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Latest KFF Health News Stories

With Only Gloves To Protect Them, Farmworkers Say They Tend Sick Cows Amid Bird Flu

KFF Health News Original

A Colorado picnic celebrated Farmworker Appreciation Day. But some dairy workers there said they aren’t feeling appreciated: They don’t have basic protective gear, even as bird flu spreads through area farms.

An Arm and a Leg: Don’t Get ‘Bullied’ Into Paying What You Don’t Owe

Podcast

In this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” host Dan Weissmann speaks with Caitlyn Mai, a woman in Oklahoma who received a six-figure bill for a surgery her insurance promised to cover. This episode is an extended version of the “Bill of the Month” series, produced in partnership with NPR.

Her Life Was at Risk. She Needed an Abortion. Insurance Refused To Pay.

KFF Health News Original

Insurance coverage for abortion care in the U.S. is a hodgepodge. Patients often don’t know when or if a procedure or abortion pills are covered, and the proliferation of abortion bans has exacerbated the confusion.

The New Covid Vaccine Is Out. Why You Might Not Want To Rush To Get It.

KFF Health News Original

Although public health officials recommend the newly approved covid vaccine for everyone 6 months and older, it may make more sense to wait until closer to the holiday season.

For Pharma, Trump vs. Harris Is a Showdown Between Two Industry Foes

KFF Health News Original

Vice President Kamala Harris is seen as more aggressive than former President Donald Trump in taking on pharmaceutical companies, but Trump allies say he would also make lowering drug costs a top priority.

Ya está disponible la nueva vacuna contra covid, pero piensa bien cuándo conviene vacunarte

KFF Health News Original

La Administración de Drogas y Alimentos ha aprobado una vacuna actualizada contra covid para todas las personas de 6 meses en adelante, lo que renueva un dilema que ahora es anual: ¿Recibir la vacuna ya, con el brote de covid aún por todo el país, o reservarla para la ola invernal?

Cuando la aseguradora se niega a pagar un aborto que es médicamente necesario

KFF Health News Original

En el país, la cobertura para la atención del aborto es laberíntica. A menudo, los pacientes no saben cuándo un procedimiento, o las píldoras abortivas, están cubiertas, si es que lo están; y la proliferación de prohibiciones ha exacerbado la confusión.

What the Health? From KFF Health News: Let the General Election Commence

Podcast

Abortion and reproductive health issues headlined the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, as expected. But what Vice President Kamala Harris has in mind for other health policies as the Democratic nominee remains something of a mystery. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump says he would not use the 19th-century Comstock Act to impose, in effect, a national ban on abortion, which angered his anti-abortion backers. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Johns Hopkins University, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Tony Leys, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about a woman who fought back after being charged for two surgeries despite undergoing only one.

Disability Rights Activist Pushes Government To Let Him Participate in Society

KFF Health News Original

Garret Frey won a U.S. Supreme Court case as a teenager who needed assistance to attend high school. Now, he’s gained concessions under Iowa’s Medicaid program to help him live at home instead of in a care facility.

Project 2025 Would Recast HHS as the Federal Department of Life

KFF Health News Original

It has become a rhetorical theme for Democrats working to hold on to the White House: Allies of former president Donald Trump, they say, want to infuse conservative ideals into how the federal government does business. That vision is outlined in the Project 2025 “Mandate for Leadership,” a 900-page blueprint produced by the conservative Heritage Foundation and other conservative organizations […]

A Teen’s Murder, Mold in the Walls: Unfulfilled Promises Haunt Public Housing

KFF Health News Original

For years, federal lawmakers have failed to deliver the money needed to fix derelict public housing, leaving tenants — mostly people of color and families with low incomes — living with mold and gun violence that has had lasting health consequences.

Biden Administration Blocks Two Private Sector Enrollment Sites From ACA Marketplace

KFF Health News Original

Regulators have been under the gun to curb unauthorized Obamacare enrollment and switching of plans. Separately, a pending lawsuit was amended with additional defendants and new allegations regarding tactics to garner greater ACA sales commissions.

The Rapidly Evolving Field of Street Medicine

KFF Health News Original

The rapidly evolving field of street medicine — the practice of providing health care to homeless people living outside — is getting a jolt in California with a new player: a medical group devoted exclusively to homeless people. And it’s actually making money. Sachin Jain, who worked on federal Medicaid policy during his tenure in […]

Patient Underwent One Surgery but Was Billed for Two. Even After Being Sued, She Refused To Pay.

KFF Health News Original

A collection agency sought court authority to garnish a patient’s wages to pay a disputed surgery bill. But after the patient showed up in court to argue the bill was bogus, the judge declined to let the bill collector seize her money.

Cautious Optimism in San Francisco as New Cases of HIV in Latinos Decrease

KFF Health News Original

New HIV diagnoses have decreased among Latinos in San Francisco, potentially marking the first time in five years that the group hasn’t accounted for the largest number of new cases. Public health experts express cautious optimism, but outreach workers warn that many Latinos still struggle to find testing and treatment.