The Powerful Constraints on Medical Care in Catholic Hospitals Across America
The expansion of Catholic hospitals nationwide leaves patients at the mercy of the church’s religious directives, which are often at odds with accepted medical standards.
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The expansion of Catholic hospitals nationwide leaves patients at the mercy of the church’s religious directives, which are often at odds with accepted medical standards.
A soon-to-be-finalized legal settlement would offer transgender women in Colorado prisons new housing options, including a pipeline to the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility. The change comes amid a growing number of lawsuits across the country aimed at improving health care access and safety for incarcerated trans people.
The designers of the Affordable Care Act might have assumed that they spelled out with sufficient clarity that millions of Americans would no longer have to pay for certain types of preventive care. But they didn’t reckon with America’s ever-creative medical billing juggernaut.
Native Americans die by suicide at a higher rate than any other racial or ethnic group, yet research into effective and culturally appropriate interventions is uncommon.
California’s governor vetoed a bill extending insurance coverage for kids with hearing loss, but most states now require it.
As enrollment in private Medicare Advantage plans grows, so do concerns about how well the insurance works, including from those who say they have become trapped in the private plans as their health declines.
More than 1 million immigrants, most lacking permanent legal status, are covered by state health programs. Several states, including GOP-led Utah, will soon add or expand such coverage.
Major policy changes and disavowals have made this a watershed year for curbing the use of the discredited “excited delirium” diagnosis to explain deaths in police custody. Now the ripple effects are spreading across the country into court cases, state legislation, and police training classes.
As open enrollment ends, many people are tuning out. They could wind up with a surprise next year: higher costs and less access to health care providers.
At least 17 states have issued PFAS-related fish consumption advisories, KFF Health News found. But with no federal guidance, what is considered safe to eat varies significantly among states, most of which provide no regulation.
The add-ons pile up: $93 for medications, $50 for cable TV. Prices soar as the industry leaves no service unbilled, out of reach for many families.
The United States has no coherent system of long-term care, leading many to struggle to stay independent or rely on a patchwork of solutions.
Supply problems, a high price tag, and bureaucratic obstacles are slowing the distribution of a therapy that can protect infants from the respiratory syncytial virus. That will leave them unnecessarily at risk of hospitalization this winter, pediatricians fear.
As many states have moved to restrict or ban gender-affirming care for trans people, a few states, including New Mexico, have codified protections. But those laws don’t always mean accessing care is simple or quick, as a surge in new patients in the state collides with limited doctors and clinics.
More than 16 million Americans who buy their own health insurance through state and federal marketplaces have until Jan. 15 to compare prices, change their coverage, or enroll for the first time.
Safe storage maps show gun owners where to put their firearms for safekeeping if they experience a mental health crisis. The idea has support among some gun enthusiasts, but legal obstacles threaten wider adoption.
A new, rapid genetic test shows promise in increasing diagnoses and improving treatment for some children with rare genetic conditions. Many insurers won’t cover it, but Florida's Medicaid program is among those that see benefits — and, potentially, savings.
A breast cancer patient who received similar treatments in two states saw significant differences in cost, illuminating how care in remote areas can come with a stiffer price tag.
Both sides, still at loggerheads over pay and staffing, agreed to keep bargaining after unions announced a possible strike Oct. 4-7. If no deal is reached, a walkout by about 75,000 KP workers in five states could disrupt care.
Beneficiaries in five states described what happened when they received letters calling on them to return overpayments that can reach tens of thousands of dollars or more.
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