Shopping for an ACA Plan This Year? Here’s What You Need To Know
As open enrollment for Affordable Care Act health insurance kicks off, consumers face rising premiums, additional identity checks, and fewer brokers.
Mountain States Bureau
KFF Health News tells the stories of Colorado, Montana, and the rest of the region.
1-20 of 917 results
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‘Go to Canada’: Trump Touted Americans’ Access to Cheaper Drugs. A New Rule Threatens It.
The Trump administration pushed back a rule — until after the midterm elections — that would complicate Americans’ access to less expensive medication imports from Canada and other countries.
By Arthur Allen -
As Politicians Argue About China, US Patients Find Cutting-Edge Treatment There
The rapid emergence of the Chinese biotech industry has panicked U.S. politicians, but investors and patients caution that a clampdown on pharmaceutical collaboration could hurt everyone.
By Arthur Allen -
California’s Billionaire Tax Promises Healthcare Relief. The Fine Print Is Murkier.
An initiative on the California ballot would levy the nation’s first wealth tax on billionaires. Supporters say the proceeds would help offset President Donald Trump’s sweeping healthcare cuts. But critics argue that the temporary infusion of cash is a giveaway to politicians.
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People Say These Peptides Hurt Them. Their Stories Are Muffled in MAHA’s Push for Medical Freedom.
People who have taken experimental peptides, such as BPC-157, complain of migraines, eye pain, fatigue, and more. Learning whether these popular but unproven drugs are to blame may become harder if Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fulfills a promise to make them more accessible.
By Amy Maxmen -
Midterms Have Revived Universal Healthcare Debate. These States Are Ahead of Everyone.
While Democratic congressional candidates are floating the restoration of federal Affordable Care Act subsidies and Medicaid funding, Oregon officials are crafting a more ambitious plan to implement universal coverage in their state.
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US Poised To Boot Legal Immigrants From Medicaid, Including Refugees and Sex-Trafficking Victims
The Congressional Budget Office estimated 100,000 more immigrants will be uninsured by 2034 because of Medicaid eligibility changes under President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act that take effect Oct. 1. A KFF Health News survey of nine states found many more are at imminent risk of losing health coverage.
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Confusion and Angst Follow State’s Early Rollout of Medicaid Work Rules
In most states, people with Medicaid coverage will have to prove they’re working, volunteering, or studying starting Jan. 1. But Montana put the rules into effect early, and they’re sowing uncertainty and anxiety.
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Abortion Is on the Ballot Again as Post-Roe Policies Continue To Evolve
Four states will vote on abortion-related ballot measures in November, marking the fourth time in five years that millions of Americans will weigh in on their states’ abortion rules. The measures follow the Supreme Court’s “Dobbs” decision, which upended federal abortion protections.
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As Health Insurance Costs Soar, Healthcare Workers Also Feel the Pinch
Like many Americans, Joshua and Ashley Durham saw their health insurance premiums rise by hundreds of dollars a month this year. Despite being healthcare practitioners all too aware of the risks, they chose to go uninsured. Others, though, can’t afford to go without.
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A Cancer Survivor Hoped To Work — Then She Lost Her Medicaid Disability Coverage
As state governments grapple with how to determine who’s sick enough to be excused from new Medicaid work requirements, some families are already struggling with what illnesses guarantee health coverage because of a disability.
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$50B Rural Health Transformation Program Needs More Transparency, Groups Say
States must submit Rural Health Transformation Program progress reports to the federal government, but they aren’t required to proactively post those reports, or related information, publicly.
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Drive for Nuclear Power Boosts Uranium Industry — And Tribal Health Concerns in Southwest
Federal efforts to revive uranium mining in the West and decrease reliance on Russian uranium are raising concerns about drinking water for tribal communities reckoning with the industry’s deadly legacy.
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Hospital Prepayment Requirements Add New Wrinkles to Patients’ Financial Responsibility
Hospitals and other medical providers are increasingly asking for payment before providing care, collecting more of what patients might owe as rising insurance deductibles add to Americans' financial pressures.
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Patients Wary of Governments, Companies Pushing AI as a Rural Healthcare Solution
The $50 billion federal Rural Health Transformation Program is set to flood rural America with new AI health tools. That’s despite little evidence on whether health-related AI can improve access to care and patient health in those communities.
By Arielle Zionts and Darius Tahir -
Same Knee Surgery, Twice the Price: Hospital Monopolies Push Up Healthcare Costs
A federal disclosure rule is offering new insight on the effect of healthcare monopolies on pricing, following a wave of U.S. mergers.
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Medicaid Work Rule Leaves Homeless People in the Cold
Conservatives who have long pushed for Medicaid work requirements often said vulnerable people would get a pass. But the federal government’s list of exemptions left off homeless people.
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Trump Administration Demands Hospitals Share Emergency Room Records
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.
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Tracking State Rural Health Transformation Plans
KFF Health News is working to collect and post approved plans as more states respond to emails and public records requests for their documents.
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‘The Child Is Terrified’: Doctors on the Front Lines of a Measles Comeback Speak Out
Hear from six pediatricians in measles hot spot Utah as the U.S. faces infection levels not seen in over three decades and prepares to lose its status as a country that eliminated the dangerous disease.
By Amy Maxmen