Latest KFF Health News Stories
States Step In as Telehealth and Clinic Patients Get Blindsided by Hospital Fees
At least eight states have implemented or are considering limits on what patients can be billed for the use of a hospital’s facilities even without having stepped foot in the building.
Truly Random Drug Testing: ADHD Patients Face Uneven Urine Screens and, Sometimes, Stigma
Doctors have no national standards on when to order urine tests to check whether adult ADHD patients are properly taking their prescription stimulants. Some patients are subjected to much more frequent testing than others.
Reentry Programs to Help Former Prisoners Obtain Health Care Are Often Underused
More than 600,000 people are released from prisons every year, many with costly health conditions but no medications, medical records, a health care provider, or insurance.
For Young People on Medicare, a Hysterectomy Sometimes Is More Affordable Than Birth Control
While Medicare was designed as health insurance for those 65 and older, it also covers people with disabilities who are young enough to still get pregnant. Yet they often struggle to get their birth control covered and end up with large medical bills — or instead opt for hysterectomies or tubal ligations, which Medicare sometimes will cover.
Mass Shootings Reopen the Debate Over Whether Crime Scene Photos Prompt Change or Trauma
After almost every mass shooting, a debate is renewed over whether to publish the photos of the carnage the guns have inflicted.
Audits — Hidden Until Now — Reveal Millions in Medicare Advantage Overcharges
Taxpayers had to foot the bills for care that should have cost far less, according to records released after KHN filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act. The government may seek to recover up to $650 million as a result.
Conservative Blocs Unleash Litigation to Curb Public Health Powers
Spurred on by opposition to pandemic-related health mandates, a coalition of religious liberty groups, conservative think tanks, and Republican state attorneys general has filed a cascade of litigation seeking to rein in the powers of public health authorities.
Tras Uvalde, cirujanos de trauma detallan los horrores de las masacres, y reclaman cambios
En estos años, la profesión médica ha desarrollado técnicas como la rápida evacuación de pacientes para salvar a un mayor número de víctimas de tiroteos. Pero traumatólogos cirujanos entrevistados por KHN dicen que incluso esas mejoras solo pueden salvar a una fracción de los pacientes cuando son heridas infligidas por rifles de tipo militar.
Trauma Surgeons Detail the Horror of Mass Shootings in the Wake of Uvalde and Call for Reforms
Trauma surgeons say that the weapons used in mass shootings are not new but that more of these especially deadly guns are on the street, causing injuries that are difficult to survive.
Refurbished Walkers and Wheelchairs Fill Gaps Created by Supply Chain Problems
Loan closets are playing an important role as supply chain issues and the rising price of aluminum have led to shortages in medical equipment such as wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, and knee scooters.
Watch: One City’s Effort to Raise Vaccination Rates Among Black Residents
In Hartford, Connecticut, public health leaders engage barbers and faith leaders to combat vaccine skepticism in the Black community.
Zooming Into the Statehouse: Nursing Home Residents Use New Digital Skills to Push for Changes
Connecticut residents who learned how to communicate with family and friends through digital technology when their nursing homes closed to visitors last year used that skill to testify remotely during legislative hearings on bills affecting them.
Dientes careados y cáncer avanzado, los efectos del atraso en la atención por covid
Los proveedores de salud están comenzando a ver las graves consecuencias de un año de atrasos en la atención preventiva y de emergencia a causa de la pandemia.
From Rotten Teeth to Advanced Cancer, Patients Feel the Effects of Treatment Delays
Health providers are seeing the consequences of pandemic-delayed preventive and emergency care, from longer hospital stays to more root canals.
Connecticut Is Doling Out Vaccines Based Strictly on Age. It’s Simpler, but Is it Fair?
On Monday, Connecticut will be the first state to begin vaccinating anyone from age 55 to 64 — instead of people with chronic health issues and essential workers.
Covid Vaccine Websites Violate Disability Laws, Create Inequity for the Blind
A KHN investigation found covid vaccine registration and information websites at the federal, state and local levels are flouting disability rights laws and limiting the ability of people who are blind or visually impaired to sign up for shots.
Geography Is Destiny: Dentists’ Access to Covid Shots Depends on Where They Live
A handful of states are making dentists a lower priority than other health professionals for inoculations, even though they have their hands in people’s mouths and are exposed to aerosols that spray germs in their faces.
As COVID-19 Lurks, Families Are Locked Out Of Nursing Homes. Is It Safe Inside?
“The awful truth is families have no control over what’s happening,” one advocate says.
Insurers Sank Connecticut’s ‘Public Option.’ Would A National Version Survive?
Even in a solidly blue state where voters were demanding relief from high health care costs, the idea of a government-run public option for health insurance faced a “steam train of opposition.”
Details On Death Certificates Offer Layers Of Clues To Opioid Epidemic
Deaths from opioid overdoses are on the rise, and we know that because of data on death certificates. States determine who fills them out and what information they record. And that can vary widely.
