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Mississippi, Tennessee, and West Virginia — states with some of the worst health outcomes — also have some of the highest childhood vaccination rates. But doctors and health officials worry a rising tide of vaccine skepticism is causing those public health bright spots to dim.
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
A primary care clinic burned, medical offices closed, and hospitals struggled with possible evacuations. The wildfires that have incinerated large swaths of Los Angeles County are stressing the region’s health care infrastructure. Still, providers continue to find ways to deliver vital care.
KFF Health News Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony and Emily Kwong, host of NPR’s podcast “Shortwave,” talk about Black families living in the aftermath of lynchings and police killings.
The migration of fentanyl into illicit stimulants such as cocaine is especially dangerous for people who are not regular opioid users. That’s because they have a low tolerance for opioids, putting them at greater risk of an overdose. They also often don’t take precautions — such as not using alone and carrying the opioid reversal medication naloxone — so they’re unprepared if they overdose.
Health workers and researchers say an HIV outbreak in West Virginia that three years ago was called “the most concerning” in the U.S. continues to spread after state and local officials restricted syringe service programs.
Across the country, trash incinerators disproportionately overburden majority-Black and -Hispanic communities. Though the number of incinerators has declined nationwide since the 1980s, Florida offers financial incentives to waste management companies that expand existing facilities or build new ones.
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Exclusive reporting reveals how the United States lost track of a virus that could cause the next pandemic. Problems like the sluggish pace of federal action, deference to industry, and neglect for the safety of low-wage workers put the country at risk of another health emergency.
Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate successfully negotiated an enormous end-of-Congress health package, including bipartisan efforts to address prescription drug prices — only to see it blown up at the last minute after Elon Musk and President-elect Donald Trump applied pressure. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court accepted its first abortion-related case of the term, and the attorney general of Texas sued a doctor in New York for prescribing abortion pills to a Texas patient. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Victoria Knight of Axios join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF President and CEO Drew Altman about what happened in health policy in 2024 and what to expect in 2025.
The president-elect’s choices to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, FDA, and CDC, hold positions on issues including abortion and vaccination that are often at odds.
From addiction treatment to toy robot ambulances, we uncovered how billions in opioid settlement funds were used by state and local governments in 2022 and 2023. Find out where the money went.
Doctors in Boston got tired of writing letters to utility companies asking for assistance for their medically vulnerable patients who need power and heat to stay healthy. So a hospital decided to share the power its solar panels generate with patients who needed help with their electricity and gas bills.
Researchers found toxic “forever chemicals” in drinking water wells dotting California’s rural farming regions, far from known contamination sources. The discovery complicates the state’s drinking water problem, which disproportionately affects farmworkers and communities of color.
Inoculation campaigns that protect children and adults from dangerous diseases rely on a delicate web of state and federal laws and programs. If senior officials cast doubt on vaccine safety, the whole system might collapse, especially in red states.
Last winter, only 4 in 10 nursing home residents got an updated covid vaccine. The low uptake leaves a fragile population vulnerable. Some industry watchdogs say it could be a sign of eroding trust between nursing home residents and providers.
California’s goal was to help 2,000 seriously mentally ill people by the end of this year, but data shows fewer than 600 petitions have been filed. As the CARE program expands to every county, officials say it sometimes takes months to locate eligible adults and get them in treatment plans.
KFF Health News staffers and contributors made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
A mom in Peoria, Illinois, took her 3-year-old to the ER one evening last December. While they were waiting to be seen, the toddler seemed better, so they left without seeing a doctor. Then the bill came.
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