What You Need to Know About the Drug Price Fight in Those TV Ads
By Arthur Allen
July 10, 2023
KFF Health News Original
At least nine bills introduced in Congress take aim at pharmacy benefit managers, the powerful middlemen that channel prescription drugs to patients.
What’s Indoor Air Quality Like in Long-Term Care Facilities During Wildfires? Worse Than You’d Think.
By Kylie Mohr
January 23, 2024
KFF Health News Original
As climate change-driven wildfires increasingly choke large parts of the United States with smoke each summer, new research shows residents in long-term care facilities are being exposed to dangerously poor air, even those who don’t set foot outside during smoke events.
Many Autoimmune Disease Patients Struggle With Diagnosis, Costs, Inattentive Care
By Andy Miller
Illustration by Oona Zenda
November 27, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Despite the prevalence of autoimmune conditions, like the thyroid disease Hashimoto’s, sometimes finding help can prove frustrating as well as expensive. There are often no definitive diagnostic tests, so patients may rack up big bills as they search for confirmation of their condition and for treatment options.
$2 Million Disbursed to Victims and Community Groups in Wake of Super Bowl Mass Shooting
By Peggy Lowe, KCUR Bram Sable-Smith
June 28, 2024
KFF Health News Original
The United Way of Greater Kansas City gave $1.2 million to victims and $832,000 to 14 community groups Thursday, hoping to reach other victims from the violence at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade, as well as those working to prevent gun violence.
Cardiovascular Disease Is Primed to Kill More Older Adults, Especially Blacks and Hispanics
By Judith Graham
May 30, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Cardiovascular disease is the biggest killer of older Americans, with Black and Hispanic people at higher risk. Despite medical advances, researchers say, disparities are expected to worsen in the coming decades.
Workers Pay the Price While Congress and Employers Debate Need for Heat Regulations
By Amy Maxmen
September 5, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Studies suggest official numbers vastly underestimate heat-related injuries and illness on the job. To institute protections, the government must calculate their cost — and the cost of inaction.
She Received Chemo in Two States. Why Did It Cost So Much More in Alaska?
By Arielle Zionts
September 29, 2023
KFF Health News Original
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.
How a Proposed Federal Heat Rule Might Have Saved These Workers’ Lives
By Amy Maxmen
Updated October 29, 2024
Originally Published October 28, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Laborers have suffered in extreme heat triggered by climate change. Deaths aren’t inevitable, researchers say: Employers can save lives by providing ample water and breaks.
Are You an Optimist? Could You Learn to Be? Your Health May Depend on It.
By Judith Graham
December 13, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Multiple studies show a strong association between higher levels of optimism and healthy aging. We ask some dedicated optimists what might explain the connection.
A New Era of Vaccines Leaves Old Questions About Prices Unanswered
By Elisabeth Rosenthal
October 27, 2023
KFF Health News Original
The CDC’s RSV vaccination recommendations beg the question: How much should an immunization that will possibly be given to millions of Americans cost to be truly valuable?
New Charleston Museum Nods to Historical Roots of US Health Disparities
By Lauren Sausser
June 27, 2023
KFF Health News Original
The $120 million International African American Museum that opened this week in Charleston, South Carolina, allows visitors to step back in history at Gadsden’s Wharf, where tens of thousands of enslaved Africans arrived in America, the genesis of generations of health disparities.
Desperate Families Search for Affordable Home Care
By Reed Abelson, The New York Times
December 4, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Facing a severe shortage of aides and high costs, people trying to keep aging loved ones at home often cobble together a patchwork of family and friends to help.
Gubernatorial Candidates Quarrel Over Glory for Winning Opioid Settlements
By Aneri Pattani
November 1, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Some gubernatorial candidates are sparring over bragging rights for their state’s share of $50 billion in opioid settlement funds. Many of the candidates are attorneys general who pursued the lawsuits that produced the payouts.
A California Physician Training Program Adds Diversity, but Where Do Graduates End Up?
By Stephanie Stephens
April 25, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Researchers found that, while a University of California medical training program has diversified the system’s pool of medical students, there’s not enough long-term data to know whether graduates return to practice where they’re needed most.
Pfizer’s Covid Cash Powers a ‘Marketing Machine’ on the Hunt for New Supernovas
By Arthur Allen
November 8, 2022
KFF Health News Original
While sales of its covid vaccines are falling, Pfizer plans to triple the price of the shots and use its bonanza from government contracts to buy and develop new blockbusters.
The Shrinking Number of Primary Care Physicians Is Reaching a Tipping Point
By Elisabeth Rosenthal
September 8, 2023
KFF Health News Original
The declining share of U.S. doctors in adult primary care is about 25% — a point beyond which many Americans won’t be able to find a family doctor at all.
California Expanded Medi-Cal to Unauthorized Residents. The Results Are Mixed.
By Vanessa G. Sánchez
November 8, 2024
KFF Health News Original
California this year completed its Medi-Cal expansion to include income-eligible residents regardless of their immigration status. This final installment of the “Faces of Medi-Cal” series profiles three of those newly eligible patients and how coverage has affected their health.
As Nonprofit Hospitals Reap Big Tax Breaks, States Scrutinize Their Required Charity Spending
By Andy Miller Markian Hawryluk
July 11, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Nonprofit hospitals avoid paying taxes if they provide community benefits such as charity care. More states are examining that trade-off, scrutinizing the extent of hospitals’ spending on their communities.
PBM Math: Big Chains Are Paid $23.55 To Fill a Blood Pressure Rx. Small Drugstores? $1.51.
By Andy Miller
October 24, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Criticism of prescription drug middlemen has intensified recently in the wake of a federal agency’s actions and legislative reform attempts. Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, though, vetoed a related bill that would have helped independent pharmacies, citing the unfunded cost of the move.
Incluso los rivales políticos coinciden en que es urgente resolver el problema de la deuda médica
By Noam N. Levey
October 7, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Desde 2021, en más de 20 estados se han promulgado nuevas leyes para frenar la facturación abusiva de los hospitales, ampliar la atención caritativa a los pacientes con ingresos más bajos y frenar a los recaudadores de deudas.
