Is the Nation’s Primary Care Shortage as Bad as Federal Data Suggest?
By Rae Ellen Bichell
February 1, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Federal policymakers have been trying for a long time to lure more primary care providers to understaffed areas. The Biden administration boosted funding in 2022 to address shortages and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) pushed sweeping primary care legislation in 2023. But when KFF Health News set out last year to map where the primary care workforce shortages really are — and where […]
¿Dónde están los proveedores de atención primaria del país? La respuesta no es fácil
By Rae Ellen Bichell
January 30, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Expertos en el tema sienten una frustración persistente: es difícil saber si alguna política está funcionando porque los datos que recopila el gobierno federal sobre las áreas de escasez de atención primaria no han sido fidedignos durante mucho tiempo.
Where Are the Nation’s Primary Care Providers? It’s Not an Easy Answer
By Rae Ellen Bichell
January 30, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Politicians keep talking about fixing primary care shortages. But flawed national data leaves big holes in how to evaluate which policies are effective.
A Nanoengineer Teamed Up With Rihanna’s Tattoo Artist to Make Smarter Ink
By Rae Ellen Bichell
August 28, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Tattoos are more popular than ever. About a third of Americans have at least one. A scientist-entrepreneur, together with a celebrity tattoo artist, believes that ink could be doing a lot more.
Journalists Explore Health Care Disparities and Policy Pitfalls
December 4, 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.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Closing In on Covid Vaccines for ‘The Littles’
June 16, 2022
KFF Health News Original
The wait is nearly over for parents of kids under 5 as a key advisory committee to the FDA recommends authorizing a covid-19 vaccine for the youngest children. Meanwhile, Congress is struggling to fill in the details of its gun control compromise, and, as the Supreme Court prepares to throw the question of abortion legality back to the states, the number of abortions has been rising. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
Journalists Examine Vaccination Rates Among Student Nurses and in Covid Hot Spots
October 9, 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.
States Opting Out of a Federal Program That Tracks Teen Behavior as Youth Mental Health Worsens
By Daniel Chang
October 26, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Colorado, Florida, and Idaho are the latest states to opt out of a survey that tracks concerning behaviors in high school students. Officials cite low participation and state laws that require parental permission. But some advocates say dwindling state participation is an “enormous loss” that will make it harder to track signs of poor mental health — like drug and alcohol misuse and suicidal ideation — among teens.
Los mentores trabajan, sin límites, en la recuperación de adicciones
By Rae Ellen Bichell
November 16, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Los especialistas en apoyo a pares están ellos mismos en recuperación y se los contrata para ayudar a otros. Pueden vincularse con los pacientes de una manera distinta que los profesionales de salud.
The Player-Coaches of Addiction Recovery Work Without Boundaries
By Rae Ellen Bichell
November 16, 2022
KFF Health News Original
States, tribes, and local governments are figuring out how best to spend billions of dollars from an opioid lawsuit settlement. One option they’re considering is funding peer support specialists, who guide people recovering from addiction as they do it themselves.
Baby, That Bill Is High: Private Equity ‘Gambit’ Squeezes Excessive ER Charges From Routine Births
By Rae Ellen Bichell
October 13, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Hospitals, boosted by private equity-backed staffing companies, have embraced a new idea: the obstetrics emergency department. Often, it is just a triage room in the labor-and-delivery area, but it bills like the main emergency department.
Ex-Eye Bank Workers Say Pressure, Lax Oversight Led to Errors
By Madelyn Beck, WyoFile Rae Ellen Bichell
November 20, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Corneas, the windshields of the eye, are the most transplanted part of the human body. But four former employees at Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Bank told of numerous retrieval problems, including damage to eyes and removal from the wrong body.
Montana Clinics That Provide Abortions Preemptively Restrict Pill Access for Out-of-State Patients
By Katheryn Houghton Arielle Zionts
July 7, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Montana is an island of legal abortion, but three of the state’s five clinics are limiting access to abortion pills for out-of-state patients in an effort to protect themselves and patients from legal attacks.
Patient Satisfaction Surveys Earn a Zero on Tracking Whether Hospitals Deliver Culturally Competent Care
By Rae Ellen Bichell
September 8, 2022
KFF Health News Original
In an industry obsessed with consumer satisfaction national patient surveys still don’t get at an important question: Are hospitals delivering culturally competent care?
Students in Rural Colorado Are Left Without Options as Specialized Schools Close
By Rae Ellen Bichell Helen Santoro
May 12, 2023
KFF Health News Original
A new state law aims to keep the doors open at schools that accept students with intensive needs. One preteen in rural Colorado shows how the current system leaves some students bouncing between institutions far from home.
Más escuelas tienen el medicamento para revertir sobredosis, pero otras se preocupan por el estigma
By Rae Ellen Bichell Virginia Garcia Pivik
October 3, 2023
KFF Health News Original
La Administración de Salud Mental y Abuso de Sustancias federal recomienda que las escuelas, incluidas las primarias, tengan naloxona disponible, ante el aumento de las sobredosis mortales de opioides, especialmente de la potente droga fentanilo.
More Schools Stock Overdose Reversal Meds, but Others Worry About Stigma
By Rae Ellen Bichell Virginia Garcia Pivik
October 3, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Colorado is among several states that ensure schools have access to the opioid overdose reversal medication naloxone for free or at reduced cost. But most districts hadn’t signed up by the start of the school year for a state distribution program amid stigma around the lifesaving treatment.
Medical Debt Affects Much of America, but Colorado Immigrants Are Hit Especially Hard
By Rae Ellen Bichell Lindsey Toomer, Colorado Newsline
April 3, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Colorado is ahead of the curve on policies to prevent medical debt, but the gap between the debt load in places inhabited primarily by people of color versus non-Hispanic white residents is greater than the national average.
La deuda médica afecta a gran parte de EE.UU., pero en especial a inmigrantes en Colorado
By Rae Ellen Bichell Lindsey Toomer, Colorado Newsline
April 3, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Las luchas del área reflejan una paradoja sobre Colorado. En general, la carga de deuda médica del estado es más baja que la de la mayoría. Pero las disparidades raciales y étnicas son más amplias.
Journalists Discuss Long Covid, Delta Variant, Clinic for Migrants
July 3, 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.
