The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
121 - 140 of 166 Results
Five states have created “assistant physician” licenses that allow medical school graduates to practice without completing residency training. But a federal indictment in Missouri of one assistant physician has some original supporters trying to rein in the medical specialty.
Inoculation rates remain low despite massive outreach efforts and incentives from federal and state programs and Medicaid plan operators, leaving many low-income people vulnerable to the virus.
Service dogs can help people with ailments from autism to epilepsy, but a trained dog can cost up to $40,000 — and insurance won’t cover it.
Legislative crackdowns on out-of-network bills haven’t kept specialists from hitting patients with unexpected charges running into thousands of dollars.
Independent pharmacists who want to retire often have trouble attracting new pharmacists to take over their practices, particularly in rural areas. That can cause smaller towns to lose their pharmacies. With many pharmacists near retirement, the problem may only get worse.
Hospitals and doctors are facing more demands for ivermectin as a covid-19 treatment, despite a lack of proof it works. In some Republican-dominated states, pushing for ivermectin interventions has become a conservative rallying cry.
The pandemic has so seriously strained already tight state psychiatric hospitals in Georgia, Virginia, Texas and elsewhere that these facilities for the poorest and most vulnerable people with mental illness struggle to admit new patients.
Pharmacy benefit managers have curtailed in-person audits of pharmacy claims during the pandemic, switching to virtual audits done by computer. That has markedly increased the number of claims they can review — and the chances for payment denials — squeezing pharmacies and bringing in more cash for the benefit companies.
HCA charges patients an “activation fee” of up to $50,000 for trauma teams at centers located in half its 179 hospitals — and they often don’t need trauma care, an analysis of insurance claims data shows.
Black Americans’ vaccination rates still trail all other groups, while Hispanics show improvement. Native Americans show the strongest rates nationally.
The Virginia hospital giant had already stopped suing patients with less than $107,000 in household income.
In Virginia, if you called 1-877-VAX-IN-VA to register for a vaccine and wanted help in a language other than English or Spanish, the system might hang up on you.
A KHN investigation found covid vaccine registration and information websites at the federal, state and local levels are flouting disability rights laws and limiting the ability of people who are blind or visually impaired to sign up for shots.
Black Americans are receiving covid vaccines at a much lower rate than their white peers due to a combination of mistrust and access issues, leaving them behind in the mission to vaccinate the nation’s population.
The University of Virginia promised reforms but has stopped short of announcing them, while hospital giant VCU Health has freed tens of thousands from property liens.
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.
The delays can be excruciating, with some extreme cases running more than 20 days. People getting tested at urgent care centers, community health centers, pharmacies and state-run drive-thru or walk-up sites are often waiting a week or more to find out if they tested positive for the coronavirus.
Although the federal government has poured billions of dollars into hospitals to defray their losses from the coronavirus outbreak, new streams of fundraising have emerged — including health worker-themed beer that adds “a drop in the bucket.”
One family took up the challenge of taking their mother, who had serious medical problems and the coronavirus, from the hospital to die at home. But because of the risk of infection, home hospice can be a daunting experience.
KHN executive editor Damon Darlin wades through mounds of health care policy stories — so you don’t have to.
© 2026 KFF