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Latest KFF Health News Stories

Looming Cuts to Emergency SNAP Benefits Threaten Food Security in Rural America

KFF Health News Original

In a few weeks, pandemic-era emergency boosts to SNAP benefits, formerly known as food stamps, will be rolled back across 32 states, putting more pressure on food pantries to fill the gaps and exacerbating challenges for rural areas, where a greater share of people are enrolled in the program compared with metro areas.

States Seek Crackdown on Toxic Ingredients in Cosmetics to Close Gaps in Federal Oversight

KFF Health News Original

Washington state regulators found formaldehyde, lead, and arsenic in lipstick, powder foundations, skin lotions, and hair products marketed to and popular with women of color. Now legislators there are seeking to ban the products and, like at least a dozen other states, make up for lax federal rules.

A Bitter Battle Over the ‘Orphan Drug’ Program Leaves Patients’ Pocketbooks at Risk

KFF Health News Original

Patients who depend upon special drugs to treat rare diseases are caught in the crossfire as drugmakers and the FDA battle over regulations that reward companies for developing treatments for relatively small pools of patients.

A Law Was Meant to Free Sick or Aging Inmates. Instead, Some Are Left to Die in Prison.

KFF Health News Original

The First Step Act was supposed to help free terminally ill and aging federal inmates who pose little or no threat to public safety. But while petitions for compassionate release skyrocketed during the pandemic, judges denied most requests.

Why Do Politicians Weaponize Medicare? Because It Works

KFF Health News Original

Politicians are again pointing fingers over who wants to cut Medicare. As past Washington brawls show, the party accused of threatening popular entitlements tends to lose elections — although it’s the beneficiaries relying on lawmakers to fund it who stand to lose the most.

Cleanup Workers Got Sick After Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. They Want BP to Pay.

KFF Health News Original

After the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2020, Rodney Boblitt’s job was to patrol a 14-mile stretch of coastline in the Florida Panhandle looking for signs of oil washing ashore. Today, the 54-year-old is among thousands of other cleanup workers who are experiencing health issues and suing BP. But proving their health conditions were caused by the oil has been challenging.

Senators Say Health Worker Shortages Ripe for Bipartisan Compromise

KFF Health News Original

The Senate’s top health committee focused on the worsening health care workforce shortage during its first hearing Thursday, with Sen. Bernie Sanders, its new chair, boldly promising bipartisan solutions.

California Requires Hospitals to Turn to a Patient’s Next of Kin, Closing a Longtime Loophole

KFF Health News Original

A state law establishes a list of representatives who can make medical decisions for patients unable to convey their wishes. California is late to making the change; 45 other states and the District of Columbia already have next-of-kin laws.

Amid Dire Suicide Rates in Montana, Governor Expands Student Mental Health Screening

KFF Health News Original

Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte announced a $2.1 million grant using federal aid after state lawmakers rejected a bill that would have essentially addressed the same needs of young people at risk of suicide.

After Staying Away During Pandemic, Doctors Return to Lobby Congress

KFF Health News Original

Hundreds of physicians came to Washington this week to lobby Congress about their “recovery plan” for physicians, which includes a Medicare pay boost and an end to some frustrating insurance company requirements.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The Kids Are Not OK

Podcast

A new survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds that teenagers, particularly girls, are reporting all-time high rates of violence and profound mental distress. Meanwhile, both sides in the abortion debate are anxiously waiting for a district court decision in Texas that could effectively revoke the FDA’s 22-year-old approval of the abortion pill mifepristone. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join KHN’s chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these issues and more.

Republican Lawmakers Shy Away From Changing Montana’s Constitutional Right to Abortion

KFF Health News Original

Lawmakers in 14 states have passed near-total bans on abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. But in some conservative-led states where court rulings determined their constitutions protect abortion, including Montana, politicians haven’t asked voters to weigh in.

As Opioids Mixed With Animal Tranquilizers Arrive in Kensington, So Do Alarming Health Challenges

KFF Health News Original

The veterinary tranquilizer xylazine, the choice du jour of local drug dealers to cut fentanyl, leads to necrotic ulcers and leaves street medics and physicians confused about how best to deal with this wave of the opioid crisis.

Armed With Hashtags, These Activists Made Insulin Prices a Presidential Talking Point

KFF Health News Original

Twitter has been a hotbed for the burgeoning insulin access movement and activism surrounding other medical conditions. For people with diabetes, the platform has helped propel concern about insulin prices into policy. Can it continue to win with hashtags?

Watch: In Insurers’ Eyes, Not All Midwives Are Equal

KFF Health News Original

The first installment of InvestigateTV and KHN’s “Costly Care” series explores one California mother’s experience struggling to get reimbursed for midwifery care and the differences between providers that may determine whether insurance covers them.