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Latest KFF Health News Stories

Texas Clinics Busting Traditional Silos Of Mental And Physical Health Care

KFF Health News Original

Efforts to provide care that integrates physical and mental health services are spreading, partly because untreated mental health conditions negatively affect physical health and escalate health care costs.

Vulnerable Rural Hospitals Face Quandaries Over Questionable Billing Schemes

KFF Health News Original

Two Missouri hospitals handed over their operations to a private company that has vastly increased the money the hospitals bring in through their laboratories, even though the lab tests are not done on-site.

Out-Of-Pocket Costs Put HIV Prevention Drug Out Of Reach For Many At Risk

KFF Health News Original

It’s getting increasingly difficult for patients to afford Truvada, also known as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, because of the drug’s high price and insurance company efforts to restrict the use of coupons that shield patients from it.

Under Pressure, California Lawmakers Ban Soda Taxes For 12 Years

KFF Health News Original

In a major coup for the beverage industry, California lawmakers agreed to ban cities and counties from adopting soda taxes for the next 12 years. In exchange, the beverage industry agreed to pull an initiative off the November ballot that, if passed, would have made it much harder for local governments to raise taxes.

Father’s And Son’s Injuries Lead To The Mother Of All Therapy Bills

KFF Health News Original

A father and son suffered serious hand injuries nine days apart. They both needed surgery and lots of follow-up occupational therapy to rehab their hands. But insurance paid for just a fraction of those OT bills, and the family owed more than $8,500.

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Podcast Turns 1. Justice Kennedy Retires. Now What?

KFF Health News Original

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call, Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo and Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times discuss the possible impact of the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy on health issues. Also, in honor of our first anniversary, the panelists offer up their thoughts on the biggest health policy stories of the past year.