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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.
The costs of posttreatment care are forcing cancer survivors to make tough choices. GOP proposals to bring down health insurance costs won’t help people who need constant care and monitoring, health policy researchers and patient advocates say.
Federal health officials have ordered states to reverify the immigration status of hundreds of thousands of Medicaid enrollees. After seven months, findings from five states show the reviews have uncovered few immigrants without legal status who are improperly receiving benefits.
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.
Some states have tried to crack down on crisis pregnancy centers, accusing them of deceptive practices. But now conservative lawmakers are pushing legislation to increase protections for the organizations, which work to dissuade women from abortions.
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Dentists, hygienists, and researchers say a shortage of rural dental care professionals and worsening oral hygiene since the covid-19 pandemic mean more kids are ending up in the emergency room for tooth decay.
Scientists are cheering California Gov. Gavin Newsom as he builds a public health bulwark against health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s anti-vaccine stance and President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization. Still, federal cuts have sapped morale and left local health departments less prepared for outbreaks.
Iowa patient advocates say that in the face of federal Medicaid cuts, the state is quietly reducing in-home services that help people avoid being institutionalized. National groups are bracing for similar cuts elsewhere.
Some Republican state lawmakers and state health associations are pushing back against spending plans under the Trump administration’s $50 billion federal rural health fund. Federal administrators already approved states’ plans, but in many cases, state lawmakers must greenlight spending.
Health care prices are on the rise, and patients are flummoxed that even insurance companies aren’t doing more to control costs.
Idaho is positioning to slash Medicaid funding as state lawmakers grapple with the effects of the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law last year. On the table are in-home care services.
At least eight states are considering legislation to curtail wage garnishment over unpaid medical bills, as health care costs rise and more people become underinsured.
The state recently became the third to offer a public option health plan through its Affordable Care Act marketplace. But researchers said it’s unlikely to fill the gaps left by sweeping changes at the federal level.
Experts say Affordable Care Act sign-up data won’t be clear until people who were enrolled have paid — or haven't paid — their new, often much higher, premiums.
Progressives are assailing Gov. Gavin Newsom for proposing to pull back coverage for some legal residents, such as refugees and asylum-seekers, while conservatives lambaste the California Democrat for using limited state funds on Medicaid coverage for immigrants without legal status.
Some hospitals are registering patients detained by federal immigration officers under pseudonyms and prohibiting staff from contacting family members. Attorneys and health care workers say the practices facilitate rights violations and create ethical concerns. Hospitals say they’re trying to protect patients.
Millions of people gained health coverage under the Affordable Care Act, reducing pressure on counties in states that fund care for the uninsured. With federal policies expected to reverse that trend, county officials wonder how they will fill the gap — and who will pay for it.
States facing yawning budget shortfalls have begun cutting Medicaid reimbursements for a wide variety of services. In some states, dramatic cuts are targeting therapies that many families of autistic people say are essential to caring for their loved ones.
Federal officials reversed their stance on medical debt credit reporting, then came a lawsuit in Colorado. As lawmakers in other states forge ahead with attempts to protect consumers from medical debt, some are reconsidering how they go about it.
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