Latest KFF Health News Stories
Listen: Amid Shutdown Stalemate, Families Brace for SNAP Cuts and Paycheck Limbo
KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner appeared on WAMU’s “Health Hub” to discuss how the government shutdown is affecting food benefits and the help many Americans get to offset their health insurance premiums.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Nutrition Programs Face Their Own Shutdown
Two major nutrition programs — SNAP and WIC — are likely to exhaust their funding in November, and the furloughs and firings at the CDC have left the agency unable to perform some of its major functions. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s new IVF policy is being met with dissatisfaction from both sides. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Katheryn Houghton, who wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” feature.
Officials Show Little Proof That New Tech Will Help Medicaid Enrollees Meet Work Rules
The Trump administration says it’s developing a digital tool to help people prove they’re meeting new Medicaid work requirements. KFF Health News talked to officials from the two states running pilot programs and found little evidence of new — or effective — technology.
‘Cancer Doesn’t Care’: Citizen Lobbyists Unite To Push Past Washington’s Ugly Politics
Despite a poisonous political climate, hundreds of volunteer advocates put partisan differences aside and pressed Congress to help people with cancer.
States Jostle Over $50B Rural Health Fund as Trump’s Medicaid Cuts Trigger Scramble
States are battling for their piece of $50 billion in federal rural health funding, but it’s not just hospitals vying for the money. Tech startups and policy demands are raising the stakes as Medicaid cuts loom.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Schrödinger’s Government Shutdown
Democrats and Republicans remain stalled over funding the federal government as Republicans launch a new attack on the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is taking advantage of the shutdown to lay off workers from programs supported mostly by Democrats. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss those stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews health insurance analyst Louise Norris about Medicare open enrollment.
Un miedo ancestral cada vez más común: “Voy a morir solo”
Esto es algo que se preguntan muchos adultos mayores que viven solos, una población que ya supera las 16 millones de personas y que sigue creciendo.
RFK Jr. Misses Mark in Touting Rural Health Transformation Fund as Historic Infusion of Cash
The health secretary’s statement doesn’t consider the impact that the Medicaid cuts advanced in the same law will have on health care in rural America.
In Mississippi, Medicaid Coverage of Weight Loss Drugs Fails To Catch On
In Mississippi, a state with one of the highest obesity rates in the nation, Medicaid covers weight loss drugs, but few enrollees have signed up for the benefit.
Listen: Green Goodbyes: Choosing an Eco-Friendly Burial
Environmental and economic concerns prompt some people to explore obsequies options beyond metal caskets and cremation.
Journalists Dig Into Government Shutdown and Rural Doctor Drought
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
As Trump Denies Climate Change, At Least 170 Hospitals Face Major Flood Risk
Get our weekly newsletter, The Week in Brief, featuring a roundup of our original coverage, Fridays at 2 p.m. ET.
Senators Press Deloitte, Other Contractors on Errors in Medicaid Eligibility Systems
As contractors position themselves to cash in on a gush of new business managing Medicaid work requirements, a cadre of senators has launched an inquiry into the companies paid billions to build eligibility systems.
La escasez de enfermeras en California se agrava, y las trabajadoras culpan a los directivos
Según datos estatales, casi el 60% de los condados de California —que se extienden entre las fronteras con México y Oregon— enfrentan una falta importante de enfermeras.
Cops on Ketamine? Largely Unregulated Mental Health Treatment Faces Hurdles
Ketamine, long used as an anesthetic or illegal party drug, is being combined with psychotherapy to treat severe depression and post-traumatic stress — a potential tool for those with high trauma rates, like firefighters and police officers. Yet the drug’s stigma and unregulated marketplace leave first responders in uncharted territory.
Listen: Why ‘TrumpRx’ Might Not Save You Money
On the “Today, Explained” podcast, KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner recaps the TrumpRx announcement and why the direct-to-consumer initiative may not save you money on prescription drugs if you have insurance through your employer or the government.
This Geriatrics Training Program Escaped the Ax. For Now.
The Trump administration has restored promised funds to a program that teaches people in health care how to work with aging Americans.
California’s Nursing Shortage Is Getting Worse. Front-Line Workers Blame Management.
California’s nursing shortage is projected to worsen, and hospitals say funding cuts will only add strain. But front-line nurses blame heavy workloads, not a shortage, for driving workers away.
Receloso del secretario de Salud, RFK Jr., Colorado comenzó a renovar sus políticas de vacunación
Cuatro estados del oeste —California, Hawaii, Oregon y Washington— han formado una alianza para proteger el acceso a las vacunas. Varios estados del noreste han tomado medidas similares.
Wary of RFK Jr., Colorado Started Revamping Its Vaccine Policies in the Spring
Amid concerns that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is undermining trust in vaccines and public health science, some states are seeking new sources of scientific consensus and changing how they regulate insurance companies, prescribers, and pharmacists. Colorado has been at the front of this wave.
