Rising Suicide Rate Among Hispanics Worries Community Leaders
The suicide rate for Hispanics in the United States has increased significantly over the past decade. The reasons are varied, say community leaders and mental health experts, citing factors such as language barriers, poverty, and a lack of bilingual mental health professionals.
In This Oklahoma Town, Most Everyone Knows Someone Who’s Been Sued by the Hospital
Hospitals nationwide face growing scrutiny over how they secure payment from patients, but at one community hospital, the debt collection machine has been quietly humming along for decades.
Insurance Doesn’t Always Cover Hearing Aids for Kids
California’s governor vetoed a bill extending insurance coverage for kids with hearing loss, but most states now require it.
Women and Minorities Bear the Brunt of Medical Misdiagnosis
Hundreds of thousands of Americans become disabled or die each year because of a diagnostic error. But some patients are at higher risk than others.
‘I’m Not Safe Here’: Schools Ignore Federal Rules on Restraint and Seclusion
Federal officials have long warned that restraint and seclusion in schools can be dangerous and traumatizing for children, but school districts often fail to report incidents as required by law.
Federal Program to Save Rural Hospitals Feels ‘Growing Pains’
Fewer than two dozen rural hospitals were converted into Rural Emergency Hospitals in the program’s first year. Now, advocates and lawmakers say tweaks to the law are necessary to lure more takers and keep health care in rural communities.
Trump Official Who OK’d Drugs From Canada Chairs Company Behind Florida’s Import Plan
Alex Azar advanced Canadian drug importation as Donald Trump’s secretary of Health and Human Services. Now he chairs the board of a company managing Florida’s importation program.
What Would a Nikki Haley Presidency Look Like for Health Care?
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s tenure in the Palmetto State — which overlapped with several tumultuous years of health care reform — and her recent comments offer clues to how her presidency might affect national health care policy.
Hoping to Clear the Air in Casinos, Workers Seek to Ban Tobacco Smoke
Casinos in several states are fighting efforts to ban smoking, and trying to roll back existing anti-smoking laws. One planned facility even moved outside a city’s limits because of voter-approved smoking restrictions.
California Offers a Lifeline for Medical Residents Who Can’t Find Abortion Training
Abortion restrictions in 18 states have curtailed access to training in skills that doctors say are critical for OB-GYN specialists and others. A new California law makes it easier for out-of-state doctors to get experience in reproductive medicine.
Will CMS Crack Down on Prior Authorization?
There’s the Idaho doctor whose infant daughter developed a brain tumor. A woman in Southern California who waited months for an MRI before dying in the hospital. And a North Carolina patient who has trigeminal neuralgia — a condition so painful it’s commonly called the “suicide disease.” They all have something in common, aside from […]
Rising Malpractice Premiums Price Small Clinics Out of Gender-Affirming Care for Minors
Even in states where laws protect minors’ access to gender-affirming care, malpractice insurance premiums are keeping small and independent clinics from treating patients.
These Patients Had to Lobby for Correct Diabetes Diagnoses. Was Their Race a Reason?
Adults who develop one autoimmune form of diabetes are often misdiagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Those wrong diagnoses make it harder to get the appropriate medications and technology to manage their blood sugar. Many Black patients wonder if their race plays a role.
Woman Petitions Health Insurer After Company Approves — Then Rejects — Her Infusions
Even people with good insurance aren’t guaranteed affordable care, as this KFF Health News follow-up to one patient’s saga shows.
Patients With Narcolepsy Face a Dual Nightmare of Medication Shortages and Stigma
It’s been more than a year since the FDA declared a national shortage of Adderall, and it’s affecting more than just patients with ADHD. Those with narcolepsy, a much rarer condition, are often treated with the same medication. Without it, they’re often unable to drive or function as usual.
Can Family Doctors Deliver Rural America From Its Maternal Health Crisis?
Family medicine doctors already deliver most of rural America’s babies, and efforts to train more in obstetrics care are seen as a way to cope with labor and delivery unit closures.
Mental Health Courts Can Struggle to Fulfill Decades-Old Promise
Mental health courts have been touted as a means to help reduce the flow of people with mental illness into jails and prisons. But the specialized diversion programs can struggle to live up to that promise, and some say they’re a bad investment.
‘AGGA’ Inventor Testifies His Dental Device Was Not Meant for TMJ or Sleep Apnea
The FDA and Department of Justice are investigating the Anterior Growth Guidance Appliance, or “AGGA.” TMJ and sleep apnea patients have filed lawsuits alleging the device harmed them. Its inventor now says the AGGA was never meant for these ailments.
Cancer Patients Face Frightening Delays in Treatment Approvals
Delaying cancer treatment can be deadly — which makes the roadblock-riddled process that health insurers use to approve or deny care particularly daunting for oncology patients.
The Year in Opioid Settlements: 5 Things You Need to Know
In the past year, opioid settlement money has gone from an emerging funding stream for which people had lofty but uncertain aspirations to a coveted pot of billions being invested in remediation efforts. Here are some important and evolving factors to watch going forward.
