By September, Nearly a Third of Americans Will Live in States With Legal Aid in Dying
Despite widespread support in polls for legalizing aid in dying, the number of people who go through with the practice remains very small.
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Despite widespread support in polls for legalizing aid in dying, the number of people who go through with the practice remains very small.
In several red states, officials say few or no abortions happened in 2023, raising alarm among researchers about the politicization of vital statistics.
States must submit Rural Health Transformation Program progress reports to the federal government, but they aren’t required to proactively post those reports, or related information, publicly.
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 The reliance on outdated technology and piecemeal systems challenge staffs and erode patient care.
The Trump administration has championed its Rural Health Transformation Program as an investment in American families who have been left behind. But Native American tribes, whose communities have a significant presence in rural America and have some of the greatest health needs, are ineligible to apply directly for funding.
Alabama, a state with one of the nation’s highest infant mortality rates, is betting on robots to help fix its maternal care crisis. But the state’s plan for telerobotic ultrasounds in rural areas has raised doubts.
Lower premiums often mean higher costs when you get sick and need care. Among the ways to plan ahead and soften the financial hit: health savings accounts, which act like a medical piggy bank.
Every state will receive at least $100 million annually from the federal Rural Health Transformation fund, but some scored millions more based on how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services judged the “quality” of their plans and willingness to pass policies embracing "Make America Healthy Again" initiatives.
A Maine woman sought care at a clinic for a tick bite, then paid full price after her insurer denied coverage. Its reason? She didn't have preapproval for the walk-in visit, even though testing later detected the pathogen that causes Lyme disease.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has criticized the broadening use of anxiety medications, claiming they’re harmful. Doctors and researchers say the MAHA movement is misrepresenting drugs that have been proved to safely treat chronic anxiety and point to broader social changes to explain their increased use.
A funding notice for Title X shifts the program’s emphasis from contraception to fertility, family formation, and addressing conditions that could cause infertility, including endometriosis. Experts say these priorities overlook key demographic trends, epidemiology, prevention of unwanted pregnancies, and the nation's high maternal mortality.
The largest hospital chain in Massachusetts is offering a new AI-assisted telehealth tool to patients who need primary care. Mass General Brigham says this and other AI tools can help relieve staff burnout and worker shortages, but some primary care physicians in the MGB system see it as a way to avoid fixing structural problems.
President Donald Trump called the Digital Equity Act unconstitutional, racist, and illegal. Then the $2.75 billion program for rural and underserved communities to gain internet access disappeared.
Independent and rural hospitals are collaborating with their neighbors to shore up their finances instead of joining larger health systems to stay afloat.
The Trump administration faces the challenge of naming a new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who can both satisfy the Make America Healthy Again movement and get confirmed by the Senate. Meanwhile, a new Senate bill to rescind the approval of the abortion pill mifepristone is again elevating the abortion debate, which some Republicans would prefer to stay on the back burner until after the midterms. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Lizzy Lawrence of Stat, and Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Bloomberg News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss the news. Also this week, Rovner interviews Georgetown University Law Center’s Katie Keith about the state of the Affordable Care Act on its 16th anniversary.
Lawmakers added a $50 billion program for rural health to President Donald Trump’s massive tax and spending package with promises it would help plug the hole left by Medicaid cuts. Rural hospital and clinic leaders worry the infusion won’t reach the right places.
More immigrants in New Orleans and Mississippi are skipping important health care appointments and experiencing heightened stress amid federal immigration raids.
Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate successfully negotiated an enormous end-of-Congress health package, including bipartisan efforts to address prescription drug prices — only to see it blown up at the last minute after Elon Musk and President-elect Donald Trump applied pressure. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court accepted its first abortion-related case of the term, and the attorney general of Texas sued a doctor in New York for prescribing abortion pills to a Texas patient. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Victoria Knight of Axios join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF President and CEO Drew Altman about what happened in health policy in 2024 and what to expect in 2025.
The workforce of a federal agency that oversees billions in grants for primary health care, HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health services, and workforce training has been slashed, sparking fears of what’s to come.
The experiences of one doctor in Louisiana reveal the tensions around trying to get people to engage in addiction treatment, even if they’re not ready to stop using drugs.
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