Latest KFF Health News Stories
Physician-Journalist Shines Light on Measles Upsurge and New GLP-1 Study
KFF Health News’ editor-at-large for public health recently took to the airwaves to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of her appearances.
Native American Leaders Target High Maternal Mortality in Indian Country
Get our weekly newsletter, The Week in Brief, featuring a roundup of our original coverage, Fridays at 2 p.m. ET.
How Is Your County Spending Opioid Settlement Cash? Our New Tool Follows the Money.
Lifesaving or wasteful? Opinion is divided on the ways local communities are using opioid settlement funds. Survivors of the overdose crisis and families who’ve lost loved ones to it are raising alarms about what some perceive as wasteful spending.
As Insurance Prices Rise, Families Puzzle Over Options
Millions of middle-class Americans who have Affordable Care Act marketplace plans are facing soaring premium payments in 2026. Some people are contemplating big life changes to deal with new rates that kicked in on Jan. 1.
What the Health? From KFF Health News: Culture Wars Take Center Stage
With lawmakers still mired over renewing enhanced tax credits for Affordable Care Act plans, much of Washington has turned to culture war issues. Meanwhile, “confusion” remains the watchword at HHS as personnel and funding decisions continue to be made and unmade with little notice. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Elisabeth Rosenthal, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” report.
Kaiser Permanente To Pay $556 Million in Record Medicare Advantage Fraud Settlement
Kaiser Permanente agrees to pay $556 million to settle allegations of billing the government for conditions patients didn’t have.
Martha Santana-Chin, hija de inmigrantes mexicanos, creció con Medi-Cal, la versión californiana de Medicaid, el programa de atención médica administrado por el gobierno para personas con bajos ingresos y discapacidades.
Native Americans Are Dying From Pregnancy. They Want a Voice To Stop the Trend.
Native American women face higher rates of death than other demographics. In response, Native Americans have been working with state and federal officials to boost tribal participation and leadership in maternal mortality review committees to better track and address pregnancy-related deaths.
GOP Cuts Will Cripple Medicaid Enrollment, Warns CEO of Largest Public Health Plan
Martha Santana-Chin, a daughter of Mexican immigrants, last year took the helm of L.A. Care, the nation’s largest publicly operated health plan. She warns that looming federal cuts will push up to 650,000 people off L.A. Care’s Medicaid rolls by the end of 2028.
Vaccines Are Helping Older People More Than We Knew
Many shots seem to have “off-target” benefits, such as lowering the risk of dementia, studies have found.
States Race To Launch Rural Health Transformation Plans
Every state will receive at least $100 million annually from the federal Rural Health Transformation fund, but some scored millions more based on how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services judged the “quality” of their plans and willingness to pass policies embracing “Make America Healthy Again” initiatives.
Las vacunas ayudan a las personas mayores más de lo que se pensaba
En el lenguaje médico, se conocen como “beneficios indirectos”: efectos positivos que van más allá de prevenir la enfermedad para la que esas vacunas fueron diseñadas.
Más refugios atienden necesidades médicas de personas mayores sin techo
No solo están envejeciendo quienes han vivido por años en situación de desamparo, sino que muchas personas mayores están perdiendo su vivienda por primera vez en sus vidas.
This California Strategy Safeguarded Some Medicaid Social Services Funding From Trump
Programs like Jamboree Housing Corp. have leveraged Medi-Cal funding to offer residents access to social services that experts say are key to keeping them off the streets. California intends to keep it that way, despite federal cuts.
RFK Jr.’s MAHA Movement Has Picked Up Steam in Statehouses. Here’s What To Expect in 2026.
“Make America Healthy Again” policies driven by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have made major strides in state legislatures, with food additives among the most common targets. The trend is expected to continue this year.
Nuevas alternativas para resolver la crisis del cuidado de salud en casa
El cuidado en el hogar ya es una de las ocupaciones de más rápido crecimiento en el país: el año pasado había 3,2 millones de asistentes de salud en el hogar y de cuidado personal, frente a 1,4 millones una década atrás.
‘Abortion as Homicide’ Debate in South Carolina Exposes GOP Rift as States Weigh New Restrictions
A proposed abortion ban in South Carolina would have allowed the criminal prosecution of women who obtain the procedure. It’s unlikely to become law, but this bill and other proposals across the country show how some conservative lawmakers are embracing increasingly punitive abortion restrictions.
An estimated 4.8 million people are expected to go without health coverage because Congress did not extend enhanced subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans. But even without a health plan, people will need medical care in 2026. Many of them have been thinking through their plan B to maintain their health.
Journalists Update Listeners on Expiration of Insurance Subsidies and New Rural Health Funding
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on local and regional media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Vaccines Jettisoned by CDC Safeguarded Millions From Disease
Get our weekly newsletter, The Week in Brief, featuring a roundup of our original coverage, Fridays at 2 p.m. ET.