Latest KFF Health News Stories
An Arm and a Leg: The Woman Who Beat an $8,000 Hospital Fee
In this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” host Dan Weissmann speaks with Georgann Boatright, a patient in Mississippi who was willing to drive to another state to avoid paying a steep fee to her local hospital.
El sistema de emergencias del 911 está al borde del colapso
Mientras que algunos estados, ciudades y condados ya han modernizado sus sistemas de emergencia del 911 o han hecho planes para actualizarlos, muchos otros están rezagados.
HealthSherpa and Insurers Team Up To Curb Unauthorized ACA Enrollment Schemes
The initiative targets the biggest incentive driving fraudulent sign-ups and plan switches: the commissions that rogue agents or large call centers seek.
JD Vance, Trump’s VP Pick, Says Media Twisted His Remarks on Abortion and Domestic Violence
In his first interview after being named as the vice presidential pick by former President Donald Trump, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) spoke about his previous statements on topics like abortion.
The national 911 emergency response system is in the midst of its own code red. The lack of federal funding to upgrade aging 911 systems has created significant disparities in state emergency response services, with older operations plagued by outages and longer response times. Last month, for instance, Massachusetts was hit with a statewide 911 […]
Before Michigan Legalized Surrogacy, Families Found Ways Around the Ban
Until this spring, Michigan was the only state that had a broad criminal ban on surrogacy. Many families say that left them in limbo: forcing them to leave the state to have children, finding strangers on Facebook who would carry their child, or going through the legal hassle of having to adopt their biological children.
Despite Past Storms’ Lessons, Long-Term Care Residents Again Left Powerless
Even after multiple massive power outages — including one from a 2021 winter storm in Texas that prompted a U.S. Senate investigation — little has changed for older Americans in senior living facilities when natural disasters strike.
Colorado Poultry Workers Battle Bird Flu in Heat Wave as US Struggles to Contain Outbreak
So far, all 10 cases reported nationally this year at dairy and poultry farms have been mild, consisting of respiratory symptoms and eye irritation. Scientists have warned that the virus could mutate to spread from person to person, like the seasonal flu, and spark a pandemic.
Es probable que las cinco personas se infectaran por manipular pollos, a los que se les había encargado sacrificar en respuesta a un brote de gripe aviar en esa granja.
Rural Hospitals Built During Baby Boom Now Face Baby Bust
Fewer than half of rural U.S. hospitals offer labor and delivery services. In some areas, births have dropped by three-quarters since the baby boom’s peak.
California Health Care Pioneer Goes National, Girds for Partisan Skirmishes
Anthony Wright, a champion for Californians’ health care rights, will take the helm of Families USA in Washington, D.C., where he plans to campaign for more affordable and accessible care nationally. He leaves Health Access California, where he helped outlaw surprise medical billing, require companies to report drug price increases, and cap hospital bills for uninsured patients.
Journalists Discuss FTC and Supreme Court Actions — And What’s Up With the Bird Flu
KFF Health News and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media in recent weeks to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
The Court Case That Could Upend Access To Free Birth Control
A lawsuit winding its way through the courts could undermine the power of federal agencies to mandate the services health insurance providers must cover. And that could threaten access to free birth control for millions of Americans. The case is called Braidwood Management Inc. v. Becerra, and it was brought by plaintiffs looking to strike […]
How to Find a Good, Well-Staffed Nursing Home
Here are the telltale signs to look for in nursing homes to avoid, and resources that can point to better places.
The Biden administration set stringent new federal staffing rules. But for years, nursing homes have failed to meet the toughest standards set by states.
Lifesaving Drugs and Police Projects Mark First Use of Opioid Settlement Cash in California
California is in line for more than $4 billion in opioid settlement funds, and local governments are most often spending the first tranche of money on lifesaving drugs. An exclusive KFF Health News analysis also found projects to help police deter youths’ drug use and counsel officers who witness overdoses.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': GOP Platform Muddies Abortion Waters
As Donald Trump prepares to be formally nominated as the GOP’s candidate for president next week, the platform he will run on is taking shape. And in line with Trump’s approach, it aims to simultaneously satisfy hard-core abortion opponents and reassure more moderate swing voters. Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission takes on pharmacy benefits management firms. Shefali Luthra of The 19th News, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Jennifer Klein, director of the White House Gender Policy Council, about the Biden administration’s policies to ensure access to reproductive health care.
Relieving the Growing Burden of Medical Debt
Medical debt is a growing burden for millions of people around the country, from parents in Illinois to immigrants in Colorado to residents of the “Diabetes Belt” across the South, and it’s now being recognized as a health-care problem. People often forgo care or prescriptions if they have debt, according to a KFF Health News […]
‘A Bottomless Pit’: How Out-of-Pocket TMJ Costs Drive Patients Into Debt
Millions of Americans suffer from temporomandibular joint, or TMJ, disorders. The high cost and poor insurance coverage of TMJ care can bury patients in debt even as the treatments do more harm than good.
Colorado Dropped Medicaid Enrollees as Red States Have, Alarming Advocates for the Poor
Colorado defended its high disenrollment rates following the covid crisis by saying that what goes up must come down. Advocates and researchers disagree.