When Hospitals Ditch Medicare Advantage Plans, Thousands of Members Get To Leave, Too
By Susan Jaffe
April 28, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Breakups between health providers and Advantage plans are increasingly common. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has allowed whole groups of patients to leave their plans.
A Windfall in Health Insurance Rebates? It’s Not as Crazy as It Sounds
By Julie Appleby
June 7, 2023
KFF Health News Original
The billion-dollar amount cited by former Sen. Al Franken, while an estimate, is likely very close to what insurers will owe this year under a provision of the Affordable Care Act that compels rebates when insurers spend too little on actual medical care.
GOP Takes Aim at Medicaid, Putting Enrollees and Providers at Risk
By Phil Galewitz
February 21, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Congressional Republicans are pushing plans that could make deep cuts to Medicaid to finance President Donald Trump’s tax cuts and other priorities. At stake is coverage for millions of low-income Americans, as well as a huge revenue source for hospitals — and every state.
Misinformation Clouds America’s Most Popular Emergency Contraception
By Sarah Varney
June 7, 2022
KFF Health News Original
At a moment when half of U.S. states stand poised to outlaw or sharply curtail abortion services, the nation’s most popular emergency contraception brand rests in the unlikely stewardship of two private equity firms.
Lack of Affordability Tops Older Americans’ List of Health Care Worries
By Judith Graham
Updated July 10, 2024
Originally Published July 3, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Rising health care costs are fueling anxiety among older Americans covered by Medicare. They’re right to be concerned.
A Needle Exchange Project Modeled on Urban Efforts Aims to Save Lives in Rural Nevada
By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez
August 24, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Five years after HIV tore through a rural Indiana town as a result of widespread drug use, a syringe and needle exchange program was set up in rural Nevada to prevent a similar event.
Journalists Discuss Medicaid Rules, Opioid Settlement Funds, and the Public Health Workforce
December 3, 2022
KFF Health News Original
KHN 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.
Helene and CVS Land Double Whammy for 25,000 Patients Who Survive on IV Nutrition
By Arthur Allen
Updated October 18, 2024
Originally Published October 18, 2024
KFF Health News Original
A Massachusetts woman ended up stranded in the hospital because CVS stopped providing the IV nutrition she needs to survive at home. Without it, she’d starve.
Ohio votó a favor del aborto. Podrían seguir otros 11 estados el próximo año
By Bram Sable-Smith
November 8, 2023
KFF Health News Original
El impulso para llevar el polémico tema a los votantes llega después de la serie de victorias en las votaciones del año pasado a favor del derecho al aborto en seis estados: California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana y Vermont.
For Young People on Medicare, a Hysterectomy Sometimes Is More Affordable Than Birth Control
By Gina Jiménez
March 7, 2023
KFF Health News Original
While Medicare was designed as health insurance for those 65 and older, it also covers people with disabilities who are young enough to still get pregnant. Yet they often struggle to get their birth control covered and end up with large medical bills — or instead opt for hysterectomies or tubal ligations, which Medicare sometimes will cover.
Anti-Abortion Groups Shrug Off Election Losses, Look to Courts, Statehouses for Path Forward
By Rachana Pradhan
November 22, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Anti-abortion groups have lost seven consecutive elections on state ballot measures about abortion. They say they’re unfazed and plan to keep focusing on lawmakers and courts to notch wins.
Readers Speak Up About Women’s Health Issues, From Reproductive Care to Drinking
April 9, 2024
KFF Health News Original
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Harris, Once Biden’s Voice on Abortion, Would Take an Outspoken Approach to Health
By Stephanie Armour Julie Appleby Julie Rovner
July 21, 2024
KFF Health News Original
If she grabs the baton from President Joe Biden to become the new presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Kamala Harris would widely be expected to take an aggressive stance in support of abortion access — hitting former President Donald Trump on an issue that could undermine his chances of victory.
Smaller Employers Weigh a Big-Company Fix for Scarce Primary Care: Their Own Clinics
By Phil Galewitz
October 27, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Company health clinics are most common at large workplaces, but some small employers say they see advantages, too: healthier workers, lower costs, and better access to primary care.
FDA Urged To Relax Decades-Old Tissue Donation Restrictions for Gay and Bisexual Men
By Rae Ellen Bichell
May 24, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Federal regulations prevent gay and bisexual men from donating tissue, such as corneas, ligaments, and blood vessels. Similar restrictions have been relaxed or lifted for donated blood and organs in recent years.
NYC Makes Clear Its Intent to Lead on Abortion Access
By Michelle Andrews
February 28, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Mayor Eric Adams’ announcement this year to provide abortion pills free of charge at four of New York’s sexual health clinics is the city’s latest move on abortion access. Other jurisdictions are also taking steps.
Readers Rail at Social Security Overpayments and Insurers’ Prior Authorizations
September 28, 2023
KFF Health News Original
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
How Measles, Whooping Cough, and Worse Could Roar Back on RFK Jr.’s Watch
By Arthur Allen
December 6, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Inoculation campaigns that protect children and adults from dangerous diseases rely on a delicate web of state and federal laws and programs. If senior officials cast doubt on vaccine safety, the whole system might collapse, especially in red states.
West Virginia City Once Battered by Opioid Overdoses Confronts ‘Fourth Wave’
By Taylor Sisk
March 13, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Years of struggle prepared residents in Cabell County, West Virginia, to confront the latest wave of the opioid epidemic as mixtures of fentanyl and other drugs claim lives nationwide.
Federal Program to Save Rural Hospitals Feels ‘Growing Pains’
By Sarah Jane Tribble Tony Leys
January 16, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Fewer than two dozen rural hospitals were converted into Rural Emergency Hospitals in the program’s first year. Now, advocates and lawmakers say tweaks to the law are necessary to lure more takers and keep health care in rural communities.
