Toddler’s Backyard Snakebite Bills Totaled More Than a Quarter Million Dollars
By Jackie Fortiér
October 30, 2024
KFF Health News Original
For snakebite victims, antivenom is critical — and costly. It took more than $200,000 worth of antivenom to save one toddler’s life after he was bitten by a rattlesnake.
The First Year of Georgia’s Medicaid Work Requirement Is Mired in Red Tape
By Renuka Rayasam Sam Whitehead
September 13, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Georgia must decide soon whether to try to extend a limited Medicaid expansion that requires participants to work. Enrollment fell far short of goals in the first year, and the state isn’t yet able to verify participants are working.
Social Security Tackles Overpayment ‘Injustices,’ but Problems Remain
By David Hilzenrath Jodie Fleischer, Cox Media Group
Updated November 18, 2024
Originally Published November 18, 2024
KFF Health News Original
With his term soon to expire, Social Security chief Martin O’Malley’s efforts to address the agency’s overpayments to beneficiaries remain incomplete.
LGBTQ+ People Relive Old Traumas as They Age on Their Own
By Judith Graham
December 24, 2024
KFF Health News Original
The generation that faced discrimination, ostracism, and the AIDS epidemic now faces old age. Many struggle with isolation along with a host of pressing health problems.
Back Pain? Bum Knee? Be Prepared to Wait for a Physical Therapist
By Mark Kreidler
November 28, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Physical therapists left the field en masse during the covid-19 pandemic, even as demand from aging baby boomers skyrocketed. While universities try to boost their training programs to increase the number of graduates, patients seeking relief from often debilitating pain are left to wait.
End of Pandemic Internet Subsidies Threatens a Health Care Lifeline for Rural America
By Sarah Jane Tribble
June 5, 2024
KFF Health News Original
As the Affordable Connectivity Program runs out of money, millions of people face a jump in internet costs or lost connections if federal lawmakers don’t pass a funding extension.
Black Americans Still Suffer Worse Health. Here’s Why There’s So Little Progress.
By Fred Clasen-Kelly Renuka Rayasam
October 28, 2024
KFF Health News Original
The United States has made almost no progress in closing racial health disparities despite promises, research shows. The government, some critics argue, is often the underlying culprit.
Using Opioid Settlement Cash for Police Gear Like Squad Cars and Scanners Sparks Debate
By Aneri Pattani
October 23, 2023
KFF Health News Original
State and local governments will receive a windfall of more than $50 billion over 18 years from settlements with companies that made, sold, or distributed opioid painkillers. Using the funds for law enforcement has triggered important questions about what the money was meant for.
$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.
‘What Happens Three Months From Now?’ Mental Health After Georgia High School Shooting
By Sam Whitehead Renuka Rayasam Andy Miller
September 13, 2024
KFF Health News Original
The recent shooting at Apalachee High School outside of Atlanta caused more than physical wounds. Medical experts worry a lack of mental health resources in the community — and in Georgia as a whole — means few options for those trying to cope with trauma from the shooting.
Lifesaving Drugs and Police Projects Mark First Use of Opioid Settlement Cash in California
By Aneri Pattani Don Thompson
July 12, 2024
KFF Health News Original
California is in line for more than $4 billion in opioid settlement funds, and local governments are most often spending the first tranche of money on lifesaving drugs. An exclusive KFF Health News analysis also found projects to help police deter youths’ drug use and counsel officers who witness overdoses.
New Medicare Advantage Plans Tailor Offerings to Asian Americans, Latinos, and LGBTQ+
By Stephanie Stephens
September 28, 2023
KFF Health News Original
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.
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.
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.
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.
Rescate desde el cielo: cómo los drones pueden reducir el tiempo de respuesta a una emergencia
By Michelle Andrews
July 22, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Cada año más de 356,000 personas sufren un paro cardíaco fuera de un hospital. Cada minuto que pasa sin intervención médica disminuye las probabilidades de supervivencia en un 10%.
Distribuyen $2 millones entre víctimas del tiroteo del Super Bowl y grupos comunitarios
By Peggy Lowe, KCUR Bram Sable-Smith
June 28, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Desde el tiroteo, algunas víctimas y sus familias han recibido facturas médicas por miles de dólares, por tratamientos en salas de emergencia, viajes en ambulancia, atención médica continua por las heridas de bala o consejería de salud mental.
A Move to Cut Drug Prices Has Patients With Rare Diseases Worried
By Markian Hawryluk
August 30, 2023
KFF Health News Original
A Colorado board has named five drugs it will review for affordability and potential cost caps. But patients with cystic fibrosis worry they will lose access to a life-changing therapy.
Save Billions or Stick With Humira? Drug Brokers Steer Americans to the Costly Choice
By Arthur Allen
September 19, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Thousands of patients with autoimmune diseases who rely on Humira, with a list price of $6,600 a month, could get financial relief from new low-cost rivals. So far, the pharmacy benefit managers that control drug prices in America have not delivered on those savings.
Nuevos planes de Medicare Advantage adaptan ofertas para asiáticos, latinos y LGTBQ+
By Stephanie Stephens
September 28, 2023
KFF Health News Original
A medida que Medicare Advantage gana popularidad entre los adultos mayores, tres compañías del sur de California están lanzando nuevos planes que se enfocan en comunidades culturales y étnicas, con ofertas especiales y profesionales que hablan su idioma nativo.
