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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.
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.
A federal disclosure rule is offering new insight on the effect of healthcare monopolies on pricing, following a wave of U.S. mergers.
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.
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.
KFF Health News is working to collect and post approved plans as more states respond to emails and public records requests for their documents.
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.
A growing network of home-sharing programs is helping people find compatible housemates. And demand is rising, driven by housing shortages, rising rents, and sales prices that affect both the old and the young.
Federal officials charged two virologists they stopped en route from an African disease outbreak with violating import rules. But scientists tell KFF Health News the inactivated samples they carried posed no threat to the public, and they characterize the arrests as part of a government harassment campaign.
Last year, the Trump administration announced a voluntary pledge by dozens of insurers to improve prior authorization, which often requires patients to seek approval before treatments. But prior authorization remains commonplace, and there's no evidence the government is trying to hold insurers to account.
A ballot measure to eliminate Missouri’s income tax would give the state legislature broad authority to levy new sales taxes to replace the lost revenue. Critics say that could mean adding a sales tax on medical services or prescription medicines. Those types of taxes are unusual, but not unheard of, in the U.S.
With the federal Medicaid work requirements looming in January, Democrats are considering state legislation to call out big companies that employ workers enrolled in the safety net health program. Business giants such as Amazon and Walmart said the figures are misleading.
California’s laws still leave extradition decisions related to reproductive rights and gender-affirming care to its governor. But as states with abortion bans target California physicians who prescribe abortion pills across state lines, Democrats want to lock in protections for doctors, no matter who the next governor is.
Over the past 70 years, the number of inpatient psychiatric beds has dropped dramatically, leaving many without critical care when they experience mental health crises. I was one of the lucky ones to get a bed — after 21 hours of waiting.
Thousands of people who had a Medicare drug plan with zero-dollar premiums last year got small premium increases this year — and didn’t know it. They were dropped from their coverage for failing to pay amounts as little as $8, and most can’t get it again until 2027.
The Trump administration’s cuts to Medicaid and SNAP may complicate Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo’s reelection chances.
Massachusetts passed laws and joined lawsuits to protect access to gender-affirming care for minors. But faced with the Trump administration’s threats, some hospitals voluntarily stopped care. Families are outraged.
Medicare is testing the use of artificial intelligence to preapprove several healthcare services. Federal health officials say prior authorization can help reduce fraud and contain costs. But doctors and patients describe the trial as “horrendous” and full of red tape so far.
Mehmet Oz, head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, framed the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program as “bold, creative plans” led by states. But as states have started to roll out their plans, federal officials control where and how the money is spent.
The Trump administration has laid out what millions of Americans on Medicaid must do to prove they’re working or completing other activities. Health policy researchers and consumer advocates say there are some important takeaways.
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