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Latest KFF Health News Stories

Colorado Voters to Decide Whether All Schoolkids Get a Free Lunch

KFF Health News Original

In September, a popular pandemic benefit expired: free school lunch for all children attending public schools. Some states are stepping up to try to keep the free food available, and it is on the ballot next week in Colorado.

California’s Proposed Flavored Tobacco Ban Gives Hookah a Pass

KFF Health News Original

Californians will decide Nov. 8 whether to approve a statewide ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes. But the measure, known as Proposition 31, exempts hookah tobacco. Anti-smoking activists criticize the carve-out, calling it the latest example of businesses using identity politics to profit from a deadly product.

Hospital Investigated for Allegedly Denying an Emergency Abortion After Patient’s Water Broke

KFF Health News Original

Federal officials have ordered the probe after reports that a woman whose water broke at 18 weeks could not get medical care recommended by her doctors to end the pregnancy because hospital officials were concerned about Missouri’s strict abortion law.

What Looks Like Pot, Acts Like Pot, but Is Legal Nearly Everywhere? Meet Hemp-Derived Delta-9 THC

KFF Health News Original

The 2018 farm bill that legalized hemp created a loophole for an unregulated copycat of marijuana. A form of delta-9 THC — the psychoactive substance in pot — doesn’t face the same laws and regulations as marijuana because it comes from hemp. The drug is poised to upend the cannabis industry.

Medicare Fines for High Hospital Readmissions Drop, but Nearly 2,300 Facilities Are Still Penalized

KFF Health News Original

Federal officials said they are penalizing 2,273 hospitals, the fewest since the fiscal year that ended in September 2014. Driving the decline was a change in the formula to compensate for the chaos caused by the covid-19 pandemic.

This Open Enrollment Season, Look Out for Health Insurance That Seems Too Good to Be True

KFF Health News Original

Complaints about misleading health insurance marketing are soaring. State insurance commissioners are taking notice. They’ve created a shared internal database to monitor questionable business practices, and, in the future, they hope to provide a public-facing resource for consumers. In the meantime, consumers should shop wisely as open enrollment season begins.

Pacientes de California temen consecuencias de nueva propuesta electoral sobre clínicas de diálisis

KFF Health News Original

ELK GROVE, California – Toni Sherwin está ansiosa por someterse al procedimiento que reubicará su punto de diálisis de su pecho a su brazo, que será más fácil de mantener seco. Desde que empezó la diálisis en febrero —como parte del tratamiento contra un cáncer de sangre— se ha lavado el pelo en el fregadero […]

¿Comprando seguro de salud de ACA? Aquí, lo nuevo de este año  

KFF Health News Original

Comprar ahora significa tener cobertura vigente a partir del 1o de enero de 2023.  Aunque gran parte de los planes permanecen iguales año tras año , hay algunos cambios que los consumidores deben tener en cuenta.

California Patients Fear Fallout From Third Dialysis Ballot Measure

KFF Health News Original

Californians are facing the third statewide dialysis initiative in five years. The dialysis industry is spending tens of millions of dollars to defeat Proposition 29 and is running ads saying the measure would force clinics to close — a message that appears to be resonating with patients.