KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': RFK Jr. in the Hot Seat
January 30, 2025
Podcast
President Donald Trump’s choice to lead the vast Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., faced sharp questioning from senators this week, particularly over his history of vaccine denialism. Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s second week has been even more disruptive than its first, with an on-again, off-again funding freeze that left many around the country scrambling to understand what was going on. Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Nicholas Bagley, a University of Michigan law professor, who explains how the federal regulatory system is supposed to operate to make health policy.
Even When IVF Is Covered by Insurance, High Bills and Hassles Abound
By Phil Galewitz
Illustration by Oona Zenda
May 4, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Only 15 states require insurance to cover in vitro fertilization, a common path to parenthood for people who have trouble getting pregnant. And even for those whose insurance covers IVF, the expensive procedures and required drugs can lead to unexpected bills.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Anti-Abortion Hard-Liners Speak Up
May 23, 2024
Podcast
While Republican candidates in many states downplay their opposition to abortion, the most vehement wing of the movement, which helped overturn Roe v. Wade — those who advocate prosecuting patients, outlawing contraception, and banning IVF — are increasingly outspoken. Meanwhile, some state legislatures continue to advance new restrictions, like a proposal moving in Louisiana to include abortion medications mifepristone and misoprostol on the list of the most dangerous drugs. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins schools of public health and nursing and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Shefali Luthra of The 19th about her new book on abortion in post-Roe America, “Undue Burden.”
States Pull Back on Covid Data Even Amid Delta Surge
By Andy Miller
August 27, 2021
KFF Health News Original
As covid case numbers rise nationwide, Georgia and some other states have restricted the case count data they share publicly.
Journalists Broach Topics From Vaccines and Super Bowl to True Love
February 12, 2021
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.
Beneficiarios de Medicaid se vacunan mucho menos contra covid
By Phil Galewitz
August 27, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Si bien más de 202 millones de estadounidenses están vacunados al menos en parte contra covid, casi el 30% de las personas mayores de 12 años siguen sin vacunarse. Las encuestas muestran que los más pobres tienen menos probabilidades de recibir una vacuna.
Medicaid Vaccination Rates Founder as States Struggle to Immunize Their Poorest Residents
By Phil Galewitz
August 27, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Efforts by states and the private health plans that many states pay to cover low-income Americans has been scattershot and hampered by a lack of data.
Jaw Surgery Takes a $27,119 Bite out of One Man’s Budget
By Phil Galewitz
August 27, 2021
KFF Health News Original
A Seattle patient discovers the hard way that you can still hit a lifetime limit for certain types of care. And health plans can vary a lot from one job to the next, even if the insurer is the same.
Apple, Bose and Others Pump Up the Volume on Hearing Aid Options, Filling Void Left by FDA
By Phil Galewitz
August 26, 2021
KFF Health News Original
A 2017 law designed to help lower the cost of hearing aids mandated that federal officials set rules for a new class of devices consumers could buy without needing to see an audiologist. But those regulations are still on hold.
Skirmish Between Biden and Red States Over Medicaid Leaves Enrollees in the Balance
By Phil Galewitz Andy Miller
February 10, 2022
KFF Health News Original
The Biden administration is getting rid of several policies implemented by Trump-era appointees that restricted enrollment. Federal officials now say states can no longer charge premiums to low-income residents enrolled in Medicaid and have ruled out work requirements.
“Sabiduría y miedo” llevan al 90% de los adultos mayores de EE.UU. a vacunarse contra covid
By Phil Galewitz
August 4, 2021
KFF Health News Original
La pandemia ha sido especialmente cruel para los adultos mayores. Casi el 80% de las muertes ocurrieron entre personas de 65 años y más. Millones estuvieron aislados en residencias y en sus casas por meses.
‘Wisdom and Fear’ Lead 90% of U.S. Seniors to Covid Vaccines
By Phil Galewitz
August 4, 2021
KFF Health News Original
The success in getting shots to older adults is likely due to states prioritizing that effort when the vaccines became available and motivation among the elderly after the virus killed so many in their age group.
Una prueba rápida negativa no significa que se está libre de covid
By Julie Appleby Phil Galewitz
January 13, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Muchos ven a los kits caseros negativos como una “tarjeta de libertad”. Pero puede haber errores, y también infecciones futuras.
How Not to Use Rapid Covid Tests
By Julie Appleby Phil Galewitz
January 13, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Although at-home antigen testing remains a useful tool, experts warn it is often used inappropriately and can provide false confidence for people concerned about safety.
Amid Covid Booster Debate, West Virginia to Check Immunity of Vaccinated Nursing Home Residents
By Phil Galewitz
July 30, 2021
KFF Health News Original
The state says it will look at the levels of disease-fighting antibodies among nursing home residents vaccinated against covid, which could help indicate whether they need a booster shot.
Estados todavía deben usar el dinero federal que recibieron para zanjar disparidades de salud por covid
By Phil Galewitz Lauren Weber Sam Whitehead
May 16, 2022
KFF Health News Original
A un año de recibir millones del gobierno federal, los estados apenas han comenzado a pensar cómo utilizar el dinero que recibieron para zanjar la desigualdad en salud que generó, y agravó, la pandemia.
States Have Yet to Spend Hundreds of Millions of Federal Dollars to Tackle Covid Health Disparities
By Phil Galewitz Lauren Weber Sam Whitehead
May 16, 2022
KFF Health News Original
A year ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded states and local health departments $2.25 billion to help people of color and other populations at higher risk from covid. But a KHN review shows public health agencies across the country have been slow to spend it.
Record Number of Americans Sign Up for ACA Health Insurance
By Phil Galewitz Andy Miller
December 23, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Nearly 14 million Americans have enrolled in Affordable Care Act marketplace health plans for next year — a record since the health law’s coverage expansion took effect in 2014. A boost in subsidies marketing and assistance in navigating the process increased the rolls of the insured.
KHN on the Air This Week
January 8, 2021
KFF Health News Original
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media in recent weeks to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Missouri Takes Months to Process Medicaid Applications — Longer Than Law Allows
By Bram Sable-Smith Phil Galewitz
February 18, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Missouri has more people waiting to have their Medicaid applications processed than it has approved since the expansion of the federal-state health insurance program. Although most states process Medicaid applications within a week, Missouri is taking, on average, more than two months. Patient advocates fear that means people will stay uninsured longer, leading them to postpone care or get stuck with high medical bills.
