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Latest KFF Health News Stories

Ad Goes Too Far With Claim That Joe Biden Promotes Surgery for Trans Teens

KFF Health News Original

Even some medical experts who are skeptical of gender-affirming care say the White House is not promoting breast removal and genital surgery for teens. But that’s not what an ad, funded by a group led by a former adviser to President Donald Trump, would have you believe.

Defense Department Health Plan Cuts Its Pharmacy Network by Nearly 15,000 Outlets

KFF Health News Original

Many of the pharmacies were small, independent operations that had decided not to participate next year because of the lowered reimbursement being offered. But they were surprised by an early dismissal, and some patients with specialized drug needs could face difficulties in the transition.

Listen: With Abortion Rights on the Ballot in Michigan, Women Tell Their Stories

KFF Health News Original

Women who need abortion care come to Michigan from surrounding states that already have banned the procedure. A clinic in suburban Detroit allowed a reporter to interview patients, doctors, and nurses to understand what is at stake as voters decide whether to guarantee abortion access in the Michigan Constitution.

Post-‘Roe,’ Contraceptive Failures Carry Bigger Stakes

KFF Health News Original

Science Friday and KHN ran the numbers on birth control failure. Depending on the contraception method, typical-use error rates can add up to hundreds of thousands of unplanned pregnancies each year.

Election Canvassers Want Latinos to Know Voting Is Good for Their Health

KFF Health News Original

One of the nation’s largest community clinic chains is running a get-out-the-vote campaign in Los Angeles and Orange counties this election, targeting primarily Latino communities, where turnout tends to be low.

Hospital Giant HCA Fends Off Accusations of Questionable Inpatient Admissions

KFF Health News Original

The nation’s largest private health system, HCA Healthcare, has faced years of scrutiny over its share of emergency room patients who are admitted to the hospital. And now U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, a Democrat from New Jersey, is calling for a federal investigation, prompting an escalating defense by the hospital system, based in Nashville, Tennessee.

For Republican Candidates, Talk About Moms and Babies Is a Thorny Issue

KFF Health News Original

The abortion issue looms large over the midterm elections, and some in the Republican Party, long associated with efforts to restrict access, are looking to reassure voters they have women’s health in mind.

Centene Showers Politicians With Millions as It Courts Contracts and Settles Overbilling Allegations

KFF Health News Original

Centene, the largest Medicaid managed-care company in the U.S., has thrown more than $26.9 million at political campaigns across the country since 2015, especially focused on states where it is wooing Medicaid contracts and settling accusations that it overbilled taxpayers. Among its tactics: Centene is skirting contribution limits by giving to candidates through its many subsidiaries.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: ACA Open Enrollment Without the Drama

KFF Health News Original

The Affordable Care Act’s 10th annual open-enrollment period began Nov. 1 and runs through Jan. 15, 2023, in most states. But for the first time, the health law seems to be enrolling Americans with far less controversy than in previous years. Meanwhile, as Election Day approaches, Democrats are focusing on GOP efforts to cut Social Security and Medicare. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Julie Appleby of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Arthur Allen, who wrote the latest KNH-NPR Bill of the Month, about an old but still very expensive cancer drug.

Colorado Voters to Decide Whether All Schoolkids Get a Free Lunch

KFF Health News Original

In September, a popular pandemic benefit expired: free school lunch for all children attending public schools. Some states are stepping up to try to keep the free food available, and it is on the ballot next week in Colorado.

California’s Proposed Flavored Tobacco Ban Gives Hookah a Pass

KFF Health News Original

Californians will decide Nov. 8 whether to approve a statewide ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes. But the measure, known as Proposition 31, exempts hookah tobacco. Anti-smoking activists criticize the carve-out, calling it the latest example of businesses using identity politics to profit from a deadly product.

Hospital Investigated for Allegedly Denying an Emergency Abortion After Patient’s Water Broke

KFF Health News Original

Federal officials have ordered the probe after reports that a woman whose water broke at 18 weeks could not get medical care recommended by her doctors to end the pregnancy because hospital officials were concerned about Missouri’s strict abortion law.

What Looks Like Pot, Acts Like Pot, but Is Legal Nearly Everywhere? Meet Hemp-Derived Delta-9 THC

KFF Health News Original

The 2018 farm bill that legalized hemp created a loophole for an unregulated copycat of marijuana. A form of delta-9 THC — the psychoactive substance in pot — doesn’t face the same laws and regulations as marijuana because it comes from hemp. The drug is poised to upend the cannabis industry.

Medicare Fines for High Hospital Readmissions Drop, but Nearly 2,300 Facilities Are Still Penalized

KFF Health News Original

Federal officials said they are penalizing 2,273 hospitals, the fewest since the fiscal year that ended in September 2014. Driving the decline was a change in the formula to compensate for the chaos caused by the covid-19 pandemic.

This Open Enrollment Season, Look Out for Health Insurance That Seems Too Good to Be True

KFF Health News Original

Complaints about misleading health insurance marketing are soaring. State insurance commissioners are taking notice. They’ve created a shared internal database to monitor questionable business practices, and, in the future, they hope to provide a public-facing resource for consumers. In the meantime, consumers should shop wisely as open enrollment season begins.