Latest KFF Health News Stories
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.
Trump Called Digital Equity Act ‘Racist.’ Now Internet Money for Rural Americans Is Gone.
President Donald Trump called the Digital Equity Act unconstitutional, racist, and illegal. Then the $2.75 billion program for rural and underserved communities to gain internet access disappeared.
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.
University of California Researchers, Patients Wary of Trump Cuts Even as Some Dollars Flow Again
Biomedical researchers and patients are caught in the middle as the Trump administration continues its campaign to strip grants from universities accused of bias. Courts have restored some frozen funds to California universities, but academics studying brain tumors, lung cancer, and strokes worry their grant dollars remain a bargaining chip.
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.
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.
Why Democrats Are Casting the Government Shutdown as a Health Care Showdown
Democrats are pressuring Republicans to extend billions of dollars in federal tax credits that have dramatically lowered premiums and contributed to record-low rates of uninsured Americans. It’s a chance to talk about a winning issue — and maybe regain support from working-class voters.
GOP Falsely Ties Shutdown to Democrats’ Alleged Drive To Give All Immigrants Health Care
Immigrants living in the U.S. without legal status are generally ineligible for federally funded health care programs. Democrats’ funding proposal would restore access to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act marketplace for legal immigrants who will lose access once certain provisions of the Republicans’ tax and spending law take effect.
Nuclear Missile Workers Are Contracting Cancer. They Blame the Bases.
People who maintained the nation’s land-based nuclear missile arsenal are coming down with similar cancers. The Air Force is wrapping up a large study of the health risks they may have faced.
Health Centers Face Risks as Government Funding Lapses
Community health centers are key to delivering care in underserved communities around the country, but their services could be disrupted or scaled back after governments did not renew their funding.
Centros de salud enfrentan riesgos por la caída de la financiación del gobierno
Algunos de estos centros de salud comunitarios podrían verse obligados a reducir personal médico y administrativo o servicios. Incluso podrían llegar a cerrar.
‘Demon Copperhead’ Author Lays Foundation for Women in Appalachia To Beat Addiction
Barbara Kingsolver won a Pulitzer Prize for her bestselling novel about Appalachia’s drug crisis. She invested some of the proceeds into a home for women trying to beat substance use disorders.
Workers’ Wages Siphoned To Pay Medical Bills, Despite Consumer Protections
Health care providers and debt collectors are biting from people’s paychecks to cover old medical bills. A KFF Health News investigation in Colorado shows that this aggressive collection practice is widespread even in a state considered to have strong consumer protections.
At Least 170 US Hospitals Face Major Flood Risk. Experts Say Trump Is Making It Worse.
As a warming climate intensifies storms, KFF Health News has identified more than 170 U.S. hospitals at risk of significant and potentially dangerous flooding. Climate experts warn that the Trump administration’s cuts leave the nation less prepared.
Según economistas, las medidas del presidente Donald Trump contra la inmigración y los recortes a los programas de seguro público amenazan con frenar el crecimiento del sector.
Doctors With Troubled Pasts Are Performing Cosmetic Surgeries Tied to Crippling Pain and Injury
Some injured patients say they wish they had tried harder to check the backgrounds of doctors and clinics they trusted, but those records are hard to find.
How To Pick the Right Cosmetic Surgeon
While surgeons argue over who gets the best results, patients may struggle to make sense of credentials.
Health Care’s Employment Growth Clouded by Immigration Crackdown, Medicaid Cuts
The health care sector has accounted for nearly half of this year’s U.S. job growth. But economists say immigration crackdowns and Medicaid cuts could create a drag on the sector just as more workers are needed to support a growing population of older Americans.
Where Jobs Are Scarce, Over 1 Million People Could Dodge Trump’s Medicaid Work Rules
Under a new law, many Americans will have to meet a work requirement to obtain and keep their Medicaid coverage. But due to an exemption, millions living in areas of high unemployment could be spared.
