Midwest Bureau Archives - Page 20 of 47

The Supreme Court vs. the Bureaucracy

Episode 330

Jan. 18, 2024

The Supreme Court this week heard oral arguments in a case that could radically alter the way federal agencies — including the Department of Health and Human Services — administer laws passed by Congress. A decision in the case is expected this spring or summer. Meanwhile, the Biden administration is struggling over whether to ban menthol cigarettes — a move that could improve public health but also alienate Black voters, the biggest menthol users. Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Darius Tahir, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about a lengthy fight over a bill for a quick telehealth visit.

Listen Now

The former ambulance entrance at the Keokuk Area Hospital has a large sign that says "closed" taped to the inside of the automatic doors.

Federal Program to Save Rural Hospitals Feels ‘Growing Pains’

Fewer than two dozen rural hospitals were converted into Rural Emergency Hospitals in the program’s first year. Now, advocates and lawmakers say tweaks to the law are necessary to lure more takers and keep health care in rural communities.

By Sarah Jane Tribble and Tony Leys

Jan. 16, 2024

A side view of man smoking cigarette while playing a card game.

Hoping to Clear the Air in Casinos, Workers Seek to Ban Tobacco Smoke

Casinos in several states are fighting efforts to ban smoking, and trying to roll back existing anti-smoking laws. One planned facility even moved outside a city’s limits because of voter-approved smoking restrictions.

By Sandy West

Jan. 11, 2024

A photo of an adolescent sitting in a chair with their parent while a medical professional takes notes on a clipboard.

Rising Malpractice Premiums Price Small Clinics Out of Gender-Affirming Care for Minors

Even in states where laws protect minors’ access to gender-affirming care, malpractice insurance premiums are keeping small and independent clinics from treating patients.

By Cecilia Nowell

Jan. 9, 2024

A photo of a hospital flying its flags at half staff.

Listen to ‘Tradeoffs’: How the Loss of a Rural Hospital Compounds the Collapse of Care

Six years ago, the hospital in Fort Scott, Kansas, shuttered, leaving residents in the small community without a cornerstone health care institution. In the years since, despite new programs meant to save small hospitals, dozens of other communities have watched theirs close.

Jan. 5, 2024

A photo of a police squad car with flashing lights on and crime scene tape in the foreground.

States Begin Tapping Medicaid Dollars to Combat Gun Violence

The Biden administration is allowing states to use money from the insurance program for low-income and disabled residents to pay for gun violence prevention. California and six other states have approved such spending, with more expected to follow.

By Samantha Young

Jan. 5, 2024

A digital illustration of a woman with sighing into her hand, covering her face. The image of her repeats dizzyingly.

Deadly Denials

Woman Petitions Health Insurer After Company Approves — Then Rejects — Her Infusions

Even people with good insurance aren't guaranteed affordable care, as this KFF Health News follow-up to one patient’s saga shows.

By Lauren Sausser

Jan. 4, 2024

YaSheka Shaw, a patient, sits to the left of medical student Kaniya Pierre Louis (center) and physician Zita Magloire (right).

Can Family Doctors Deliver Rural America From Its Maternal Health Crisis?

Family medicine doctors already deliver most of rural America's babies, and efforts to train more in obstetrics care are seen as a way to cope with labor and delivery unit closures.

By Sarah Jane Tribble

Jan. 2, 2024

A woman wearing a transparent yellow rain jacket looks down at a sign stuck into the ground. There are dozens of similar markers in the background and the U.S. Capitol farther in the distance.

Payback: Tracking Opioid Cash

The Year in Opioid Settlements: 5 Things You Need to Know

In the past year, opioid settlement money has gone from an emerging funding stream for which people had lofty but uncertain aspirations to a coveted pot of billions being invested in remediation efforts. Here are some important and evolving factors to watch going forward.

By Aneri Pattani

Dec. 21, 2023

A colorful, digital illustration in pencil and watercolor shows a cartoon figure hooked up to an array of medical devices. The figure has a device in their mouth, which has caused two teeth to fall out; a glucose monitor on their arm is connected to a cellphone; a ventilator is connected to their lungs; a device is connected to their heart from the inside with battery packs on the outside; and a hemodialysis machine causes blood to spurt from a vein unnoticed. A large error symbol (a yellow triangle with a red exclamation point at its center) is at the center of the illustration.

When Medical Devices Malfunction

Deep Flaws in FDA Oversight of Medical Devices, and Patient Harm, Exposed in Lawsuits and Records

Thousands of medical devices are sold, and even implanted, with no safety tests.

By Fred Schulte and Holly K. Hacker

Dec. 21, 2023

The Health 202

What a Bison Goring Can Teach Us About Rural Emergency Care

By Arielle Zionts

Dec. 20, 2023

When Medical Devices Malfunction

Patients Facing Death Are Opting for a Lifesaving Heart Device — But at What Risk?

The HeartMate 3 is considered the safest mechanical heart pump of its kind, but a federal database contains more than 4,500 reports in which the medical device may have caused or contributed to a patient’s death.

By Daniel Chang and Holly K. Hacker

Dec. 19, 2023

Payback: Tracking Opioid Cash

‘They See a Cash Cow’: Corporations Could Consume $50 Billion of Opioid Settlements

As opioid settlement dollars land in government coffers, a swarm of businesses are positioning themselves to profit from the windfall. But will their potential gains come at the expense of the settlements’ intended purpose — to remediate the effects of the opioid epidemic?

By Aneri Pattani

Dec. 18, 2023

Two photos are shown side-by side. On the left is a portrait of a man standing outside. On the right is a portrait of a woman standing indoors.

Dying Broke: A KFF Health News-New York Times Project

‘Financial Ruin Is Baked Into the System’: Readers on the Costs of Long-Term Care

Thousands of people shared their experiences and related to the financial drain on families portrayed in the “Dying Broke” series, a joint project by KFF Health News and The New York Times that examined the costs of long-term care.

By Jordan Rau and Reed Abelson, The New York Times

Dec. 15, 2023

Paramedics lift a person on a stretcher into ambulance at night.

As Foundation for ‘Excited Delirium’ Diagnosis Cracks, Fallout Spreads

Major policy changes and disavowals have made this a watershed year for curbing the use of the discredited “excited delirium” diagnosis to explain deaths in police custody. Now the ripple effects are spreading across the country into court cases, state legislation, and police training classes.

By Renuka Rayasam, Markian Hawryluk, and Samantha Young

Dec. 13, 2023

The goMARTI vehicle, a white van painted with green and blue branding, is parked outside.

People With Disabilities Hope Autonomous Vehicles Deliver Independence

A pilot project in northern Minnesota aims to pave the way for fully autonomous vehicles to offer independence for people who can’t drive.

By Tony Leys

Dec. 12, 2023

KFF Health News On Air

Journalists Delve Into Gun Violence, Medicaid’s ‘Unwinding,’ Opioid Lawsuits, and More

KFF Health News and California Healthline staffers made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

Dec. 9, 2023

A medicare card is layered over a U.S. $100-dollar-bill.

Dodging the Medicare Enrollment Deadline Can Be Costly

As open enrollment ends, many people are tuning out. They could wind up with a surprise next year: higher costs and less access to health care providers.

By Susan Jaffe

Dec. 7, 2023