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Latest KFF Health News Stories

In California, Democrats Propose $25 Minimum Wage for Health Workers

KFF Health News Original

State Sen. María Elena Durazo and Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West want to give health facility support staffers a raise. Hospitals, nursing homes, and dialysis clinics are expected to resist.

It Takes a Village: Foster Program Is a New Model of Care for Indigenous Children

KFF Health News Original

A foster care program on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota is attracting attention from officials elsewhere as they search for ways to reduce trauma inflicted on Indigenous families, who’ve faced generations of high rates of family separation.

Special Delivery: Heart-Heavy Health Policy Valentines

KFF Health News Original

KHN shares the cream of the crop of creative valentines about health policy submitted by readers and tweeters. Our favorite is anointed with an original illustration and bragging rights as “the one.”

Montana’s Tax-Exempt Hospitals Oppose Increased Oversight by State Officials

KFF Health News Original

As Montana officials seek to make nonprofit hospitals prove the benefits they provide the community justify their tax exemptions, industry leaders propose their own changes — which state officials say would further limit the state’s authority.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': A Health-Heavy State of the Union

Podcast

President Joe Biden’s 2023 State of the Union address leaned heavily on health care issues. Biden took a victory lap for recent accomplishments like capping prescription drug costs for seniors on Medicare. He also urged Congress to make permanent the boosted premium subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, and he sparred with Republicans on threats to cut Social Security and Medicare. Also this week, both sides in the abortion debate are bracing for a court decision out of Texas that could, at least temporarily, make the abortion pill mifepristone illegal nationwide. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Kate Baicker of the University of Chicago about a possible middle ground in the effort to get universal health insurance coverage.

‘The Country Is Watching’: California Homeless Crisis Looms as Gov. Newsom Eyes Political Future

KFF Health News Original

As Gov. Gavin Newsom enters his second term, his legacy as governor and path forward in the Democratic Party hinge on his making visible headway on California’s homeless crisis. We lay out the possibilities — and challenges — as he unleashes an $18 billion battle plan.

Congress Told HHS to Set Up a Health Data Network in 2006. The Agency Still Hasn’t.

KFF Health News Original

Since 2006, federal officials have been charged with setting up a network to let various parts of the U.S. health system share information during emergencies. It still hasn’t been built or even planned, even after the communication and data-sharing failures put on display during the pandemic.

‘We Ain’t Gonna Get It’: Why Bernie Sanders Says His ‘Medicare for All’ Dream Must Wait

KFF Health News Original

As he takes the reins of the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee, the independent from Vermont and implacable champion of “Medicare for All” maps out his strategy for negotiating with Republicans — and Big Pharma.

Why Two States Remain Holdouts on Distracted Driving Laws

KFF Health News Original

Missouri and Montana are the only states without distracted driving laws for all drivers. With traffic fatalities rising significantly nationwide, some Missouri lawmakers and advocates for roadway safety are eyeing bills in the new legislative session that would crack down on texting while driving in the Show Me State.