Latest Morning Briefing Stories
California Bill Would Require State Review of Private Equity Deals in Health Care
Proposed legislation would require the state attorney general’s consent for a wide range of private equity acquisitions in health care. The hospital lobby negotiated an exemption for for-profit hospitals.
Watch: How Patients Get Charged Hospital Prices for Doctor’s Office Care
This installment of InvestigateTV and KFF Health News’ “Costly Care” series digs into patients’ getting charged hospital prices for doctor’s office care. For five years, a patient got the same injection from the same office. Then it changed how it billed and she owed more than $1,100 for one treatment.
Exercise Is Key for Parkinson’s Relief. But Bias, Underdiagnosis Hold Black Patients Back.
Exercise is considered fundamental treatment for Parkinson’s disease, a progressive condition that attacks the central nervous system. But there’s a huge equity gap, researchers say, with Black people missing from popular treatment programs.
Journalists Highlight Maternal Health Challenges in Rural America, From Iowa to Georgia
KFF Health News and California Healthline staff took to the airwaves in the last couple of weeks to discuss maternal health care challenges in rural areas. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
‘Scared to Death’: Nurses and Residents Confront Rampant Violence in Dementia Care Facilities
Clashes between residents — verbal, physical, and sexual — can be spontaneous and too unpredictable to prevent. But the chance of an altercation increases when memory care homes admit and retain residents they can’t manage, according to a KFF Health News examination of inspection and court records and interviews with researchers.
Medi-Cal’s Dental Care Gap: Getting a Tooth Pulled Is Easy — Much Harder To Get an Implant
California is among a growing number of states that offer dental benefits to low-income residents, but some lawmakers want the state to go further by covering more cleanings and costlier implants. Dentists and health experts worry the approach doesn’t address the root of the problem: Many providers don’t accept Medicaid.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The Walz Record
Vice President Kamala Harris this week officially became the Democratic nominee for president and named Minnesota governor and former U.S. congressman Tim Walz as her running mate. Meanwhile, a new study finds the number of abortions taking place since the overturn of “Roe v. Wade” continued to rise into early this year, despite the imposition of abortion bans around the country. Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
The Politics Holding Back Medicaid Expansion in Some Southern States
Ten states have not expanded Medicaid, leaving 1.5 million people ineligible for the state and federal insurance program and also unable to afford private insurance. Seven of those states are in the South, where expansion efforts may have momentum but where lawmakers say political polarization is holding them back.
Small-Town Patients Face Big Hurdles as Rural Hospitals Cut Cancer Care
For rural patients, getting cancer treatment close to home has always been difficult. And now chemotherapy deserts are expanding across the United States as hospitals winnow services to save money, creating financial and logistical hurdles for people seeking lifesaving care.
Social Media Bans Could Deny Teenagers Mental Health Help
Congress and state legislatures are considering age bans and other limits for Instagram and TikTok out of concern that they harm kids’ mental health. But some researchers and pediatricians question whether there’s enough data to support that conclusion.
Treating the Shortage of Black Doctors
A few months ago, I visited Jackson, Miss., to attend African American Visit Day at the University of Mississippi’s School of Medicine. High school and college students from across the state spent time that Saturday morning with Black medical students and administrators, finding out what they needed to do to become a doctor. The annual […]
Native American Public Health Officials Are Stuck in Data Blind Spot
For decades, state and federal agencies have restricted or delayed tribes and tribal epidemiology centers from accessing public health data, a blackout that leaves health workers in Native American communities cobbling together information to guide their work, including tracking devastating disease outbreaks.
‘I Feel Dismissed’: People Experiencing Colorism Say Health System Fails Them
Colorism — a form of prejudice and discrimination in which lighter skin is favored over darker skin — has been associated with mental health conditions such as depression, low self-esteem, and anxiety. But skin tone often goes unaddressed with therapists and clinical specialists.
Harris’ California Health Care Battles Signal Fights Ahead for Hospitals if She Wins
Kamala Harris fought health care consolidation during her tenure as California’s attorney general, and she could escalate the fight nationally if she wins in November. Still, the pace of mergers has accelerated.
Urgent Care or ER? With ‘One-Stop Shop,’ Hospitals Offer Both Under Same Roof
Hospitals in several states are partnering with a private equity-backed company to offer combined emergency and urgent care in a single building. But patients may not realize prices vary between the two services — often by a lot.
Since Fall of ‘Roe,’ Self-Managed Abortions Have Increased
The percentage of people who say they’ve tried to end a pregnancy without medical assistance increased after “Roe v. Wade” was overturned. One of the most common reasons for seeking a self-managed abortion was privacy concerns.
What’s Behind New Combined Urgent Care-ER Facilities
It’s Saturday afternoon, and your 4-year-old is bleeding from a gash on his face after a playtime mishap. Should you go to the emergency room or the urgent care clinic? VHC Health in Arlington, Va., plans to soon join a small but growing number of hospitals moving to resolve this dilemma by offering both types […]
Montana Designs New Hurdles for Abortion Clinics Ahead of Vote To Protect Access
Proposed regulations would require clinics providing abortions in the state to meet sweeping new health standards, despite a likely vote in November on a constitutional amendment to protect abortion access.
Bird Flu Cases Are Going Undetected, New Study Suggests. It’s a Problem for All of Us.
Dairy workers in Texas show signs of prior, uncounted bird flu infections in a new study. Without labor protection and better health care, cases are bound to quietly rise as the outbreak among livestock blazes in the United States.
Florida’s RSV Season Has Started, and It’s Coming Soon to the Rest of US. Here’s a Primer.
Florida’s RSV season begins earlier and runs longer than anywhere else in the U.S., according to the University of Florida’s Emerging Pathogens Institute. New vaccines can help, but most older adults, who are vulnerable to RSV, haven’t gotten them yet.
