Latest KFF Health News Stories
‘An Arm and a Leg’: One ER Doctor Grapples With the Inequities of American Health Care
This episode is an interview with Dr. Thomas Fisher, author of “The Emergency: A Year of Healing and Heartbreak in a Chicago ER.”
Las medidas de Colorado no sirven para frenar los altos niveles de ozono peligrosos para la salud
El ozono se crea cuando las sustancias químicas que se emiten a la atmósfera a través de los tubos de escape de los vehículos, la explotación de petróleo y gas y los incendios forestales se calientan con el sol. La contaminación por ozono es un problema persistente en la región.
Colorado’s Efforts Are Not Enough to Solve Its Ozone Problem
Some health experts said measures underway by state and federal officials won’t lower ozone pollution to safe levels across nine counties of Colorado’s Front Range.
A 63-Year-Old Transgender Woman Is Caught in Montana’s Birth Certificate Dispute
Montana is one of a handful of states that bar transgender people from changing the sex on their birth certificates. Health professionals say that gender marker should be erased completely.
Medi-Cal’s Reliance on Prisoners to Make Cheaper Eyeglasses Proves Shortsighted
In California, where inmates manufacture glasses for Medi-Cal, enrollees and providers can wait months for their orders. Now, state lawmakers are considering allowing clinics to order from private labs as well.
In America, Cancer Patients Endure Debt on Top of Disease
Medical breakthroughs mean cancer is less likely to kill, but survival can come at an extraordinary cost as patients drain savings, declare bankruptcy, or lose their homes, a KHN-NPR investigation finds.
The Search for Scarce Formula Is Worse for Rural Families on WIC
Constraints imposed by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children, known as WIC, that prevent recipients from using benefits to buy formula across state lines weigh on families as the nationwide formula shortage drags on.
The Push for Abortion Lawmaking After ‘Dobbs’ Is Unique, Legal and Political Experts Say
The surge of calls for special legislative sessions to pass abortion laws is an unusual occurrence in modern U.S. history, according to experts — one caused by the Supreme Court’s decision to give states more power to regulate abortion.
Montana Clinics That Provide Abortions Preemptively Restrict Pill Access for Out-of-State Patients
Montana is an island of legal abortion, but three of the state’s five clinics are limiting access to abortion pills for out-of-state patients in an effort to protect themselves and patients from legal attacks.
‘My Body, My Choice’: How Vaccine Foes Co-Opted the Abortion Rallying Cry
Anti-vaccine advocates discovered a catchy, succinct, and potent slogan. Its unlikely source: the abortion rights movement.
Datos de las sobredosis, obtenidos por colaboración colectiva, resaltan en dónde hace falta la ayuda
El proyecto de la Universidad de Texas, llamado TxCOPE, busca resolver un problema que mantiene en vilo a los funcionarios de todo el país en su esfuerzo por reducir el número récord de muertes por drogas: obtener una imagen clara y precisa de las sobredosis no mortales y mortales.
Crowdsourced Data on Overdoses Pinpoints Where to Help
University of Texas researchers are testing a program that would allow harm reduction groups to crowdsource data on fatal and nonfatal drug overdoses statewide. While the data relies on word of mouth, they say, it is more comprehensive than anything that exists now and can be used immediately to prevent overdoses.
Listen: Julie Rovner Rehashes the ‘Roe’ Decision
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: A World Without ‘Roe’
The Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade has created far more questions than it has answered about the continued legality and availability of abortion, as both abortion rights supporters and anti-abortion activists scramble to put their marks on policy. Meanwhile, Congress completes work on its gun bill and the FDA takes up the problem of the next covid-19 booster. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Victoria Knight of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Angela Hart, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about two identical eye surgeries with very different price tags.
Tribu entrena perros para detectar enfermedades y contaminantes
El proyecto pretende proteger la salud de los miembros de la tribu haciéndoles saber dónde se ha detectado la enfermedad y dónde se han encontrado residuos tóxicos, y preservar así espacios seguros para la realización de prácticas tradicionales.
California May Require Labels on Pot Products to Warn of Mental Health Risks
Doctors and lawmakers in California want cannabis products labeled to warn consumers of the increased risk of schizophrenia and other disorders associated with heavy use.
Montana’s Blackfeet Tribe to Use Dogs to Sniff Out Disease and Contaminants
The Blackfeet Nation is experimenting with a new way to detect chronic wasting disease in animals used by tribal members for food and cultural practices.
Watch: Crossing State Lines for Abortion Care
Illinois is one of the few states in the middle of the country where people can still legally access abortion care.
Overdose Deaths Behind Bars Rise as Drug Crisis Swells
Drug-related mortality rates have increased in prisons and jails even as the number of people incarcerated for drug offenses has dropped. The pandemic lockdowns on visitors didn’t eliminate the problem, showcasing that guards have been a source of the contraband.
‘American Diagnosis’: Indigenous Advocates Work for Better Reproductive Care
From forced sterilizations in the 1960s to scant access to abortion care today, barriers to health care threaten Native people’s reproductive autonomy. Episode 7 explores efforts to protect and expand Native Americans’ access to comprehensive reproductive and sexual health care.