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Latest KFF Health News Stories

Calif. Ballot Measure Targets Drug Discount Program Spending

KFF Health News Original

Californians in November will weigh in on a ballot initiative to increase scrutiny over the use of health-care dollars — particularly money from a federal drug discount program — meant to support patient care largely for low-income or indigent people. The revenue is sometimes used to address housing instability and homelessness among vulnerable patient populations. Voters […]

A Boy’s Bicycling Death Haunts a Black Neighborhood. 35 Years Later, There’s Still No Sidewalk.

KFF Health News Original

John Parker was in first grade when he was struck by a pickup truck driving on Durham’s Cheek Road, which lacks sidewalks to this day. Neighborhoods with no sidewalks, damaged walkways, and roads with high speed limits are concentrated in Black neighborhoods, research finds.

Lo nuevo y lo que debes tener en cuenta en el próximo período de inscripción abierta de ACA

KFF Health News Original

Estamos en esa época del año otra vez. En la mayoría de los estados, la temporada de inscripción abierta de la Ley de Cuidado de Salud a Bajo Precio (ACA) para los planes de salud comienza el 1 de noviembre y dura hasta el 15 de enero.

Silence in Sikeston: Is There a Cure for Racism?

Podcast

In the finale of “Silence in Sikeston,” Black residents organize a Juneteenth barbecue. The Department of Public Safety chief encourages officers to attend to build trust. But improving relations between Sikeston’s Black community and the police won’t be easy. Host Cara Anthony discusses the possibility of institutional change in Sikeston.

FDA’s Promised Guidance on Pulse Oximeters Unlikely To End Decades of Racial Bias

KFF Health News Original

For decades, the pulse oximeters used in hospitals, ambulances, and homes have underestimated the oxygen needs of darker-skinned patients. The FDA is preparing guidelines to fix that. But will the new rules go far enough?

Catholic Hospital Offered Bucket, Towels to Woman It Denied an Abortion, California AG Said

KFF Health News Original

In California, where abortion rights are guaranteed, there’s a loophole. The growth of Catholic hospital systems, which restrict reproductive health care, has left patients with no other option for care. That will be the case for pregnant women in Northern California, with a hospital set to close its birth center.

Incluso los rivales políticos coinciden en que es urgente resolver el problema de la deuda médica

KFF Health News Original

Desde 2021, en más de 20 estados se han promulgado nuevas leyes para frenar la facturación abusiva de los hospitales, ampliar la atención caritativa a los pacientes con ingresos más bajos y frenar a los recaudadores de deudas.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The Health of the Campaign

Podcast

The 2024 presidential race is taking on a familiar tone — with Democrats accusing Republicans of wanting to ban abortion and repeal the Affordable Care Act and Republicans insisting they have no such plans. Voters will determine whom they believe. Meanwhile, for the second time in a month, a state judge overturned an abortion ban, but few expect the decision to settle the matter. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Lauren Sausser, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-Washington Post “Bill of the Month,” about a teenage athlete whose needed surgery lacked a billing code.

On the Campaign Trail, Democrats Call Out Opponents on Abortion

KFF Health News Original

As Nov. 5 approaches and the struggle for control of the U.S. House reaches a fever pitch, Democrats are doing everything they can to tie their Republican opponents to their antiabortion voting records. Some Republican candidates, meanwhile, seem to be softening their positions. And political analysts say it’s part of a larger trend playing out […]

Trump Leads, and His Party Follows, on Vaccine Skepticism

KFF Health News Original

Former President Donald Trump has presided over a landslide shift in Republican views on vaccines, reflected in false claims by candidates in election primaries, puzzling conspiracies from prominent conservatives, and a surge in anti-vaccine policies in statehouses.

Trump lidera el escepticismo por las vacunas, y el partido lo sigue

KFF Health News Original

Trump ha liderado un cambio radical en la visión de su partido sobre las vacunas, reflejado esta temporada de campaña en afirmaciones falsas de candidatos republicanos durante las primarias y en teorías conspirativas desconcertantes de voces conservadoras prominentes.

Es crítico vacunarse contra covid durante el embarazo

KFF Health News Original

Casi el 90% de los bebés que tuvieron que ser hospitalizados con covid-19 tenían madres que no se vacunaron mientras estaban embarazadas, según nuevos datos publicados por los Centros para el Control y Prevención de Enfermedades.

Doctors Urging Conference Boycotts Over Abortion Bans Face Uphill Battle

KFF Health News Original

A famed breast cancer surgeon has created a California alternative to a major Texas event. Yet many doctors believe boycotting medical conferences in states that criminalize abortion accomplishes nothing and can be harmful.

Vance-Walz Debate Highlighted Clear Health Policy Differences

KFF Health News Original

The vice presidential debate showcased the very different views of Ohio Republican Sen. JD Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate, and Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’ VP pick, on health policies past and present.