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Latest KFF Health News Stories

Judge’s Decision Would Make Some No-Cost Cancer Screenings a Thing of the Past

KFF Health News Original

A U.S. District Court ruling overturned the section of the Affordable Care Act that makes preventive health services — from colonoscopies to diabetes screenings and more — available at no cost to consumers.

Localize This: Public Reporting of Opioid Settlement Cash

KFF Health News Original

KFF Health News’ recent investigation offers a great opportunity for reporters to investigate an important issue of government accountability from a state or local angle.

What the Health? From KFF Health News: A Judicial Body Blow to the ACA

Podcast

A federal judge in Texas has dealt a big setback to the Affordable Care Act. The same judge who tried in 2018 to declare the entire ACA unconstitutional has now ruled that the law’s main provisions for preventive care are unconstitutional and, therefore, unenforceable nationwide. Also this week, North Carolina became the 40th state to expand Medicaid under the ACA. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

States Try to Obscure Execution Details as Drugmakers Hinder Lethal Injection

KFF Health News Original

Pharmaceutical companies have put the brakes on many states’ ability to execute prisoners using lethal injections. Lacking alternatives, states are trying to keep the public from learning details about how they carry out executions.

A Progress Check on Hospital Price Transparency

KFF Health News Original

Hospitals are facing mixed reviews regarding their efforts to comply with a federal requirement that they post information about prices related to nearly every health care service they provide.

GOP Lawmaker Calls for Tracking Homeless Spending, Working With Democrats on Mental Health

KFF Health News Original

Republican state Sen. Roger Niello wants to know whether taxpayers are getting their money’s worth before spending more. Yet the fiscal conservative from the suburbs of Sacramento sees opportunities for bipartisanship on mental health.

Truly Random Drug Testing: ADHD Patients Face Uneven Urine Screens and, Sometimes, Stigma

KFF Health News Original

Doctors have no national standards on when to order urine tests to check whether adult ADHD patients are properly taking their prescription stimulants. Some patients are subjected to much more frequent testing than others.

Congressman Seeks to Plug ‘Shocking Loophole’ Exposed by KHN Investigation

KFF Health News Original

A federal lawmaker has introduced a House bill that would close one of a laundry list of oversight gaps revealed in a recent KHN investigation of the system regulators use to ban fraudsters from billing government health programs, including Medicare and Medicaid.

When College Athletes Kill Themselves, Healing the Team Becomes the Next Goal

KFF Health News Original

Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among college students. Contrary to conventional wisdom, athletes aren’t immune from the risk factors. Players at Stanford University, the University of Wisconsin, and other colleges are learning how to protect their mental health and ask for help after their teammates killed themselves.

Obamacare at 13: Biden and a KHN Reporter Remember

KFF Health News Original

The White House gathered the people who helped pass the Affordable Care Act 13 years ago — partly to congratulate themselves but also to emphasize that they still have much work to do to make health care affordable.

Health Providers Scramble to Keep Remaining Staff Amid Medicaid Rate Debate

KFF Health News Original

The ranks of community-based behavioral health providers in Montana have diminished amid rising costs, greater need, and stagnant Medicaid reimbursement rates. Now, as state lawmakers debate solutions, providers are hoping just to cover their costs.