Latest KFF Health News Stories
How Little Denmark Got Homegrown Giant Novo Nordisk To Lower Ozempic Prices
As Congress pushes for Medicare to cover payment for anti-obesity drugs, Denmark — Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk’s home — has limited coverage of the drug after cost overruns “emptied all the money boxes in the entire public health system.”
The Politics Holding Back Medicaid Expansion in Some Southern States
Ten states have not expanded Medicaid, leaving 1.5 million people ineligible for the state and federal insurance program and also unable to afford private insurance. Seven of those states are in the South, where expansion efforts may have momentum but where lawmakers say political polarization is holding them back.
Small-Town Patients Face Big Hurdles as Rural Hospitals Cut Cancer Care
For rural patients, getting cancer treatment close to home has always been difficult. And now chemotherapy deserts are expanding across the United States as hospitals winnow services to save money, creating financial and logistical hurdles for people seeking lifesaving care.
Social Media Bans Could Deny Teenagers Mental Health Help
Congress and state legislatures are considering age bans and other limits for Instagram and TikTok out of concern that they harm kids’ mental health. But some researchers and pediatricians question whether there’s enough data to support that conclusion.
Treating the Shortage of Black Doctors
A few months ago, I visited Jackson, Miss., to attend African American Visit Day at the University of Mississippi’s School of Medicine. High school and college students from across the state spent time that Saturday morning with Black medical students and administrators, finding out what they needed to do to become a doctor. The annual […]
Inside Project 2025: Former Trump Official Outlines Hard Right Turn Against Abortion
Former President Donald Trump has distanced himself from a Heritage Foundation document that outlines positions on abortion and a range of other social issues. But Democrats view it as a window into the far right’s to-do list and a clear opening for political attack.
Native American Public Health Officials Are Stuck in Data Blind Spot
For decades, state and federal agencies have restricted or delayed tribes and tribal epidemiology centers from accessing public health data, a blackout that leaves health workers in Native American communities cobbling together information to guide their work, including tracking devastating disease outbreaks.
‘I Feel Dismissed’: People Experiencing Colorism Say Health System Fails Them
Colorism — a form of prejudice and discrimination in which lighter skin is favored over darker skin — has been associated with mental health conditions such as depression, low self-esteem, and anxiety. But skin tone often goes unaddressed with therapists and clinical specialists.
Harris’ California Health Care Battles Signal Fights Ahead for Hospitals if She Wins
Kamala Harris fought health care consolidation during her tenure as California’s attorney general, and she could escalate the fight nationally if she wins in November. Still, the pace of mergers has accelerated.
Shingles Vaccine May Stall Dementia, and Vaccine Mandates Save Lives, Studies Suggest
KFF Health News senior fellow and editor-at-large for public health Céline Gounder discussed vaccines in a couple of recent media appearances.
Urgent Care or ER? With ‘One-Stop Shop,’ Hospitals Offer Both Under Same Roof
Hospitals in several states are partnering with a private equity-backed company to offer combined emergency and urgent care in a single building. But patients may not realize prices vary between the two services — often by a lot.
Since Fall of ‘Roe,’ Self-Managed Abortions Have Increased
The percentage of people who say they’ve tried to end a pregnancy without medical assistance increased after “Roe v. Wade” was overturned. One of the most common reasons for seeking a self-managed abortion was privacy concerns.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Abortion Heats Up Presidential Race
The elevation of Vice President Kamala Harris to the top of the presumed Democratic presidential ticket is newly energizing the debate over abortion, while former President Donald Trump attempts to distance himself from more sweeping proposals in the “Project 2025” GOP blueprint put together by his former administration officials and the conservative Heritage Foundation. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Elisabeth Rosenthal, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” about a preauthorized surgery that generated a six-figure bill.
What’s Behind New Combined Urgent Care-ER Facilities
It’s Saturday afternoon, and your 4-year-old is bleeding from a gash on his face after a playtime mishap. Should you go to the emergency room or the urgent care clinic? VHC Health in Arlington, Va., plans to soon join a small but growing number of hospitals moving to resolve this dilemma by offering both types […]
Montana Designs New Hurdles for Abortion Clinics Ahead of Vote To Protect Access
Proposed regulations would require clinics providing abortions in the state to meet sweeping new health standards, despite a likely vote in November on a constitutional amendment to protect abortion access.
GOP Charge That Harris Backed Taxpayer-Funded Care for All Immigrants Overlooks Details
Hoping to portray presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris as extreme on immigration, former President Donald Trump and his supporters have said she wanted to give free health benefits, paid by taxpayers, to immigrants in the country without legal permission. But this statement overlooks key details.
Bird Flu Cases Are Going Undetected, New Study Suggests. It’s a Problem for All of Us.
Dairy workers in Texas show signs of prior, uncounted bird flu infections in a new study. Without labor protection and better health care, cases are bound to quietly rise as the outbreak among livestock blazes in the United States.
Copycat Weight-Loss Drugs Are Major Players With Consumers
As many as 1 in 8 American adults has tried one of the GLP-1 anti-obesity drugs, but a surprising number aren’t getting their supplies from pharma giants Novo Nordisk or Eli Lilly. Up to 30 percent of the market, by some estimates, is made up of copycat versions from compounding pharmacies. Compounding is legal, though […]
Florida’s RSV Season Has Started, and It’s Coming Soon to the Rest of US. Here’s a Primer.
Florida’s RSV season begins earlier and runs longer than anywhere else in the U.S., according to the University of Florida’s Emerging Pathogens Institute. New vaccines can help, but most older adults, who are vulnerable to RSV, haven’t gotten them yet.
It’s a Bird. It’s a Plane. It’s a Medical Response Drone.
What if the first responder on the scene of a cardiac arrest were a drone carrying an automated external defibrillator? When every second counts, public safety professionals are increasingly eyeing drones — which can fly 60 miles an hour and don’t get stuck in traffic — to deliver help faster than an ambulance or EMT. […]