Latest Morning Briefing Stories
Rural Health Providers Could Be Collateral Damage From $100K Trump Visa Fee
Dozens of health care organizations have asked the Trump administration to shield the doctors, nurses, and techs they need to fill shortages from the president’s new $100,000 visa fee for skilled foreign workers. So far, there’s no sign of a reprieve.
Out-of-Pocket Pain From High-Deductible Plans Means Skimping on Care
High-deductible health insurance plans are increasingly common, and many more enrollees will likely need to choose such plans for the coming year. For those with chronic conditions like diabetes, the gamble can mean compromised care and long-term consequences.
Trump’s Idea for Health Accounts Has Been Tried. Millions of Patients Have Ended Up in Debt.
Republican calls to give Americans cash instead of health insurance subsidies double down on a decades-old strategy of moving people into high-deductible plans with health savings accounts.
A North Carolina Hospital Was Slated To Open in 2025. Mired in Bureaucracy, It’s Still a Dirt Field.
Regulations meant to prevent unfettered health care expansion are withholding needed hospital beds in a rural part of North Carolina. Here, as in communities around the country, some officials and health care providers are contesting such “certificate of need” laws.
Journalists Dig Into Maine HIV Outbreak and Ever-Closer End to Enhanced ACA Subsidies
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
In RFK Jr.’s Upside-Down World of Vaccines, Panel Votes To End Hepatitis B Shot at Birth
A session of a vaccine panel dominated by skeptics was chaotically at odds with past practices of the CDC, which HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has described as a “cesspool of corruption.” His crew voted to end a 34-year recommendation to vaccinate newborns against hepatitis B.
El estatus de Estados Unidos depende de si los principales brotes ocurridos este año tienen origen en el gran brote del oeste de Texas que comenzó oficialmente el 20 de enero.
While Scientists Race To Study Spread of Measles in US, Kennedy Unravels Hard-Won Gains
Scientists are conducting genetic analyses to see if the measles outbreak that started in Texas is still spreading from state to state. It’s a contentious question, because the findings may determine whether America loses its measles-free status.
Tracking Applications for Rural Health Transformation Funds
KFF Health News is working to collect and post complete application materials, by state, here and will update this repository as new materials, released in response to public records requests, arrive.
Republicans Left Tribes Out of Their $50B Rural Fund. Now It’s Up to States To Share.
The Trump administration has championed its Rural Health Transformation Program as an investment in American families who have been left behind. But Native American tribes, whose communities have a significant presence in rural America and have some of the greatest health needs, are ineligible to apply directly for funding.
Aunque se reanuda SNAP, nuevas reglas laborales amenazan el acceso al programa de alimentos por años
Ahora, los estados deben cumplir con las nuevas reglas o enfrentar sanciones que podrían obligarlos a cubrir una parte mayor del costo del programa.
Even as SNAP Resumes, New Work Rules Threaten Access for Years To Come
Even as the federal government resumed funding the nation’s largest food assistance program, people risk losing access to the aid because of new rules.
Cómo decidir quiénes califican como “médicamente frágiles” según las reglas laborales de Medicaid
Ante la falta de directrices claras a nivel federal, los estados deben llegar a un acuerdo sobre cómo definir la fragilidad médica.
Autoridades quieren retrasar la vacuna contra la hepatitis B. Lo que los padres deben saber
Desde 1991, una dosis de la vacuna al nacer es hasta 90% efectiva para prevenir la infección transmitida por la madre si se administra en las primeras 24 horas de vida.
Cada vez más personas cuidan en casa a familiares que agonizan. Una organización enseña cómo hacerlo
La demanda de atención médica en casa, incluyendo los cuidados paliativos domiciliarios, se ha disparado desde el inicio de la pandemia de covid, al igual que el número de personas que cuidan a familiares.
They Need a Ventilator To Stay Alive. Getting One Can Be a Nightmare.
Few nursing homes are set up to care for people needing help breathing with a ventilator because of ALS or other infirmities. Insurers often resist paying for ventilators at home, and innovative programs are now endangered by Medicaid cuts.
Feds Promised ‘Radical Transparency’ but Are Withholding Rural Health Fund Applications
Proposals from states that have shared their applications to a new $50 billion rural health program include using drones to deliver medication, installing refrigerators to expand access to healthy produce, and bringing telehealth to libraries, day cares, and senior centers.
RFK Jr. Wants To Delay the Hepatitis B Vaccine. Here’s What Parents Need To Know.
A CDC panel is reconsidering the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine. Renewed doubt could lead to fewer kids getting vaccinated, leaving them vulnerable to an incurable, preventable virus that can be acquired by indirect contact with infected blood.
Gobierno prometió “transparencia radical”, pero oculta solicitudes de fondos para la salud rural
Drones que entregan medicamentos y telesalud en bibliotecas locales son algunas de las ideas que líderes estatales acaban de presentar para gastar su parte de un programa federal de salud rural de $50.000 millones.
Las regulaciones federales sobre bicicletas eléctricas son limitadas y los esfuerzos para ampliarlas se han estancado, lo que ha dejado a estados y condados con la tarea de llenar ese vacío.
