Decades of National Suicide Prevention Policies Haven’t Slowed the Deaths

Despite years of national strategies to address the suicide crisis in the U.S., rates continue to rise. A chorus of researchers and experts say the interventions will work — but that they’re simply not being adopted by state and local governments.

Silence in Sikeston: Racism Can Make You Sick

The “Silence in Sikeston” podcast explores what it means to live with racism and violence, then charts the toll on health — from hives and high blood pressure to struggles with mental health. The deaths of two Black men killed nearly 80 years apart in the same Missouri community anchor a conversation about the public health consequences of systemic bias.

Patients Suffer When Indian Health Service Doesn’t Pay for Outside Care

The Indian Health Service has a program that can pay for outside appointments when patients need care not offered at agency-funded sites. Critics say money shortages, complex rules, and administrative fumbles often block access, however.

Harris-Walz Ticket Sharpens Contrast With Trump-Vance on Health Care

As Democrats convene in Chicago to make official their presidential and vice presidential nominees, Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz together are raising the prominence of health care as a 2024 election issue.

Amid Medicaid ‘Unwinding,’ Many States Wind Up Expanding

The end of pandemic-era Medicaid coverage protections coincided with changes in more than a dozen states to expand coverage for lower-income people, including children, pregnant women, and the incarcerated.

Kids Who Survived Super Bowl Shooting Are Scared, Suffering Panic Attacks and Sleep Problems

Six months after the Feb. 14 parade, parents of survivors under 18 years old say their children are deeply changed. In this installment of “The Injured,” we meet kids who survived the mass shooting only to live with long-term emotional scars.

Watch: How Patients Get Charged Hospital Prices for Doctor’s Office Care

This installment of InvestigateTV and KFF Health News’ “Costly Care” series digs into patients’ getting charged hospital prices for doctor’s office care. For five years, a patient got the same injection from the same office. Then it changed how it billed and she owed more than $1,100 for one treatment.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The Walz Record

Vice President Kamala Harris this week officially became the Democratic nominee for president and named Minnesota governor and former U.S. congressman Tim Walz as her running mate. Meanwhile, a new study finds the number of abortions taking place since the overturn of “Roe v. Wade” continued to rise into early this year, despite the imposition of abortion bans around the country. Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.

Social Media Bans Could Deny Teenagers Mental Health Help

Congress and state legislatures are considering age bans and other limits for Instagram and TikTok out of concern that they harm kids’ mental health. But some researchers and pediatricians question whether there’s enough data to support that conclusion.

Native American Public Health Officials Are Stuck in Data Blind Spot

For decades, state and federal agencies have restricted or delayed tribes and tribal epidemiology centers from accessing public health data, a blackout that leaves health workers in Native American communities cobbling together information to guide their work, including tracking devastating disease outbreaks.

Bird Flu Cases Are Going Undetected, New Study Suggests. It’s a Problem for All of Us.

Dairy workers in Texas show signs of prior, uncounted bird flu infections in a new study. Without labor protection and better health care, cases are bound to quietly rise as the outbreak among livestock blazes in the United States.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Harris in the Spotlight

For the 2024 campaign, Joe Biden is out, and Kamala Harris is in. As the vice president makes moves toward the top of the Democratic presidential ticket, health policy is resurging as a campaign issue. Meanwhile, Congress tries — and again fails — to make timely progress on the annual government spending bills as abortion issues cause delays. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Stephanie Armour of KFF Health News, and Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Anthony Wright, the new executive director of Families USA, about his plans for the organization and his history working with Harris on health topics.