medicaid Messiness

Episode 316

Sept. 27, 2023

At least 30 states are reinstating coverage for children wrongly removed from the rolls under Medicaid redetermination, the federal government reported. It’s just the latest hiccup in the massive effort to review the eligibility of Medicaid beneficiaries now that the program’s pandemic-era expansion has expired. And federal oversight of the so-called unwinding would be further complicated by an impending government shutdown. Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Samantha Liss, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature, about a hospital bill that followed a deceased patient’s family for more than a year.

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A photo of an older woman sitting in a nursing home.

As Covid Infections Rise, Nursing Homes Are Still Waiting for Vaccines

“People want covid-19 to be in the rearview mirror,” one nursing home official says. Faced with a slow rollout of the updated covid vaccines, and without state mandates for workers to get vaccinated, most skilled nursing facilities are relying on persuasion to boost vaccination rates among staff and residents.

By Jordan Rau and Tony Leys

Sept. 27, 2023

What Happens to Health Programs if the Federal Government Shuts Down?

Medicare and Medicaid shouldn’t be affected, but confusion can be expected.

By Julie Rovner

Sept. 27, 2023

A digital illustration in colorful gouache shows a child sitting on the ground beside a backpack and a teddy bear in a dark void. She is looking up, with a puzzled expression, at two large, floating pill bottles, which are dropping pills on and around her like snow.

Florida Foster Kids Are Given Powerful Medications, but Feds Find State Oversight Lacking

A report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services raises troubling questions about the use of powerful medications within Florida’s child welfare system and the risk of overdoses or dangerous side effects if children are given the wrong combination of drugs.

By Christopher O’Donnell, Tampa Bay Times

Sept. 27, 2023

Epidemic

The Tata Way

Season 2, Episode 5

Sept. 26, 2023

Episode 5 of the “Eradicating Smallpox” podcast explores how a partnership between public health institutions and a huge, influential private company was key in the campaign to eliminate smallpox.

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