Halfway Through ‘Unwinding,’ Medicaid Enrollment Is Down About 10 Million
By Phil Galewitz
February 6, 2024
KFF Health News Original
We’re halfway through the Medicaid “unwinding,” in which states are dropping people from the government health insurance program for the first time since the pandemic began. Millions of people have been dumped from the rolls since April, often for procedural issues like failing to respond to notices or return paperwork. But at the same time, […]
An Arm and a Leg: The Woman Who Beat an $8,000 Hospital Fee
By Dan Weissmann
July 17, 2024
Podcast
In this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” host Dan Weissmann speaks with Georgann Boatright, a patient in Mississippi who was willing to drive to another state to avoid paying a steep fee to her local hospital.
Congressman Blames Trump Team for Ending Telehealth Medicare Benefit. Not Quite Right.
By Suz Redfearn
Updated March 17, 2025
Originally Published March 17, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Rep. Ro Khanna of California warned of Trump administration “cuts” to Medicare telehealth access hitting March 31. But if Medicare recipients lose telemedicine benefits that day, it will be because Congress failed to act.
Slashed Federal Funding Cancels Vaccine Clinics Amid Measles Surge
By Bram Sable-Smith Arielle Zionts Jackie Fortiér
April 9, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Federal funding cuts, though temporarily blocked by a judge, have upended vaccination clinics across the country, including in Arizona, Minnesota, Nevada, Texas, and Washington state, amid a rise in vaccine hesitancy and a resurgence of measles.
Rural Hospitals and Patients Are Disconnected From Modern Care
By Sarah Jane Tribble Holly K. Hacker Caresse Jackman, InvestigateTV
April 9, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Technological gaps handicap rural hospitals as billions in federal funding to modernize infrastructure lags. The reliance on outdated technology and piecemeal systems challenge staffs and erode patient care.
She Paid Her Husband’s Hospital Bill. A Year After His Death, They Wanted More Money.
By Samantha Liss
August 29, 2023
KFF Health News Original
A widow encountered a perplexing reality in medical billing: Providers can come after patients to collect well after a bill has been paid.
Blockbuster Deal Will Wipe Out $30 Billion in Medical Debt. Even Backers Say It’s Not Enough.
By Noam N. Levey
April 7, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Undue Medical Debt is retiring unpaid medical bills for 20 million people. The debt trading company that owned them is leaving the market.
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.
What Would a Second Trump Presidency Look Like for Health Care?
By Julie Rovner
January 16, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Health policy during Donald Trump’s tenure was dominated by covid-19 and a failed effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. His appointments to the Supreme Court led to the end of national abortion rights, and he took steps to increase hospital price transparency and improve care for veterans.
Republicans Once Wanted Government out of Health Care. Trump Voters See It Differently.
By Noam N. Levey
February 27, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Frustrated by high health care prices, many who backed President Donald Trump support strong government actions to protect patients. It’s unclear whether GOP leaders will listen.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Underinsured Is the New Uninsured
September 14, 2023
Podcast
The percentage of working-age adults with health insurance went up and the uninsured rate dropped last year, the U.S. Census Bureau reported this week. There isn’t much suspense about which way the uninsured rate is now trending, as states continue efforts to strip ineligible beneficiaries from their Medicaid rolls. But is the focus on the uninsured obscuring the struggles of the underinsured? Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join KFF Health News’ Emmarie Huetteman to discuss these issues and more.
If You’re Poor, Fertility Treatment Can Be Out of Reach
By Michelle Andrews
February 26, 2024
KFF Health News Original
For low-income people who are on Medicaid or whose employer health plan is skimpy, help for infertility seems unattainable.
A California Lawmaker Leans Into Her Medical Training in Fight for Health Safety Net
By Christine Mai-Duc
May 9, 2025
KFF Health News Original
As California’s budget deadline looms, state Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson, a physician-turned-lawmaker, says state leaders may soon have to make some tough decisions on health care spending. With the state’s Medi-Cal program billions of dollars short, California’s health care safety net is at risk — even without federal cuts to Medicaid.
Medicaid Payments Barely Keep Hospital Mental Health Units Afloat. Federal Cuts Could Sink Them.
By Tony Leys
May 12, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Patients seeking mental health care are more likely to be on Medicaid than patients in more profitable areas of care, such as cancer or cardiac treatment.
What One Expectant Mom’s Effort To Get an RSV Shot Says About Health Policy
By Elisabeth Rosenthal
November 13, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Today we bring you the story of a patient seeking the RSV vaccine — and how her frustrating journey illustrates why it can be so hard in the United States to get an important medicine recommended by federal regulators. Hannah Fegley of Silver Spring, Md., says she spent seven hours on the phone last month […]
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Hello, Trump. Bye-Bye, Biden.
January 16, 2025
Podcast
With just days to go before the official launch of a new administration, the GOP-led Congress is putting together plans on how to enact incoming President Donald Trump’s agenda, with a particular emphasis on cutting spending on the Medicaid program. Meanwhile, the Biden administration makes major moves in its last days, including banning a controversial food dye and ordering cigarette companies to minimize their nicotine content. Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Harris Meyer, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News “Bill of the Month” feature, about a colonoscopy that came with a much larger price tag than estimated.
GOP Presidential Primary Debate No. 2: An Angry Rematch and the Same Notable No-Show
By KFF Health News and PolitiFact staffs
September 28, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Though never framed as a marquee issue, the topic of health care crept into the chaotic seven-way faceoff throughout the evening, highlighting Republican culture-war themes.
Harris, Once Biden’s Voice on Abortion, Would Take an Outspoken Approach to Health
By Stephanie Armour Julie Appleby Julie Rovner
July 21, 2024
KFF Health News Original
If she grabs the baton from President Joe Biden to become the new presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Kamala Harris would widely be expected to take an aggressive stance in support of abortion access — hitting former President Donald Trump on an issue that could undermine his chances of victory.
Feds Rein In Use of Predictive Software That Limits Care for Medicare Advantage Patients
By Susan Jaffe
October 5, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Software sifts through millions of medical records to match patients with similar diagnoses and characteristics and then predicts what kind of care an individual will need and for how long. New federal rules will ensure human experts are part of the process.
Health Secretary Becerra Touts Extreme Heat Protections. Farmworkers Want More.
By Vanessa G. Sánchez
September 9, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra has a plan to protect farmworkers from extreme heat and wildfire smoke, but farmworkers who pick California grapes say they need more, as climate change brings more extreme weather.
