Latest KFF Health News Stories
WHO Overturns Dogma on Airborne Disease Spread. The CDC Might Not Act on It.
After grave missteps in the covid pandemic, the World Health Organization revisited the science and now confirms that many respiratory viruses are inhaled as airborne particles. The new framework implies that stopping transmission relies on costly measures like ventilation and masking.
La OMS confirma cómo se propagan los virus por el aire. Los CDC tal vez miren para otro lado
La OMS concluyó que la transmisión aérea ocurre cuando las personas enfermas exhalan patógenos que quedan suspendidos en el aire, contenidos en pequeñas partículas de saliva y moco que, a su vez, son inhaladas por otros.
AC, Power Banks, Mini Fridges: Oregon Equips Medicaid Patients for Climate Change
Oregon is giving Medicaid patients air conditioners and other equipment to help them cope with soaring heat, smoky skies, and other dangers of climate change. Oregon health officials hope to show other states and the federal government that they can save lives and money.
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“Health Minute” brings original health care and health policy reporting from the KFF Health News newsroom to the airwaves each week.
The Neglected U.S. Victims of Agent Orange
The Department of Veterans Affairs has long given Vietnam veterans disability compensation for illness connected to Agent Orange, widely used to defoliate Southeast Asian battlefields during the U.S. war. Less well known: The powerful herbicide combination was also routinely used to kill weeds at domestic military bases. Those exposed to the chemicals at the bases are still waiting for the same […]
Toxic Gas Adds to a Long History of Pollution in Southwest Memphis
People across the nation claim cancer-causing emissions from local sterilizing plants are making them sick. It’s an example of environmental racism, say residents of one predominantly Black area in southwest Memphis, Tennessee, where life expectancy is much shorter than county and state averages.
Sign Here? Financial Agreements May Leave Doctors in the Driver’s Seat
Agreeing to an out-of-network doctor’s own financial policy — which generally protects their ability to get paid and may be littered with confusing insurance and legal jargon — can create a binding contract that leaves a patient owing.
In this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” host Dan Weissmann explores what the fallout from a cyberattack says about antitrust concerns in health care.
What Florida’s New 6-Week Abortion Ban Means for the South, and Traveling Patients
Florida has served as a haven for Southern pregnant women with little or no access to abortions. But the Florida Supreme Court upheld a six-week abortion restriction that begins in May — so now women across much of the South seeking abortions will have to look farther afield.
Exposed to Agent Orange at US Bases, Veterans Face Cancer Without VA Compensation
The Department of Veterans Affairs has long given vets who served in Vietnam disability compensation for illness connected to Agent Orange harm. But those exposed at U.S. bases are still waiting for the same benefits.
En Colorado, reevalúan leyes formuladas para proteger a los menores
Hay esfuerzos en Colorado y otros estados para revertir las leyes que obligan a informar sobre sospechas de abuso o negligencia, argumentando que el resultado ha sido demasiados informes infundados, que perjudican desproporcionadamente a las familias que son pobres, negras, indígenas o tienen miembros con discapacidades.
Journalists Drill Down on Bird Flu Risks, Opioid Settlement Payouts, and Fluoride in Drinking Water
KFF Health News and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media over the past two weeks to discuss recent stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Whatever Happened to Biden’s Public Option?
In the 2020 elections, then-candidate Joe Biden and many of his congressional colleagues loudly advocated for a federal “public option” health insurance plan. It was framed, at the time, as part of his incoming administration’s response to the pandemic. “Low-income Americans will be automatically enrolled in the public option at zero cost to them, though […]
Millions Were Booted From Medicaid. The Insurers That Run It Gained Medicaid Revenue Anyway.
Big health insurers that have contracts with state Medicaid programs find themselves making more money even as enrollment in Medicaid programs has dropped. Here’s why.
Una prueba genética podría salvar la vida de cientos de pacientes en quimioterapia
Estos tipos de quimioterapia comunes son difíciles de tolerar en general, pero para los pacientes que tienen deficiencia de una enzima que metaboliza la droga, puede ser una tortura o causar la muerte.
California Is Investing $500M in Therapy Apps for Youth. Advocates Fear It Won’t Pay Off.
California launched two teletherapy apps as part of the governor’s $500 million foray into health technology with private companies. But the rollout has been so slow that one company has yet to make its app available on Android, and social workers worry youths who need clinical care won’t get referrals.
Biden’s Election-Year Play to Further Expand Obamacare
The Biden administration wants to make it easier for Americans to get dental care. But don’t try booking an appointment just yet. A new regulation out this month allows states to include adult dental care as a benefit that health insurers must cover under the Affordable Care Act. Following record ACA enrollment this year, the proposal represents an […]
Mandatory Reporting Laws Meant To Protect Children Get Another Look
The state is looking at ways to weed out false reporting of child abuse and neglect as the number of reports reaches a record high.
Genetics Studies Have a Diversity Problem That Researchers Struggle To Fix
Researchers in Charleston, South Carolina, are trying to build a DNA database of 100,000 people to better understand how genetics affects health risks. But they’re struggling to recruit enough Black participants.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Abortion — Again — At the Supreme Court
For the second time in as many months, the Supreme Court heard arguments in an abortion case. This time, the justices are being asked to decide whether a federal law that requires emergency care in hospitals can trump Idaho’s near-total abortion ban. Meanwhile, the federal government, for the first time, will require minimum staffing standards for nursing homes. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.