Looming Cuts to Emergency SNAP Benefits Threaten Food Security in Rural America
By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez
February 23, 2023
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.
Virtual or In Person: Which Kind of Doctor’s Visit Is Better, and When It Matters
By Michelle Andrews
March 6, 2023
KFF Health News Original
While there are no hard-and-fast rules about when to opt for a telehealth visit versus seeing a doctor face-to-face, physicians offer guidance about when it may make more sense to choose one or the other.
Feds Try to Head Off Growing Problem of Overdoses Among Expectant Mothers
By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez and Katheryn Houghton
October 19, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Homicides, suicides, and drug overdoses have driven rising rates of pregnancy-related death in the U.S. This fall, six states received federal funding for substance use treatment interventions to prevent at least some of those deaths.
Why Two States Remain Holdouts on Distracted Driving Laws
By Eric Berger
February 6, 2023
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.
Records Show Publix Opioid Sales Grew Even as Addiction Crisis Prompted Other Chains’ Pullback
By Ian Hodgson, Tampa Bay Times and Christopher O’Donnell, Tampa Bay Times
January 29, 2024
KFF Health News Original
As national prescription drug distributors and pharmacies restricted the flow of oxycodone and other painkillers in response to the growing opioid crisis, Florida’s most popular grocery store ramped up its sales and distribution of the highly addictive drugs, according to a Tampa Bay Times analysis of federal data.
Girls in Texas Could Get Birth Control at Federal Clinics, Until a Christian Father Objected
By Sarah Varney
March 8, 2023
KFF Health News Original
A Donald Trump-appointed federal judge agreed that even the possibility that the father’s daughters might access contraception without his permission violated the tenants of his Christian faith.
Experts Question the Role of White Mulberry in the Death of Congressman’s Wife
By Samantha Young
September 14, 2022
KFF Health News Original
The Sacramento County coroner concluded that Lori McClintock, the wife of U.S. Rep. Tom McClintock, died of dehydration after ingesting white mulberry leaf. But some scientists, doctors, and pathologists are questioning that ruling, and are urging the coroner’s office, which hasn’t explained its reasoning, to reopen the case.
Private Equity Ownership of Nursing Homes Triggers Capitol Hill Questions — And a GAO Probe
By Victoria Knight
April 13, 2022
KFF Health News Original
In his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden decried these financial arrangements, which two members of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee had already asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate.
As Links to MS Deepen, Researchers Accelerate Efforts to Develop an Epstein-Barr Vaccine
By Liz Szabo
October 19, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Recent leaps in medical research have lent urgency to the quest to develop a vaccine against Epstein-Barr, a ubiquitous virus that has been linked to a range of illnesses, from mononucleosis to multiple sclerosis and several cancers.
An Arm and a Leg: When Hospitals Sue Patients (Part 1)
By Dan Weissmann
December 14, 2023
Podcast
Some hospitals sue patients over unpaid medical bills. But is this even an effective way for hospitals to recoup lost revenue? On this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” host Dan Weissmann speaks with medical-debt experts to explore a different solution.
Assisted Living Facilities Pressed to Address Growing Needs of Older, Sicker Residents
By Judith Graham
December 5, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Assisted living was meant to be a home-like setting where older adults could interact with other residents while receiving help with daily tasks such as bathing and dressing. But as the concept has become more popular, residents are now older and sicker than in the past, and a panel of experts is calling for more focus on their medical and mental health needs.
For the Houma People, Displacement Looms With Every Storm
By Emmarie Huetteman
October 24, 2022
KFF Health News Original
The Houma, an Indigenous tribe, has seen much of its Gulf Coast community washed away by rising sea levels and dangerous storms. Its leaders say the tribe’s lack of federal recognition makes it harder to keep rebuilding.
Pfizer and Moderna Are Pushing the New Covid Booster. Should You Get It? The CDC Is About to Decide.
By Arthur Allen
September 11, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Chances are, if you aren’t older, chronically ill, or obese, you don’t need a forthcoming covid vaccine to stay out of the hospital. But it probably wouldn’t hurt.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': To End School Shootings, Activists Consider a New Culprit: Parents
February 8, 2024
Podcast
For the first time, a jury has convicted a parent of a school shooter of charges related to the child’s crime, finding a mother in Michigan guilty of involuntary manslaughter and possibly opening a new legal avenue for gun control advocates. Meanwhile, as the Supreme Court prepares to hear a case challenging the FDA’s approval of the abortion drug mifepristone, a medical publisher has retracted some of the journal studies that lower-court judges relied on in their decisions. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Rachana Pradhan of KFF Health News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too.
Addiction Experts Fear the Fallout if California Legalizes Sports Betting
By Mark Kreidler
October 5, 2022
KFF Health News Original
If California voters approve one or both sports-wagering initiatives on the November ballot, psychiatrists anticipate more cases of problem gambling and gambling addiction. They’re especially concerned about online betting, a very addictive way to play.
‘Children Are Not Little Adults’ and Need Special Protection During Heat Waves
By Emmarie Huetteman
August 4, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Public health experts say heat waves pose health risks for children, whose bodies may not be as effective at cooling and who rely on caretakers to prevent and notice the signs of heat-related illness.
How Much Health Insurers Pay for Almost Everything Is About to Go Public
By Julie Appleby
July 1, 2022
KFF Health News Original
New government rules force health insurers to publicly disclose what they pay for just about every service. That information could help consumers and employers know whether they’re getting a fair deal.
J&J-Vaxxed, mRNA-Boosted, and Pondering a Third Shot
By Bernard J. Wolfson
March 1, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Many of the nearly 17 million U.S. members of J&J Nation, myself included, are wondering whether to set aside the current official guidance and get a second booster. Some experts say: Chill out.
Trump’s Legacy Looms Large as Colorado Aims to Close the Hispanic Insurance Gap
By Rae Ellen Bichell and Markian Hawryluk
June 23, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Hispanic residents have long been among the least likely to have health insurance — in Colorado and across the country — in part because of unauthorized immigrants. The state is expanding coverage to some of them, although the change runs up against lingering fears about the use of public benefits.
What Do We Really Know About Vaccine Effectiveness?
By Julie Appleby
November 2, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Reports of waning effectiveness and mixed messages about booster shots fuel the politicization of vaccination.