Telehealth Brings Expert Sexual Assault Exams to Rural Patients
Some rural residents must travel hours for a sexual assault exam. Specialized telehealth services are expanding so they can obtain care closer to home.
Search
Filter
Clear All21-40 of 314 results
-
-
It’s ‘Telehealth vs. No Care’: Doctors Say Congress Risks Leaving Patients Vulnerable
Congress’ $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package included a two-year extension of pandemic-era funding that helped telehealth services grow nationwide. But that cash bridge, embraced by those delivering services to patients in rural areas, doesn’t provide much certainty for the future of remote medicine.
-
Lawmakers Look To Make Abortion Shield Laws Less Dependent on Who’s Governor
California’s laws still leave extradition decisions related to reproductive rights and gender-affirming care to its governor. But as states with abortion bans target California physicians who prescribe abortion pills across state lines, Democrats want to lock in protections for doctors, no matter who the next governor is.
-
Big Companies Position Themselves for Payday From $50B Federal Rural Health Fund
A $50 billion federal fund is supposed to modernize rural health with electronic health records, AI, telehealth, and more. But community clinics and rural health advocates fear that the contractors administering the money for states will bite off a big chunk before it reaches rural patients.
-
Concerns Over Fairness, Access Rise as States Compete for Slice of $50B Rural Health Fund
Amid public forums and local cries for help, states are also talking with large health systems, technology companies, and others amid intensifying competition for shares of a $50 billion fund to improve rural health.
By Sarah Jane Tribble and Arielle Zionts -
In the Vast Expanses of Indian Country, Broadband Gaps Create Health Gaps, Too
On Idaho’s remote Fort Hall Reservation, thousands live without reliable high-speed internet, which supports health care, education, and daily life. Facing delays and wavering federal policy, Frances Goli is determined to spend more than $22 million in federal grant money before she runs out of time.
-
Why Medication Abortion Is the Top Target for Anti-Abortion Groups in 2026
With abortions still on the rise nationwide despite widespread bans, curtailing the use of pregnancy-terminating medication is a top priority for abortion opponents — and they’re frustrated that the Trump administration isn’t doing more to limit its use.
By Julie Rovner -
To Knock Down Health-System Hurdles Between You and HIV Prevention, Try These 6 Things
It’s been more than 10 years since the FDA first approved an HIV prevention drug. Today, people who could benefit from preexposure prophylaxis often struggle to access the lifesaving medicine or run into doctors without the education or empathy to offer affirming care. And those lapses can produce billing headaches.
By Zach Dyer -
Give and Take: Federal Rural Health Funding Could Trigger Service Cuts
States are rolling out plans for their share of a $50 billion fund meant to improve rural health care. In some states, the money may provoke rural hospitals to cut services.
By Aaron Bolton, MTPR and Arielle Zionts -
Urgent Care Clinics Move To Fill Abortion Care Gaps in Rural Areas
When the only clinic that offered abortions in Michigan’s rural Upper Peninsula closed, an urgent care facility stepped in to fill the gap. Now, others are considering similar moves as brick-and-mortar clinics close in blue states.
By Kate Wells -
Abortion Drug Law in Louisiana Heightens Hemorrhage Risk for Pregnant Patients
A 2024 state law reclassified misoprostol and mifepristone as controlled substances. That affects how hospitals can access the drugs in non-abortion emergencies, and other states appear to be taking note.
-
Even Where Abortion Is Still Legal, Many Brick-and-Mortar Clinics Are Closing
Some clinics that provide abortions are closing, even in states where voters have passed some of the nation's broadest abortion protections. It’s happening in places like New York, Illinois, and Michigan, as reproductive health care faces new financial pressures.
-
Health Care Heartaches: Your Winning Health Policy Valentines
KFF Health News shares our favorite reader-submitted health policy valentines. One struck us in the heart and inspired an original cartoon.
-
Listen to the Latest ‘KFF Health News Minute’
The "KFF Health News Minute” brings original health care and health policy reporting from our newsroom to the airwaves each week.
-
‘Dead Zones’ Where Internet and Health Care Lag
Get our weekly newsletter, The Week in Brief, featuring a roundup of our original coverage, Fridays at 2 p.m. ET.
-
Feds Promised ‘Radical Transparency’ but Are Withholding Rural Health Fund Applications
Proposals from states that have shared their applications to a new $50 billion rural health program include using drones to deliver medication, installing refrigerators to expand access to healthy produce, and bringing telehealth to libraries, day cares, and senior centers.
By Sarah Jane Tribble and Arielle Zionts -
Picture of Health
Mental Health and Substance Misuse Treatment Is Increasingly a Video Chat or Phone Call Away
More Californians are getting mental health or substance use disorder treatment online or over the phone than in person, according to a KFF Health News analysis of UCLA’s latest California Health Interview Survey. But the telehealth experience isn’t always positive.
-
Feds Promised ‘Radical Transparency’ but Withhold $50B Rural Fund Details
Get our weekly newsletter, The Week in Brief, featuring a roundup of our original coverage, Fridays at 2 p.m. ET.
-
Trump Team’s Reworking Delays Billions in Broadband Build-Out
A Trump administration reworking of a $42 billion broadband expansion program will trigger delays as millions of rural Americans wait for promised connections and the telehealth services they bring.
-
Readers Shop for Nutritional Information and Weigh Radiation and Cancer Risks
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.