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Latest KFF Health News Stories

Social Security Overpayments Draw Scrutiny and Outrage From Members of Congress

KFF Health News Original

Lawmakers are faulting the Social Security Administration for issuing billions of dollars of payments that beneficiaries weren’t entitled to receive — and then demanding the money back — in the wake of an investigation by KFF Health News and Cox Media Group.

New Medicare Advantage Plans Tailor Offerings to Asian Americans, Latinos, and LGBTQ+

KFF Health News Original

As more seniors opt for Medicare Advantage, a few small insurers have begun offering plans that provide culturally targeted benefits for cohorts including Asian Americans, Latinos, and LGBTQ+ people. The approach, policy researchers say, has potential and perils.

Who Polices Hospitals Merging Across Markets? States Give Different Answers

KFF Health News Original

Increasingly, hospitals are merging across separate markets within states. It’s a move that health economists and the Federal Trade Commission have been closely watching, as evidence shows such mergers raise prices for patients with no improvement in care.

Nuevos planes de Medicare Advantage adaptan ofertas para asiáticos, latinos y LGTBQ+

KFF Health News Original

A medida que Medicare Advantage gana popularidad entre los adultos mayores, tres compañías del sur de California están lanzando nuevos planes que se enfocan en comunidades culturales y étnicas, con ofertas especiales y profesionales que hablan su idioma nativo.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': More Medicaid Messiness

Podcast

At least 30 states are reinstating coverage for children wrongly removed from the rolls under Medicaid redetermination, the federal government reported. It’s just the latest hiccup in the massive effort to review the eligibility of Medicaid beneficiaries now that the program’s pandemic-era expansion has expired. And federal oversight of the so-called unwinding would be further complicated by an impending government shutdown. Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Samantha Liss, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature, about a hospital bill that followed a deceased patient’s family for more than a year.

As Covid Infections Rise, Nursing Homes Are Still Waiting for Vaccines

KFF Health News Original

“People want covid-19 to be in the rearview mirror,” one nursing home official says. Faced with a slow rollout of the updated covid vaccines, and without state mandates for workers to get vaccinated, most skilled nursing facilities are relying on persuasion to boost vaccination rates among staff and residents.

Florida Foster Kids Are Given Powerful Medications, but Feds Find State Oversight Lacking

KFF Health News Original

A report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services raises troubling questions about the use of powerful medications within Florida’s child welfare system and the risk of overdoses or dangerous side effects if children are given the wrong combination of drugs.

A Decades-Long Drop in Teen Births Is Slowing, and Advocates Worry a Reversal Is Coming

KFF Health News Original

After three decades of declines in teen pregnancies, data shows the rates are starting to plateau. The reversal of “Roe v. Wade,” coupled with efforts to suspend sex education in schools and higher rates of youth mental health issues post-pandemic, could culminate in a perfect storm.

Epidemic: The Tata Way

Podcast

Episode 5 of the “Eradicating Smallpox” podcast explores how a partnership between public health institutions and a huge, influential private company was key in the campaign to eliminate smallpox.

Massive Kaiser Permanente Strike Looms as Talks Head to the Wire

KFF Health News Original

Both sides, still at loggerheads over pay and staffing, agreed to keep bargaining after unions announced a possible strike Oct. 4-7. If no deal is reached, a walkout by about 75,000 KP workers in five states could disrupt care.

Officials Agree: Use Settlement Funds to Curb Youth Addiction. But the ‘How’ Gets Hairy.

KFF Health News Original

Parents, educators, and elected officials agree that investing in school-based prevention efforts could help curb the rising rate of youth drug overdoses. The well-known D.A.R.E. program is one likely choice, but its effectiveness is in question.

Journalist Assesses Federal Push to Remove Medical Debt From Credit Reports

KFF Health News Original

In two radio appearances this week, KFF Health News senior correspondent Noam N. Levey discussed medical debt in the U.S. and contextualized a new federal push to keep unpaid medical bills from affecting patients’ credit scores.