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Latest KFF Health News Stories

Conservative Justices Seem Poised to Overturn Roe’s Abortion Rights

KFF Health News Original

A majority of the members of the Supreme Court seemed sympathetic Wednesday during arguments to Mississippi’s assertion that the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized the procedure throughout the country, was wrongly decided.

Watch: No Extra Resources for Children Orphaned by Covid

KFF Health News Original

Grieving children face grave risks to their well-being, both in the short and long term. But there is no concerted government effort to help the estimated 140,000 children who have lost a parent in the pandemic.

With Federal Covid Sick Leave Gone, Workers Feel Pressure to Show Up at Work

KFF Health News Original

National paid sick leave provisions for covid expired, and an uncertain covid winter is around the corner. Colorado, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh are among the places trying to fill the gap, but many employees still face financial pressure to go to work while sick.

Black Tech Founders Want to Change the Culture of Health Care, One Click at a Time

KFF Health News Original

Just as Uber Eats and Grubhub revolutionized food delivery, Black tech entrepreneurs want to change the way patients connect with doctors. They are using technology to match people of color with culturally competent professionals and the transportation they need to get to them.

California Joins States Trying to Shorten Wait Times for Mental Health Care

KFF Health News Original

In California, health insurers blame long waits for therapy appointments on workforce shortages, but state lawmakers say that’s an excuse. A new law requires insurers to reduce wait times for mental health appointments to no more than 10 business days.

Florida Sen. Rick Scott Off Base in Claim That Rise in Medicare Premiums Is Due to Inflation

KFF Health News Original

The Republican senator says President Joe Biden’s “inflation crisis” caused Medicare to raise monthly premiums, which will add hundreds of dollars to beneficiaries’ costs. But Medicare experts say inflation was not to blame and most beneficiaries will shoulder a much smaller increase than what Rick Scott claims.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The Big Biden Budget Bill Passes the House

KFF Health News Original

President Joe Biden’s social spending budget is on its way to the U.S. Senate, where Democratic leaders are (optimistically) hoping to complete work by the end of the year. Meanwhile, covid is surging again in parts of the country, along with the political divides it continues to cause. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, and Mary Agnes Carey of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner previews next week’s Supreme Court abortion oral arguments with Florida State University law professor Mary Ziegler.

Etching the Pain of Covid Into the Flesh of Survivors

KFF Health News Original

Memorial tattoos have grown more popular in recent years. Since parlors reopened after the lockdown, inkers have found that many people are eager to memorialize relatives and friends lost to covid.

Becerra Says Surprise Billing Rules Force Doctors Who Overcharge to Accept Fair Prices

KFF Health News Original

The Health and Human Services secretary says the administration has heard complaints from doctors and hospitals about the rules it unveiled for implementing the law to end surprise medical bills. But he says providers who have exploited a complicated system to charge exorbitant rates will have to bear their share of the cost — or close.

Success of Covid Antiviral Pills Hinges on Access to Speedy and Accurate Tests

KFF Health News Original

The promising antiviral drugs to treat covid can halt hospitalizations and deaths, but only if they’re given to patients within three to five days of their first symptoms, a narrow window many people won’t meet. Here’s why.

‘An Arm and a Leg’: The Insurance Warrior’s Battle Plan

KFF Health News Original

Health care — and how much it costs — is scary. But knowledge is power. Take a master class in winning insurance appeals. In the case of Matthew Lientz, taking on his insurance also meant going up against his employer.