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Latest KFF Health News Stories

Cinco cambios críticos que puede sufrir Medicaid bajo Trump

KFF Health News Original

Los republicanos en Washington afirman que planean utilizar recortes de financiamiento y cambios regulatorios para reducir drásticamente Medicaid, el programa de salud federal gerenciado por los estados

Doctors, Nurses Press Ahead as Wildfires Strain Los Angeles’ Health Care

KFF Health News Original

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' 'What the Health?': New Year, New Congress, New Health Agenda

Podcast

Health is unlikely to be a top priority for the new GOP-led 119th Congress and President-elect Donald Trump. But it’s likely to play a key supporting role, with an abortion bill already scheduled for debate in the Senate. Meanwhile, it’s unclear when and how the new Congress will deal with the bipartisan bills jettisoned from the previous Congress’ year-end omnibus measure — including a major deal to rein in the power of pharmacy benefit managers. In this “catch up on all the news you missed” episode, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.

Climate Change Threatens the Mental Well-Being of Youths. Here’s How To Help Them Cope.

KFF Health News Original

The growing toll of climate-related disasters is a risk to the emotional well-being of young people. An Orange County, California, pediatric emergency doctor wants to add questions about climate change to standard mental health screenings conducted in pediatricians’ offices and other settings where kids seek care.

Stimulant Users Are Caught in Fatal ‘Fourth Wave’ of Opioid Epidemic

KFF Health News Original

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.

Syringe Exchange Fears Hobble Fight Against West Virginia HIV Outbreak

KFF Health News Original

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.

For Many Rural Women, Finding Maternity Care Outweighs Concerns About Abortion Access

KFF Health News Original

A legislative effort to expand access to prenatal care in rural Oregon with mobile clinics was scuttled because those clinics would have provided abortions in rural areas. Opposition to the proposal shows that, even in states that ensure access to abortions, that care isn’t universally available or accepted.

In Year 7, ‘Bill of the Month’ Gives Patients a Voice

KFF Health News Original

In the seventh year of KFF Health News’ “Bill of the Month” series, patients shared their most perplexing, vexing, and downright expensive medical bills, and reporters analyzed $800,000 in charges — including more than $370,000 owed by 12 patients and their families.

Trash Incinerators Disproportionately Harm Black and Hispanic People

KFF Health News Original

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.

Caseworkers Coax Homeless People out of Las Vegas’ Tunnels for Treatment

KFF Health News Original

Street medicine providers and homeless outreach workers who travel into Las Vegas’ drainage tunnels have noticed an uptick in the number of people living underground, and it can be difficult to persuade them to come aboveground for medicine and treatment.

‘Waiting List to Nowhere’: Homelessness Surveys Trap Black Men on the Streets

KFF Health News Original

Homelessness experts and community leaders say vulnerability questionnaires have worsened racial disparities among the unhoused by systematically placing white people in front of the line ahead of Black people. Now places like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Austin, Texas, are developing alternative surveys to reduce bias.