Misinformation Obscures Standards Guiding Gender-Affirming Care for Trans Youth
By Helen Santoro
June 28, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Many state legislatures have passed or are considering restrictions on gender-affirming care for trans minors. Yet much of the discussion is based on misconceptions about what that care entails.
PBMs, the Brokers Who Control Drug Prices, Finally Get Washington’s Attention
By Arthur Allen
May 11, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Drugmakers, pharmacies, and physicians blame pharmacy benefit managers for high drug prices. Congress is finally on board, too, but will it matter?
Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia Is Killing Patients. Yet There Is a Simple Way to Stop It.
By Brett Kelman
July 12, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Hospital-acquired pneumonia not tied to ventilators is one of the most common infections that strike within health care facilities. But few hospitals take steps to prevent it, which can be as simple as dutifully brushing patients’ teeth.
Medical Debt Sunk Her Credit. New Changes From the Credit Reporting Agencies Won’t Help.
By Aneri Pattani
October 6, 2022
KFF Health News Original
New policies to prevent unpaid medical bills from harming people’s credit scores are on the way. But the concessions made by top credit reporting companies may fall short for those with the largest debt — especially Black Americans in the South.
EPA Action Boosts Grassroots Momentum to Reduce Toxic ‘Forever Chemicals’
By Andy Miller
August 10, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Experts say the EPA’s recent declaration that some PFAS chemicals are unsafe at detectable levels in drinking water signals acceleration in efforts to curb exposure to compounds found in nearly every American’s blood.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The Abortion Pill Goes Back to Court
May 18, 2023
Podcast
A three-judge appeals court panel heard testimony this week about revoking the FDA’s 22-year-old approval of a key pill used in medication abortion and miscarriage management. The judges all have track records of siding with abortion foes. Meanwhile, as the standoff over raising the federal debt ceiling continues in Washington, a major sticking point is whether to impose work requirements on recipients of Medicaid coverage. Victoria Knight of Axios, Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
Health Officials See Bright Future in Poop Surveillance
By Anna Maria Barry-Jester
March 24, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Sewage surveillance is proving so useful in mapping covid trends that many public health officials say it should become standard practice in tracking infectious diseases. Whether that happens will depend on the nation’s ability to make it viable in communities rich and poor.
The Painful Pandemic Lessons Mandy Cohen Carries to the CDC
By Fred Clasen-Kelly and Rachana Pradhan and Holly K. Hacker
August 23, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Mandy Cohen, the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, earned praise for her leadership and communication as the face of North Carolina’s response to covid-19. People in the state’s most vulnerable communities tell a more complicated story.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Abortion and SCOTUS, Together Again
December 14, 2023
Podcast
The Supreme Court agreed this week to hear its first major case on abortion since overturning Roe v. Wade — one that could restrict the availability of the abortion pill mifepristone, even in states where abortion remains legal. Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, lawmakers in the House and Senate finally moved to renew health programs that expired in October — but it’s likely too late to finish the job in 2023. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Riley Griffin of Bloomberg News, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Jen Golbeck, a University of Maryland professor and social media superstar, about her new book, “The Purest Bond,” which lays out the science of the human-canine relationship.
Hundreds of Hospitals Sue Patients or Threaten Their Credit, a KHN Investigation Finds. Does Yours?
By Noam N. Levey
December 21, 2022
KFF Health News Original
An examination of billing policies and practices at more than 500 hospitals across the country shows widespread reliance on aggressive collection tactics.
As Red Cross Moves to Pricey Blood Treatment Method, Hospitals Call for More Choice
By Julie Appleby
May 17, 2022
KFF Health News Original
The nation’s largest supplier of platelets is moving to a method it says is easier for hospitals, but one that sharply raises costs, leading some centers to demand more options.
Senate Deal Raises Hopes for a Reduction in Gun Suicides
By Carly Graf
June 22, 2022
KFF Health News Original
A bipartisan U.S. Senate agreement on guns that focuses on mental health raises hopes and doubts in rural Western states with high suicide rates and easy access to guns.
BMI: The Mismeasure of Weight and the Mistreatment of Obesity
By Julie Appleby
October 12, 2022
KFF Health News Original
The human body mass index — a simple mathematical equation — is tied to a measure of obesity invented almost 200 years ago. On the downside, it can stand between patients and treatment for weight issues. It particularly mismeasures Black women and Asians.
As Eating Disorders Spike During Pandemic, Rural Treatment Options Lag
By Carly Graf
April 19, 2022
KFF Health News Original
More people have visited emergency departments for eating disorders during the pandemic. Those living in rural areas have limited pathways to treatment.
Montana Seeks to Insulate Nursing Homes From Future Financial Crises
By Keely Larson
February 24, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Lawmakers are considering creating standards to set Medicaid reimbursement rates. But industry observers wonder whether the move would be too little, too late to bolster a beleaguered industry.
Can a Monthly Injection Be the Key to Curbing Addiction? These Experts Say Yes
By Jenny Gold
May 6, 2022
KFF Health News Original
In California, where overdose deaths are on the rise, physicians say administering anti-addiction medication as a monthly injection holds tremendous potential. So, why aren’t more patients getting it?
Colorado Option’s Big Test: Open Enrollment
By Markian Hawryluk
December 7, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Critics were ready to bury the state’s new health insurance plans, based on a public option, when 2023 rate hikes were announced, but officials are confident people will be drawn to the plans’ benefits.
Pharma-Funded FDA Gets Drugs Out Faster, But Some Work Only ‘Marginally’ and Most Are Pricey
By Arthur Allen
September 30, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Since pharmaceutical companies started funding their FDA drug applications 30 years ago, the agency’s reviews have gone much faster — perhaps too fast.
New Weight Loss Treatment Is Marked by Heavy Marketing and Modest Results
By Julie Appleby
June 22, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Approved as a device, not a drug, Plenity contains a plant-based gel that swells to fill 25% of a person’s stomach, to help people eat less. Results vary widely but are modest on average.
Embedded Bias: How Medical Records Sow Discrimination
By Darius Tahir
September 26, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Medical records can contain seemingly objective descriptions that are actually full of coded language and subtext. How does that affect care?