States

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Is Paxlovid, the Covid Pill, Reaching Those Who Most Need It? The Government Won’t Say

KFF Health News Original

Many public health workers are unable to see how many doses of Pfizer’s antiviral treatment are shipped to their communities and cannot tell whether vulnerable residents are filling prescriptions as often as their wealthier neighbors.

Ripple Effects of Abortion Restrictions Confuse Care for Miscarriages

KFF Health News Original

In Texas, where anyone can face a hefty fine of at least $10,000 if they abet an abortion, medical professionals on the front lines face tough quandaries when treating patients who have a miscarriage, a scenario that could soon play out around the country if abortion restrictions tighten.

1931 State Law Makes Abortion a Felony if ‘Roe’ Falls, Warns Michigan Attorney General

KFF Health News Original

Dana Nessel, the Democratic attorney general of Michigan, said she would not have the authority to keep county prosecutors from enforcing the old law. Nessel also discussed the “selective reduction” abortion she had when pregnant with triplets.

Travel Nurses See Swift Change of Fortunes as Covid Money Runs Dry

KFF Health News Original

Travel nurse contracts that were plentiful and paid the temporary nurses far more than hospital staff nurses are vanishing. Hospitals nationwide are turning their energies to recruiting full-time people.

Can a Monthly Injection Be the Key to Curbing Addiction? These Experts Say Yes

KFF Health News Original

In California, where overdose deaths are on the rise, physicians say administering anti-addiction medication as a monthly injection holds tremendous potential. So, why aren’t more patients getting it?

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Leaked Abortion Opinion Rocks Washington’s World

KFF Health News Original

The unprecedented early leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion that would overturn the landmark abortion-rights ruling Roe v. Wade has heated the national abortion debate to boiling. Meanwhile, the FDA, after years of consideration, moves to ban menthol flavors in cigarettes and cigars. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Shefali Luthra of the 19th, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, Rovner interviews KHN’s Paula Andalo, who wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about a family whose medical debt drove them to seek care south of the border.

As Overdoses Soar, More States Decriminalize Fentanyl Testing Strips

KFF Health News Original

Georgia may soon join a growing list of states decriminalizing the use of fentanyl testing strips. Bans of the strips — on the books in about half of states, experts say — stem from laws criminalizing drug paraphernalia adopted decades ago. But the testing devices are now recommended to help prevent overdose deaths.

Sex Education Update in Texas Still Lacking, Say Some Students and Educators

KFF Health News Original

The last time Texas updated its sex education curriculum was in the ’90s. Students will now learn about contraception and STIs — but not gender or consent. And parents must opt in to the classes for their children.

What’s Next if ‘Roe v. Wade’ Falls? More Than Half of States Expected to Ban or Restrict Abortion

KFF Health News Original

If the Supreme Court affirms the leaked draft decision and overturns abortion rights, the effects would be sweeping in states where Republican-led legislatures have been eagerly awaiting the repudiation of a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy.

States Watching as Massachusetts Takes Aim at Hospital Building Boom and Costs

KFF Health News Original

A Massachusetts health care cost watchdog agency helped block plans of the state’s largest hospital system to expand into the suburbs. Now, other states are looking at whether Massachusetts’ decade-old model of controlling health costs is worth emulating.