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Latest KFF Health News Stories

Hospital Gun-Violence Prevention Programs May Be Caught in US Funding Crossfire

KFF Health News Original

Hospital-based violence intervention programs have operated in the U.S. since the mid-1990s. The public health approach to gun violence works, by many accounts. But recent moves by the White House are raising anxiety about the programs’ future.

Sent Home To Heal, Patients Avoid Wait for Rehab Home Beds

KFF Health News Original

Many patients ready to leave the hospital end up lingering for days or weeks — occupying beds that others need and driving up costs — because of a lack of open spots at nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities. A few health systems are addressing this problem by moving post-acute rehab into the home.

Some CT Scans Deliver Too Much Radiation, Researchers Say. Regulators Want To Know More.

KFF Health News Original

Unnecessarily high radiation doses in scans have been linked to cancers. Under new federal rules, doctors and imaging centers have to more closely track and report the doses of radiation that patients receive.

Thought Inflation Was Bad? Health Insurance Premiums Are Rising Even Faster

KFF Health News Original

California businesses saw employees’ monthly family insurance premiums rise nearly $1,000 over a 15-year period, more than double the pace of inflation. And employees’ share grew as companies shifted more of the cost to workers.

Trump Health Care Proposal Billed as Consumer Protection but Adds Enrollment Hoops

KFF Health News Original

The proposal also would reverse a Biden administration policy that allowed “Dreamers” — immigrants in the country illegally who were brought here as children — from qualifying for subsidized ACA coverage.

Your Neighbor Has Backyard Chickens. Should You Be Worried?

KFF Health News Original

The latest outbreak of bird flu has upended egg, poultry, and dairy operations, sickened dozens of farmworkers, and killed at least one person in the U.S. KFF Health News national public health correspondent Amy Maxmen explains why scientists are worried.

Millions in US Live in Places Where Doctors Don’t Practice and Telehealth Doesn’t Reach

KFF Health News Original

Nearly 3 million Americans live sicker, shorter lives in the hundreds of rural counties where doctor shortages are the worst and poor internet connections mean little or no access to telehealth services.

She Co-Founded the Office That Became DOGE. Now, She Sees ‘Irresponsible Transformation.’

KFF Health News Original

As a deputy chief technology officer in the Obama administration, Jennifer Pahlka brought Silicon Valley talent to Washington to streamline public access to government services. She believes better government technology could both ensure taxpayer dollars aren’t wasted and that people who need health care and food assistance receive it.

Medicaid Advocates Say Critics Use Loaded Terms To Gain Edge in Congressional Debate

KFF Health News Original

As policymakers in Washington debate potentially steep funding cuts to Medicaid, Republicans are using terms such as “money laundering” and “discrimination” to make their case. Language experts and Medicaid advocates say their word choice is misleading and designed to sway the public against the popular program.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The State of Federal Health Agencies Is Uncertain

Podcast

The Supreme Court opined for the first time that Trump administration officials may be exceeding their authority to reshape the federal government by refusing to honor completed contracts, even as lower-court judges started blocking efforts to fire workers, freeze funding, and cancel ongoing contracts. Meanwhile, public health officials are alarmed at the Department of Health and Human Services’ public handling of Texas’ widening measles outbreak, particularly the secretary’s less-than-full endorsement of vaccines. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Stephanie Armour of KFF Health News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.