Why Even Public Health Experts Have Limited Insight Into Stopping Gun Violence in America
By Christine Spolar
Illustration by Oona Zenda
March 6, 2024
KFF Health News Original
After the 1996 Dickey Amendment halted federal spending on research into firearms risks, a small group of academics pressed on, with little money or political support, to document the nation’s growing gun violence problem and start to understand what can be done to curb the public health crisis.
Hospital Investigated for Allegedly Denying an Emergency Abortion After Patient’s Water Broke
By Harris Meyer
November 1, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Federal officials have ordered the probe after reports that a woman whose water broke at 18 weeks could not get medical care recommended by her doctors to end the pregnancy because hospital officials were concerned about Missouri’s strict abortion law.
Cómo las comunidades rurales están perdiendo sus farmacias
By Markian Hawryluk
November 15, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Las farmacias de las esquinas, que alguna vez estuvieron tanto en las grandes ciudades como en los pueblos rurales, están desapareciendo de muchas áreas del país, dejando a unos 41 millones de estadounidenses en lo que se conoce como “desiertos de farmacias”, sin fácil acceso a las farmacias.
Black-Owned Hospice Seeks to Bring Greater Ease in Dying to Black Families
By Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio
January 10, 2022
KFF Health News Original
National data shows that Black Medicare patients and their families are not making the move to comfort care as often as white patients are. Experts speculate it’s related to spiritual beliefs and widespread mistrust in the medical system due to decades of discrimination.
Stopping the Churn: Why Some States Want to Guarantee Medicaid Coverage From Birth to Age 6
By Phil Galewitz
November 10, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Oregon has become the first state to allow kids to stay in the government health care program from birth to age 6, no matter if their household income changes. California, Washington, and New Mexico are pursuing similar policies.
While Inflation Takes a Toll on Seniors, Billions of Dollars in Benefits Go Unused
By Judith Graham
September 12, 2022
KFF Health News Original
With prices of necessities rising dramatically, many older Americans are having trouble making ends meet. They often don’t know that help is available from a variety of programs, and some sources of financial assistance are underused.
Legal Pot Is More Potent Than Ever — And Still Largely Unregulated
By David Hilzenrath
May 9, 2023
KFF Health News Original
As marijuana has become far more mainstream, potent, and sometimes dangerous, uneven regulation at the state and federal levels leaves consumers at risk.
When Malpractice Occurs at Community Health Centers, Taxpayers Pay
By Phil Galewitz Bram Sable-Smith
November 28, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Federally funded clinics and their doctors are protected against lawsuits by federal law, with taxpayers footing the bill. The health centers say that allows them to better serve their low-income patients, but lawyers say the system handcuffs consumers with a cumbersome legal process and makes it harder for the public to see problems.
Montana Hires a Medicaid Director With a Managed-Care Past
By Katheryn Houghton Tony Leys
June 1, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Montana, one of about a dozen states still managing its own Medicaid programs, has a new Medicaid director who championed handing the management of the program to private companies in Iowa and Kansas.
As Red States Push Strident Abortion Bans, Other Restrictions Suddenly Look Less Extreme
By Julie Rovner
March 30, 2022
KFF Health News Original
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority has yet to make clear its stand on Roe v. Wade. But state lawmakers aren’t waiting to consider a variety of extreme measures: bills that would ban abortions in cases of ectopic pregnancies, allow rapists’ families to object to terminating a victim’s pregnancy, or prohibit the procedure in the case of fetal disability. Do these proposals make the less extreme restrictions seem more mainstream?
Decisiones financieras de los hospitales juegan un papel en la escasez de camas pediátricas para pacientes con VRS
By Liz Szabo
December 9, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Los hospitales optimizan los ingresos tratando de mantener sus camas llenas al 100 %, y llenas de pacientes con condiciones que las aseguradoras reembolsan bien.
Fighting Monkeypox, Sexual Health Clinics Are Underfunded and Ill-Equipped
By Liz Szabo Lauren Weber
July 19, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Sexual health clinics are scrambling to properly track, test, and treat hundreds of monkeypox patients. So far, it isn’t going well.
Nurse Midwives Step Up to Provide Prenatal Care After Two Rural Hospitals Shutter Birthing Centers
By Tony Leys
July 15, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Dozens of Iowa hospitals have closed their birthing units. A team of University of Iowa nurse midwives can’t reopen them, but they’ve found a way to provide prenatal checkups and other crucial services in two towns.
Kids Want to Put Montana on Trial for Unhealthy Climate Policies
By Nick Ehli
July 14, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Sixteen children and young adults are suing the state over energy policies they say are hurting their health and environment. The flooding that closed Yellowstone National Park may show they have a point.
Para pacientes de cáncer sin seguro, conseguir atención médica es una lotería
By Charlotte Huff
April 10, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Los estudios demuestran que, a veces, los adultos sin seguro retrasan la atención, lo que puede perjudicar las probabilidades de supervivencia. Pero que los pacientes obtengan un seguro para cubrir el tratamiento se parece un poco al juego de la ruleta, es decir, depende de dónde vivan y del tipo de cáncer que padezcan.
LA Mayoral Hopefuls Agree Addressing Homelessness Is Crucial but Disagree on How
By Linda Marsa
April 29, 2022
KFF Health News Original
The top candidates to lead California’s most populous city have pledged to expand services for homeless people struggling with mental illness and substance use disorders. But they differ on whether the city should control homeless funding or continue a partnership with the county.
Vaccine and Testing Delays for Monkeypox Echo Failures in Early Covid Response
By Michelle Andrews
July 8, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Public health officials say monkeypox is not as dangerous as covid and can be handled well with current treatments and if those at risk use caution. But the rollout of vaccines has been slow and led to angst among some at-risk people.
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.
States Fight Student Mental Health Crisis With Days Off
By Giles Bruce
June 13, 2022
KFF Health News Original
In early 2022, Illinois joined a growing number of states where lawmakers and school leaders are trying to combat the ongoing student mental health crisis by granting days off for mental health needs.
What Germany’s Coal Miners Can Teach America About Medical Debt
By Noam N. Levey
December 14, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Coal mining ended in Germany’s Saarland a decade ago, but the transition away from coal has been smoother than in West Virginia, which has more medical debt than any state in America.
