The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
Someone in America dies by suicide every 11 minutes. It’s a tragic and entrenched problem. A new approach to prevention shifts the focus from stopping harm in moments of crisis to upstream policies that give people reasons to live.
On May 1, the state will become the first to require people on the government health program to fulfill a work requirement or lose their coverage under a new rule that was a key part of congressional Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
A bug bite and an allergic reaction ultimately sent a North Carolina woman to the emergency room, where she had a couple of brief chats with a doctor and a dose of medicine. Now she questions why the charges were so high.
A $50 billion federal fund is supposed to modernize rural health with electronic health records, AI, telehealth, and more. But community clinics and rural health advocates fear that the contractors administering the money for states will bite off a big chunk before it reaches rural patients.
Florida’s KidCare expansion has been stuck in legal limbo since February 2024. Since then, the number of uninsured children in Florida has risen to 400,000 — one of the highest state tallies.
With shortages of medical professionals and an aging population, thousands of community healthcare workers prevent older adults from falling through the cracks.
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national or local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
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KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Patients are getting stuck in the emergency department for days while waiting for a spot in an inpatient ward.
As part of her “How Would You Fix It?” series, podcast host Julie Rovner chats with health policy expert David Blumenthal about how politics can gum up health policy progress.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. completed his tour of House and Senate committees this week, ostensibly to promote President Donald Trump’s budget proposal for his department but also to answer for some of his more controversial positions, particularly on vaccines. Meanwhile, Trump signed an order to facilitate the use of hallucinogens to treat mental health conditions. Victoria Knight of Bloomberg Government, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sheryl Gay Stolberg of The New York Times join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, as part of our “How Would You Fix It?” series, Rovner interviews Harvard public health professor David Blumenthal.
Work requirements will encourage people who are able to work to seek and maintain jobs, proponents say. But researchers haven’t found that they lower the unemployment rate.
Millions of people rely on the supplemental insurance to offset the deductibles, copayments, and other costs faced by enrollees in the traditional Medicare program.
Moving through the California Senate are two bills, informed by KFF Health News reporting, that would strengthen protections for patients brought to health facilities by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Montana health officials say they’re seeking to add doula services to the state’s Medicaid program, reversing a previous statement that they would “not be moving forward” amid a budget shortfall.
The costs of posttreatment care are forcing cancer survivors to make tough choices. GOP proposals to bring down health insurance costs won’t help people who need constant care and monitoring, health policy researchers and patient advocates say.
Real estate investment trusts are landlords for thousands of nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and hospitals. Some select the managers and keep close watch over their performance but deny responsibility for bad care.
Across the country, people are choosing lower monthly premiums in exchange for higher out-of-pocket risk. Reporter Jackie Fortiér explains what the shift means for Americans’ health and wallets.
After KFF Health News reported that the Trump administration is seeking federal workers’ medical records, Democratic lawmakers are insisting that the Office of Personnel Management drop its request.
