Latest KFF Health News Stories
Inside the Political Fight To Build a Rural Georgia Hospital
Political drama involving a rural Georgia county reflects how state regulations that govern when and where hospitals can be built or expanded are evolving.
Bipartisan Effort Paves Way for Reviving Shuttered Hospitals in Georgia
“Certificate of need” laws, largely supported by the hospital industry, limit health facility construction in 35 states and Washington, D.C. Georgia lawmakers decided its law was complicating the reviving of two hospitals critical to their communities.
Harris-Walz Ticket Sharpens Contrast With Trump-Vance on Health Care
As Democrats convene in Chicago to make official their presidential and vice presidential nominees, Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz together are raising the prominence of health care as a 2024 election issue.
Journalists Discuss African Mpox Upsurge, EpiPen Alternative, and Medicaid Unwinding
KFF Health News and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and state media this week to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Inside Conservative Activist Leonard Leo’s Long Campaign To Gut Planned Parenthood
Anti-abortion groups and their allies secured a generational victory in 2022 when the Supreme Court overturned “Roe v. Wade.” A lawsuit in Texas demonstrates how those same forces threaten access to other health services, including birth control and screenings for cancer and sexually transmitted infections.
Amid Medicaid ‘Unwinding,’ Many States Wind Up Expanding
The end of pandemic-era Medicaid coverage protections coincided with changes in more than a dozen states to expand coverage for lower-income people, including children, pregnant women, and the incarcerated.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Happy 50th, ERISA
What does a law to protect worker pensions have to do with how health insurance is regulated? Far more than most people may think. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA, turns 50 in September. The law fundamentally changed the way the federal and state governments regulate employer-provided health insurance and continues to shape health policy in the United States. In this special episode of “What the Health?”, host and KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner speaks to Larry Levitt of KFF, Paul Fronstin of the Employee Benefit Research Institute, and Ilyse Schuman of the American Benefits Council about the history of ERISA and what its future might hold.
Most Black Hospitals Across the South Closed Long Ago. Their Impact Endures.
Taborian Hospital in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, was established to exclusively admit Black patients during a time when Jim Crow laws barred them from accessing the same health care facilities as white patients. Its closure underscores how hundreds of Black hospitals in the U.S. fell casualty to social progress.
New Lines of Attack Form Against the Affordable Care Act
While fighting potential fraud in government programs has long been a conservative rallying cry, recent criticisms of the Affordable Care Act represent a renewed line of attack on the program when repealing it is unlikely.
The FDA Calls Them ‘Recalls,’ Yet the Targeted Medical Devices Often Remain in Use
With medical devices, recalls are not always what they seem. In some recalls, including some of the most serious, the FDA and the manufacturers let doctors and hospitals continue to use the devices.
A Call to Action Reignites Debate Over Opioid Settlements
State and local governments have received more than $7.5 billion in opioid settlement funds to date, and everyone’s lining up to have their say in how it’s spent. Of course, that means there’s also plenty of controversy. The latest development comes this morning, as a coalition of 192 recovery and harm reduction organizations across dozens […]
Opioid Settlements Promise Mississippi a Windfall. What Happens Next?
Millions of dollars from national opioid settlements are pouring into Mississippi. The state and localities haven’t spent much yet. In many cases, how the money will be used is up in the air.
Kids Who Survived Super Bowl Shooting Are Scared, Suffering Panic Attacks and Sleep Problems
Six months after the Feb. 14 parade, parents of survivors under 18 years old say their children are deeply changed. In this installment of “The Injured,” we meet kids who survived the mass shooting only to live with long-term emotional scars.
Los niños son particularmente vulnerables al estrés de la violencia con armas de fuego, y 10 de las 24 que sufrieron heridas de bala en el desfile del 14 de febrero tenían menos de 18 años.
Cuando se presenta el mal de Parkinson, las neuronas que producen dopamina se destruyen lentamente. Un pequeño estudio realizado por investigadores de la Universidad de Yale demostró que, si los pacientes hacen seis meses de ejercicios, las neuronas productoras de dopamina crecen más sanas.
Límites al uso de redes sociales podría afectar la ayuda de salud mental para adolescentes
Chaseedaw Giles, editor de estrategia digital y participación de la audiencia de KFF Health News, contribuyó a este informe.
California Bill Would Require State Review of Private Equity Deals in Health Care
Proposed legislation would require the state attorney general’s consent for a wide range of private equity acquisitions in health care. The hospital lobby negotiated an exemption for for-profit hospitals.
Watch: How Patients Get Charged Hospital Prices for Doctor’s Office Care
This installment of InvestigateTV and KFF Health News’ “Costly Care” series digs into patients’ getting charged hospital prices for doctor’s office care. For five years, a patient got the same injection from the same office. Then it changed how it billed and she owed more than $1,100 for one treatment.
Exercise Is Key for Parkinson’s Relief. But Bias, Underdiagnosis Hold Black Patients Back.
Exercise is considered fundamental treatment for Parkinson’s disease, a progressive condition that attacks the central nervous system. But there’s a huge equity gap, researchers say, with Black people missing from popular treatment programs.
Watch: Where the Presidential and VP Candidates Stand on Health Policy
How do the top-of-the-ticket candidates compare on abortion, medical debt, and more? Here’s what you need to know.