The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
181 - 200 of 204 Results
Grappling with stagnant pay and a lack of personal protective equipment, firefighters are even more frustrated to find they are lower down the vaccine priority list than health care workers despite serving on the front lines of the medical system.
People with intellectual and developmental disabilities are more likely to have medical conditions that make covid especially dangerous. But a lack of federal tracking means no one knows how many people in disability group housing have fallen ill or died from the virus.
The wealthy corporation that owns Chicago’s Mercy Hospital says it must close the hospital because it’s losing money. A government board says no. The corporation still has the upper hand.
As the pandemic hits Latino communities especially hard, Illinois is expanding public health insurance to all low-income noncitizen seniors. Advocates hope other states follow its lead.
During the pandemic, shelters are having to change the way they do things to prevent the virus from spreading among the vulnerable homeless population. Now, as winter weather moves in, there’s less room at the shelters for those in need — threatening to leave many, literally, out in the cold.
Rural hospitals have been closing at a quickening pace in recent years, but a number of inner-city hospitals now face a similar fate. Experts fear that the economic damage inflicted by the COVID pandemic is helping push some of these urban hospitals over the edge at the very time their services are most needed.
A KHN review found more than 20 states either don’t count or have incomplete data on the use of COVID-19 antigen tests, leaving the public in the dark about the true scope of the pandemic.
2020 will be a year like no other on college campuses, as every institution makes its own rules. Some have no plans to routinely test students for the coronavirus; others aim to test every student and staff member twice a week.
The coronavirus has forced drug rehabilitation centers to scale back operations or temporarily close, leaving people who have another potentially deadly disease — addiction — with fewer opportunities for help.
As more and more people drift back into their workplaces, they face a very small space that can create a large logjam: the elevator.
“The awful truth is families have no control over what’s happening,” one advocate says.
Illinois is moving thousands of children into its Medicaid managed-care program. Proponents say the approach can cut costs while increasing access to care. But after a phase-one rollout of the new health plans caused thousands to temporarily lose coverage, some question whether it’s the right move.
State and city officials are using a dose of humor to urge residents to stay home in the serious mission of controlling COVID-19.
Doctors specialize in the science of healing, but tattoo artist Eric Catalano specializes in the art of it. The single father of three does up to eight reconstructive medical tattoos for free each “Wellness Wednesday” in his small Illinois shop, drawing in nails on finger amputees, mocking up belly buttons after tummy tucks and fleshing out lips on a woman mauled by a dog.
Corner stores that provide groceries for those using the federal food stamp program have become magnets for violence just outside St. Louis. Gunshots ring out under the cover of darkness, windows are postered over, and the quality of food doesn’t make a trip to the corner store worth the risk. Now local residents are putting their feet down.
KHN Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony appeared on America’s Heroes Group radio show, Illinois Public Media’s “The 21st” and St. Louis Public Radio’s news magazine “St. Louis on the Air” to discuss how people in low-income neighborhoods are fighting back against crime and spoiled food at their local corner stores.
State borders can highlight Medicaid’s arbitrary coverage. On the Missouri side of the Mississippi River, low-income people struggle with untreated health issues. But on the Illinois side, people in similar straits can get health care because their state expanded its Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act.
Without the teamwork, communication and quick action of several veteran health officials in Wisconsin, the world might not know about the vaping illness the U.S. is battling today. This is their story.
Independent black-owned pharmacies fill a void for African American patients looking for care that’s sensitive to their heritage, beliefs and values.
In reaction to an investigation by Kaiser Health News and the Chicago Tribune, the Illinois legislature has passed a new law to impose fines on nursing homes that fail to meet minimum staffing requirements.
© 2026 KFF