Latest KFF Health News Stories
Many Fear Federal Loan Caps Will Deter Aspiring Doctors and Worsen MD Shortage
Health care professionals fear that new caps on federal student lending, set to start in July, will put medical school out of reach for many who want to become doctors and exacerbate physician shortages. Others say unlimited federal lending has fed a rise in academic costs, saddling families and, ultimately, taxpayers with debt.
A Ticking Clock: How States Are Preparing for a Last-Minute Obamacare Deal
Even if Congress strikes a deal soon to extend more generous Affordable Care Act subsidies, the prices and types of ACA plans available could change dramatically. Unprecedented uncertainty and upheaval could cloud this year’s open enrollment season, which begins in most states on Saturday.
An Arm and a Leg: A Listener’s DIY Project Helps Others Deal With High Medical Bills
A medical student’s DIY project brings “An Arm and a Leg” listeners together with new tools to fight medical debt.
Para quienes tienen en su agenda de otoño vacunarse contra enfermedades respiratorias —covid, gripe y, para algunas personas, virus respiratorio sincitial (VRS) — este año puede resultar sorprendentemente normal.
Frente al auge de las apuestas deportivas, estados buscan frenar la adicción al juego
Algunos estados han establecido límites similares para frenar la ludopatía, pero otros tienen muy pocos.
Hoy, el seguro médico para una familia cuesta más o menos lo mismo que comprar un Toyota Corolla híbrido nuevo.
Cuando un audífono no es suficiente
Desde 2022, Medicare amplió la cobertura de implantes cocleares para incluir a los adultos mayores con distintos rangos de deterioro auditivo.
Doctors Muffled as Florida Moves To End Decades of Childhood Vaccination Mandates
Florida has announced plans to end mandatory vaccination. Now scientists are assessing which of several diseases deadly to children — whooping cough, measles, polio, rubella, mumps, diphtheria, and tetanus — are likely to make a resurgence and when.
As Sports Betting Explodes, States Try To Set Limits To Stop Gambling Addiction
Some advocates and lawmakers want to impose national regulations on the gambling industry but would settle for reining in excessive betting at the state level.
Reporters Cover the Shutdown and the Use of AI in Health Care
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national or local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
‘Cancer Doesn’t Care’: Volunteer Lobbyists Push Past Washington’s Ugly Politics
Get our weekly newsletter, The Week in Brief, featuring a roundup of our original coverage, Fridays at 2 p.m. ET.
GOP Talking Point Holds ACA Is Haunted by ‘Phantom’ Enrollees, but the Devil’s in the Data
Enhanced Affordable Care Act marketplace subsidies have emerged as a flash point in the congressional standoff over the federal government shutdown. Republicans point to what they characterize as increasing amounts of fraud as a reason to hold up the subsidies. But there are two sides to the story.
Listen: Amid Shutdown Stalemate, Families Brace for SNAP Cuts and Paycheck Limbo
KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner appeared on WAMU’s “Health Hub” to discuss how the government shutdown is affecting food benefits and the help many Americans get to offset their health insurance premiums.
What the Health? From KFF Health News: Nutrition Programs Face Their Own Shutdown
Two major nutrition programs — SNAP and WIC — are likely to exhaust their funding in November, and the furloughs and firings at the CDC have left the agency unable to perform some of its major functions. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s new IVF policy is being met with dissatisfaction from both sides. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Katheryn Houghton, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” feature.
Officials Show Little Proof That New Tech Will Help Medicaid Enrollees Meet Work Rules
The Trump administration says it’s developing a digital tool to help people prove they’re meeting new Medicaid work requirements. KFF Health News talked to officials from the two states running pilot programs and found little evidence of new — or effective — technology.
When a Hearing Aid Isn’t Enough
More older adults have turned to cochlear implants after Medicare expanded eligibility for the devices.
A New Car vs. Health Insurance? Average Family Job-Based Coverage Hits $27K
KFF data shows that 2025 marked the first time in two decades that the annual cost of covering a family of four rose by 6% or more for three consecutive years.
Despite the Hoopla, Vaccines Should Be in Reach This Cough-and-Cold Season
Recommendations surrounding covid vaccinations and other such shots have been confusing. Ultimately, though, little has changed. Here’s what you need to know.
‘Cancer Doesn’t Care’: Citizen Lobbyists Unite To Push Past Washington’s Ugly Politics
Despite a poisonous political climate, hundreds of volunteer advocates put partisan differences aside and pressed Congress to help people with cancer.
Private Medicare, Medicaid Plans Exaggerate In-Network Mental Health Options, Watchdogs Say
A federal probe of Medicare and Medicaid plans run by private insurance companies found that the plan operators often overstated how many mental health providers were available in their networks. In some cases, investigators found providers had never had contracts with plans they were listed on.