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An initiative on the California ballot would levy the nation’s first wealth tax on billionaires. Supporters say the proceeds would help offset President Donald Trump’s sweeping healthcare cuts. But critics argue that the temporary infusion of cash is a giveaway to politicians.
People outside the family frequently step into helping roles when older adults need assistance.
About half of U.S. adults say they can’t afford healthcare. California is among at least eight states that have set spending growth targets for the healthcare sector. It may soon impose enforcement penalties aimed at pushing hospitals and other providers to meet those goals.
Healthcare workers at a Michigan hospital have been on strike since last September. Violence on the job is one reason behind it, with federal data showing hospital workers are seven times as likely to be injured on the job due to violent acts as members of the general working population.
Special Medicaid programs in many states allow disabled people to work while receiving benefits, and most limit how much participants can earn and the assets they can hold. Some Iowans are pushing lawmakers to remove those limits, which they say can dampen their career prospects.
KFF Health News is working to collect and post approved plans as more states respond to emails and public records requests for their documents.
Prisoners with severe medical conditions can be granted compassionate release, but without a long-term care facility willing to accept them, many continue to wait in prison as their conditions worsen.
Witnessing a shooting, hearing gunfire, losing someone, or living in a violent area can leave people with chronic pain and stress long afterward.
After Eric Tennant died, his widow vowed to speak out against West Virginia’s Public Employees Insurance Agency, which had denied cancer treatment recommended by Tennant’s doctor. Her efforts paid off. In March, West Virginia’s governor signed a bill to protect some patients from harm tied to prior authorization.
Adults ages 50 through 64 faced some of the steepest increases in out-of-pocket costs for Obamacare plans after a set of federal subsidies expired at the end of December. Some say they are putting off care or considering dropping health insurance coverage until Medicare picks up the bill.
Across California and the nation, health providers, advocates, local officials, and state legislators are eyeing tax increases to offset a loss of more than $900 billion in federal Medicaid dollars as a result of the GOP’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. In Los Angeles County, community clinics have banded together in support of a half-cent sales tax.
Older Americans are losing billions of dollars annually to financial exploitation. Banks and investment firms are training employees to spot red flags and stop the transactions.
Congress and the Trump administration are rolling back some lead remediation resources. Case studies of two cities and a state that faced lead contamination problems could give cash-strapped cities ideas of how to address such pollution themselves.
Aging means “becoming a target” of the industry, one expert said. After decades of debate, politicians of all stripes are proposing bans.
A revolt is afoot in both red and blue states against the use of artificial intelligence in health insurance determinations — and against efforts led by President Donald Trump to tie states’ hands.
Millions of middle-class Americans who have Affordable Care Act marketplace plans are facing soaring premium payments in 2026. Some people are contemplating big life changes to deal with new rates that kicked in on Jan. 1.
Low-income Californians who use Wegovy and similar medications for weight loss lost their coverage at the start of the new year, with officials advising diet and exercise instead. California and other states say the drugs are too costly, even as the Trump administration announces plans to lower prices.
Regulations meant to prevent unfettered health care expansion are withholding needed hospital beds in a rural part of North Carolina. Here, as in communities around the country, some officials and health care providers are contesting such “certificate of need” laws.
Even as the federal government resumed funding the nation’s largest food assistance program, people risk losing access to the aid because of new rules.
The federal government is making sweeping changes to SNAP, the program that helped feed about 42 million people in the U.S. last year. Here’s a breakdown of the changes to come and potential impacts.
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