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Increasingly, Americans pay for the privilege of seeing a doctor. Research shows concierge medicine can further hamper access to care for those who can’t afford the upgrade.
Dozens of small cities and towns across the United States struggle not just with health care access and the loss of jobs, but also with the burden of what to do with big, empty buildings.
Suffering stomach pain, a Dallas man visited his local urgent care clinic — or so he thought, until he got a bill 10 times what he’d expected.
The technology has generated notices with errors, sent Medicaid paperwork to the wrong addresses, and been frozen for hours at a time, according to state audits, court documents, and interviews. While it can take months to fix problems, America’s poorest residents pay the price.
The spread of an avian flu virus in cattle has again brought public health attention to the potential for a global pandemic. Fighting it would depend, for now, on 1940s technology that makes vaccines from hens’ eggs.
Most states that saw enrollment in the Obamacare marketplace double from 2020 to 2024 are in the South. But the enhanced federal subsidies that attracted people with $0 premiums and low out-of-pocket costs will expire next year.
Federal officials are offering $75 to dairy workers who agree to be tested for bird flu. Advocates say the payments aren’t enough to protect workers from lost wages and health care costs if they test positive.
Dairy farmers and veterinarians in northern Texas furiously investigated a mysterious illness among cattle before the government got involved. Their observations are telling.
The makers of Ozempic and Mounjaro charge list prices of around $1,000 a month for the diabetes and obesity drugs, and insurers are reluctant to pick up the tab. Often, low-income patients have to resort to less effective treatments.
People with disabilities say they are abruptly losing their Medicaid home health benefits and are being advised incorrectly when they call state offices for more information. “Every day the anxiety builds,” one beneficiary told KFF Health News.
Dozens of hospitals have deployed a device that uses artificial intelligence to monitor patients remotely. One hospital says it reduces nurses’ workloads — but some nurses fear the technology could replace them.
Cattle across the country are infected by the H5N1 bird flu. The virus isn’t spreading among people — but if it evolves to do that, fears of another pandemic could be realized.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has long given vets who served in Vietnam disability compensation for illness connected to Agent Orange harm. But those exposed at U.S. bases are still waiting for the same benefits.
Florida has served as a haven for Southern pregnant women with little or no access to abortions. But the Florida Supreme Court upheld a six-week abortion restriction that begins in May — so now women across much of the South seeking abortions will have to look farther afield.
The lawsuit filed in federal court alleges that large call centers were used to enroll people into Affordable Care Act plans or to switch their coverage, all without their permission.
The broad availability of over-the-counter dental products containing fluoride has some community leaders arguing that its addition to public drinking water is no longer necessary. But public health experts worry that, much like vaccines, fluoridation may be a victim of its own success.
More doctors are integrating oral health care into their practices, filling a need in America’s dental deserts.
Insurance agents say it’s too easy to access consumer information on the Affordable Care Act federal marketplace. Policyholders can lose their doctors and access to prescriptions. Some end up owing back taxes.
The end goal for a conservative Christian group’s mifepristone case before the Supreme Court: a de facto nationwide abortion ban.
Price worries, bureaucratic obstacles, and “I’m-over-covid-itis” slow uptake of a drug that’s complicated to take but often effective.
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