Latest KFF Health News Stories
How #MeToo Is Changing Sex Ed Policies — Even In Red States
Liberalized sex education policies are being considered in more states, even traditionally conservative ones, as more female lawmakers take office and legislators react to the #MeToo movement.
Class-Action Lawsuit Seeks To Let Medicare Patients Appeal Gap in Nursing Home Coverage
Medicare beneficiaries under observation care in the hospital can face higher costs for treatment and are not covered for nursing home care when discharged. A federal trial in Hartford, Conn., will determine whether the government’s ban on appeals involving observation care coverage is fair.
To Save Money, American Patients And Surgeons Meet In Cancun
The patient is from Mississippi. The surgeon is from Wisconsin. They meet in a Mexican resort for knee replacement surgery. Because the care costs so much less than in the U.S, the patient’s health plan pays her $5,000.
Where Tourism Brings Pricey Health Care, Locals Fight Back
Residents in Colorado ski resort country found relief from high insurance premiums and high hospital costs by joining forces and negotiating prices directly with the local hospital.
Dealing With The Lingering Effects Of A Mass Shooting
Veronica Kelley, head of San Bernardino County’s Department of Behavioral Health, knows firsthand that the mental health effects from mass shootings linger. Nearly four years after her community was devastated by a massacre of 14 people, Kelley has advice for Gilroy, El Paso, Dayton and other communities reeling from recent carnage.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Gun Violence And The Politics Of Public Health
The recent tragic mass shootings have refocused efforts to treat gun violence as a public health issue rather than strictly a law enforcement problem. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Mary Agnes Carey of Kaiser Health News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this, plus the health implications of the budget deal passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump, as well as reaction from Canada to a proposal to allow broader imports of its prescription drugs. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists recommend their favorite health stories of the week.
Price Of Snakebite Drug Is Sky High, But New Competitor Unlikely To Lower Costs
The drug CroFab, which has been on the market since 2000, now faces competition from a drug called Anavip. But both are expensive.
Federal Experts’ Advice On HPV Vaccine Could Leave Adults Confused
A federal advisory panel says people between ages 27 and 45 may benefit from the vaccine to fight the human papillomavirus. But some public health advocates worry that the advice doesn’t provide doctors and patients clear guidance about who in this large age group are good candidates for the vaccine.
Obesity Plagues Hispanics And Blacks In Colorado, Nation’s ‘Healthiest’ State
Obesity prevention does not get much attention in Colorado, often billed as the healthiest state. Yet more than 1 in 4 black or Hispanic residents are obese, as state and federal public health spending fuels other needs.
The New West: Smoke In The Sky, A Purifier At Home
Amid forecasts for increasingly unhealthy air due to wildfire smoke, residents in Western states are snatching up home air purifiers. With good reason.
Doctors Argue Plans To Remedy Surprise Medical Bills Will ‘Shred’ The Safety Net
A case of questionable logic.
Watch: What Happened To That $500K Dialysis Bill
After journalists investigate, Fresenius, one of the largest dialysis providers in the U.S., has agreed to waive a half-million-dollar bill. Sovereign Valentine, from Plains, Mont., said it’s a “huge relief.”
Modern Wildfires Pose New Health Risks For Firefighters
Studies long have linked urban firefighters’ on-the-job exposure to toxins with an increased risk of cancer. More recently, as urban-style development reaches into once remote stretches of California’s mountains and forests, wildfire crews are exposed to fuels and carcinogens more typical of urban fires. We talk with Tony Stefani of the San Francisco Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation about the health risks that poses for firefighters.
Trump Wants To Take Guns Away From People In Crisis. Will That Work?
So-called red flag laws that let police take guns away from people with mental illness have support from both advocates and opponents of gun control. But it won’t alleviate gun violence.
Kathy Brandt, A Hospice Expert Who Invited The World Into Her Own Last Days With Cancer, Dies
Kathy Brandt and her wife, Kim Acquaviva, national experts in hospice and palliative care, shared intimate details of Brandt’s experience with terminal cancer before her death Sunday.
The Real-Life Conversion Of A Former Anti-Vaxxer
Kelley Watson Snyder, a mother who for years opposed mandatory childhood vaccinations and joined with like-minded parents who espoused similar views, today runs a pro-vaccination Facebook page. What changed?
Superstar Athletes Popularize Unproven Stem Cell Procedures
Treatments for baseball pitcher Max Scherzer and other pros may mislead fans about costly, controversial, unapproved stem cell shots.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
If You Smoke Pot, Your Anesthesiologist Needs To Know
Colorado is on the front lines in dealing with how marijuana use affects surgery. Lessons learned on operating tables and in recovery rooms have prompted calls for more research on marijuana nationwide.
Infusion Treatments — Needed or Not — Can Deplete Patients’ Wallets
When it comes to physician-administered infusion drugs, doctors sometimes have a financial reason for their choice and patients often aren’t aware of cheaper options.
