Latest KFF Health News Stories
In Boston’s ‘Safe Space,’ Surprising Insights Into Drug Highs
As doctors and nurses learn more about what the body goes through during drug use, they are changing the treatment they provide for patients on heroin and other drugs.
California Court Helps Kids By Healing Parents’ Addictions
The opioid epidemic may be fueling a rise in the number of children in foster care. But a special family court is trying to keep families together by treating parents with substance abuse problems.
Puberty Blockers May Improve The Mental Health Of Transgender Adolescents
Putting sexual development on hold gives children a breather as they consider transitioning to the opposite gender. But when to begin?
Race, Ethnicity Affect Kids’ Access To Mental Health Care, Study Finds
An analysis in the International Journal of Health Services finds disparities between white young people and their black and Hispanic counterparts in how often they receive mental health treatment.
Insurance Rules Can Hamper Recovery From Opioid Addiction
Medicaid and other health insurers require doctors to file time-consuming paperwork before allowing them to prescribe drugs that help people quit opioids. That delay fosters relapse, specialists say.
Fighting HIV In Miami, One Dirty Needle At A Time
A Miami doctor spent five years working to pass a needle exchange law for Miami-Dade County that he hopes will reduce HIV and other infections. The doctor’s battle inspired a patient who was infected with HIV and Hepatitis C from a shared needle.
Assisted Living Residents With Dementia Prone To Abusing Others, Study Finds
Residents with dementia need to be monitored and increased training is needed for staff who care for them, said researchers who examined reported instances of abuse in assisted living facilities.
Refugees’ Needs In U.S. Change As World’s Conflicts Shift
Syrian and Iraqi refugees arrive with decidedly different medical and mental health needs than other waves of refugees.
Depressed Teen’s Struggle To Find Mental Health Care In Rural California
After a teenager attempted suicide, her family searched in vain for therapists who would take their insurance and were accepting new patients. The family paid for therapy with credit cards instead.
Teaching Future Doctors About Addiction
Most medical schools offer very little education on treating opioid addiction. Stanford University’s medical school is trying to ramp it up.
Gun Violence And Mental Health Laws, 50 Years After Texas Tower Sniper
Trying to prevent gun violence by tying it to mental health legislation began in 1966 when a young gunman killed 16 people in Austin, Texas. But some believe the approach is misguided.
Single Mom’s Search For Therapist Foiled By Insurance Companies
A single mom, a son with autism and a maddening search for the help she badly needed.
Clinton Veep Pick Tim Kaine Bolstered Mental Health System After Va. Tech Shooting
As a Democratic senator and governor, Tim Kaine has backed the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid expansion and better access to mental health treatment for people in crisis.
Diabetes Linked To Risk Of Mental Health Hospitalization In Young Adults: Study
The rate of hospital treatment for mental health conditions or substance abuse problems was four times higher for people with diabetes aged 19 through 25 than for those without the disease.
Frustrated You Can’t Find A Therapist? They’re Frustrated, Too
Low payments and high hassles make many therapists shun insurance companies.
Emotional Healing After A Flood Can Take Just As Long As Rebuilding
Three weeks after the flooding in West Virginia, the phrase “West Virginia Strong” is painted everywhere. But no matter how strong the community, emotional healing after a disaster takes a long time.
Psychotherapists Gravitate Toward Those Who Can Pay
It goes back to the byzantine way health care — and health insurance — developed in the U.S. in the wake of World War II.
Busting Myths About Mental Illness
Mental illness is common — and so are misperceptions about it. These too-often-believed myths can be harmful to you and your loved ones.
Gingrich, Kennedy Take On Opioid Addiction — The KHN Conversation
Patrick Kennedy, a former congressman from Rhode Island, and Newt Gingrich, who was once the House speaker, are advancing policies to combat this national crisis.
Doctors Wrestle With Mixed Messages When Deciding Whether To Prescribe Painkillers
Though the CDC’s new prescribing guidelines follow a theme of less is more, another federal agency’s patient satisfaction surveys include questions about pain management that some say encourage doctors to prescribe the highly addictive medicines.
