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A century-old rural Michigan hospital converted to a stripped-down model Congress created to help keep small facilities afloat, then it closed. The emergency hospital model, created a few years ago, is stabilizing some hospitals, arrived too late for others, and now faces major challenges under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The tiny federal agency that tracks consumer product safety is pressuring hospitals to turn over patient records from emergency room visits, including about injuries that have nothing to do with consumer products.
The deaths of Harmony Ball-Stribling and her unborn daughter five years ago have galvanized local leaders determined to reopen a Mississippi Delta hospital. But once a rural community loses a hospital, bringing it back can be nearly impossible.
Margaret Hvatum ended up in the hospital after her insurer denied coverage of a medicine she relies on to boost her immune system. Hvatum got entangled in the preapproval process, which the insurance industry has vowed to improve.
Several rural communities were thrust into a charged national debate over the Trump administration’s mass deportation strategy when federal officials sought to place new detention centers in them. In Social Circle, Georgia, locals fear the effort will overburden its modest healthcare infrastructure.
Republicans promise that $50 billion in new health funding will help rural America. But it’s not expected to aid the years-long effort in North Carolina’s Martin County to reopen its only hospital.
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
A bug bite and an allergic reaction ultimately sent a North Carolina woman to the emergency room, where she had a couple of brief chats with a doctor and a dose of medicine. Now she questions why the charges were so high.
Patients are getting stuck in the emergency department for days while waiting for a spot in an inpatient ward.
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
A long stay in intensive care can bring physical, cognitive, and mental health challenges that can take months or longer to resolve.
Dentists, hygienists, and researchers say a shortage of rural dental care professionals and worsening oral hygiene since the covid-19 pandemic mean more kids are ending up in the emergency room for tooth decay.
With lawmakers still mired over renewing enhanced tax credits for Affordable Care Act plans, much of Washington has turned to culture war issues. Meanwhile, “confusion” remains the watchword at HHS as personnel and funding decisions continue to be made and unmade with little notice. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Elisabeth Rosenthal, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” report.
Some patients who had liposuction or other surgeries later required emergency hospital care — and some died, court records show.
As the crowdsourced investigative series from KFF Health News approaches its eighth anniversary, “Bill of the Month” offers its top takeaways of 2025 to help patients manage, decipher, and even fight their medical bills.
Homemade hot sauce sent a Colorado man to the emergency room with what he called “the worst pain of my life.” But stomach cramps were only the beginning. Two years later, the bill came.
More immigrants in New Orleans and Mississippi are skipping important health care appointments and experiencing heightened stress amid federal immigration raids.
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Proposals from states that have shared their applications to a new $50 billion rural health program include using drones to deliver medication, installing refrigerators to expand access to healthy produce, and bringing telehealth to libraries, day cares, and senior centers.
After her son contracted a serious bacterial infection, an Ohio mother took the toddler to a nearby ER, and staffers there sent him to a children’s hospital in an ambulance. With no insurance, the family was hit with a $9,250 bill for the 40-minute ride.
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