Syndicate

Latest KFF Health News Stories

How LA, Calling the Shots on School Vaccine Mandates, Can Lead the Way on Covid Rules

KFF Health News Original

In the middle of a measles outbreak in 1977, the Los Angeles school system required students to be inoculated or stay out of class. Other school systems followed the practice. Will it work again now that the county is insisting that teens have their shots against covid?

Wartime Trauma Hits Close to Home for Scholar of Dementia

KFF Health News Original

The federal government is putting up $7.2 million for a study into the correlation between war trauma and dementia in Vietnamese immigrants. Oahn Meyer, an associate professor at the University of California-Davis who is leading the study, wonders whether her mother’s dementia is linked to trauma she suffered during the Vietnam War.

A Rural Georgia Community Reels After Its Hospital Closes

KFF Health News Original

A record number of hospitals closed in rural America last year. For the residents of Cuthbert, Georgia, the loss has meant many problems, including delayed care for emergencies that can turn deadly.

West Virginia Sen. Manchin Takes the Teeth Out of Democrats’ Plan for Seniors’ Dental Care

KFF Health News Original

In West Virginia, older residents often go without dental care, and a quarter of people 65 and older have no natural teeth, the highest rate of any state in the country. But a powerful senator from West Virginia, Joe Manchin, has rebuffed efforts to add a dental benefit to Medicare.

Suit by Doctors, Hospitals Seeks Change in How Arbitrators Settle Surprise Billing Cases

KFF Health News Original

The American Medical Association and American Hospital Association are not arguing to halt the law that protects patients from unexpected bills from providers they didn’t know were outside their insurance network. Instead, they want to change the rules for the mediators who will settle the dispute between insurers and providers.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Much Ado About (Vaccine) Mandates

KFF Health News Original

The fight over covid vaccines continues to intensify, with Republicans on Capitol Hill pushing — with some success — to cancel President Joe Biden’s “test regularly or vaccinate” requirement for private employers. Meanwhile, abortion is not the only health issue before the Supreme Court this term. Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet and Rachel Cohrs of Stat News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

Some Montana Nonprofit Hospitals Fall Short of Peers in Required Charitable Giving

KFF Health News Original

Montana nonprofit hospitals receive millions of dollars in tax exemptions as charities each year in exchange for giving back to their communities. A KHN review found that some of Montana’s richest medical centers are falling behind most state and national hospitals.

Oncology Doctors Say the Build Back Better Act Will Slash Cancer Care Funding — A Skewed Argument

KFF Health News Original

The Community Oncology Alliance is targeting the prescription drug provisions of the Build Back Better Act, saying they will trigger deep cuts in oncologists’ pay, causing clinics to close and health care costs to rise. But it leaves out some important details.

Data Science Proved What Pittsburgh’s Black Leaders Knew: Racial Disparities Compound Covid Risk

KFF Health News Original

Inside the Black Equity Coalition’s novel effort to share community health intel and scrape government data to understand — and document — the life-threatening differences between white and Black Pittsburgh.

When the Surges Just Keep Coming: A View From the Covid Vortex

KFF Health News Original

Fresno County, one of California’s persistent covid-19 hot spots, is experiencing an autumn surge that once again has overwhelmed area hospitals. KHN spoke with Interim Health Officer Dr. Rais Vohra about leading the charge in a region where many people remain anti-mask and vaccine-wary.

Texas Toughens Ban on Medication-by-Mail Abortions With Jail Time and Hefty Fine

KFF Health News Original

Last week, on the same day the Supreme Court heard a case that could overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling on abortion rights, Texas enacted a law that creates criminal penalties for anyone who prescribes medication abortions via telehealth or mail.