Patients for Profit: How Private Equity Hijacked Health Care
February 9, 2023
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Featured Stories A quote from a source in the series Video Explainer More Stories in the Series Where Else is Private Equity Making Inroads? A quote from a source in the series Explore the Database KFF Health News analyzed 600 deals by 25 firms PitchBook identified as the top private equity investors in health care. […]
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': On Abortion Rights, Ohio Is the New Kansas
August 10, 2023
Podcast
Nearly a year to the day after Kansas voters surprised the nation by defeating an anti-abortion ballot question, Ohio voters defeated a similar, if cagier, effort to limit access in that state. This week, they rejected an effort to raise the threshold for approval of future ballot measures from a simple majority, which would have made it harder to protect abortion access with yet another ballot question come November. Meanwhile, the number of Americans without health insurance has dropped to an all-time low, though few noticed. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, and Emmarie Huetteman of KFF Health News join KFF Health News’ chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Kate McEvoy, executive director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors, about how the “Medicaid unwinding” is going, as millions have their eligibility for coverage rechecked.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Underinsured Is the New Uninsured
September 14, 2023
Podcast
The percentage of working-age adults with health insurance went up and the uninsured rate dropped last year, the U.S. Census Bureau reported this week. There isn’t much suspense about which way the uninsured rate is now trending, as states continue efforts to strip ineligible beneficiaries from their Medicaid rolls. But is the focus on the uninsured obscuring the struggles of the underinsured? Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join KFF Health News’ Emmarie Huetteman to discuss these issues and more.
For Republican Candidates, Talk About Moms and Babies Is a Thorny Issue
By Emmarie Huetteman
November 4, 2022
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.
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.
Votantes, más motivados para ir a las urnas tras prohibición del aborto, revela encuesta
By Emmarie Huetteman
October 12, 2022
KFF Health News Original
El sondeo también mostró que la mayoría de los votantes, ya sean demócratas o republicanos, no cree que el aborto deba prohibirse en casos de violación o incesto, ni apoyan las leyes que establecen condenas para los proveedores de abortos y las mujeres que abortan.
Abortion Bans Are Motivating Midterm Voters, Poll Shows
By Emmarie Huetteman
October 12, 2022
KFF Health News Original
A new KFF poll shows Democrats and those living in states where abortion is illegal say the issue has made them more motivated to vote. It also shows that 70% of Republicans oppose total abortion bans.
Texas, Battling Teen Pregnancy, Recasts Sex Education Standards
By Emmarie Huetteman
September 20, 2022
KFF Health News Original
As Texas adjusts to a near-total abortion ban, Texas schools are redoubling efforts to end teen pregnancies by enacting new standards for sexual health education. Beyond focusing on abstinence, they are teaching middle schoolers about contraceptives and preventing sexually transmitted infections. But parents must opt in for their children to get the lessons.
‘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.
Journalists Analyze the Covid Relief Bill
March 20, 2021
KFF Health News Original
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
‘Explained by KHN’: Health Insurance Help in Covid Relief Law
By Emmarie Huetteman
April 12, 2021
KFF Health News Original
In this edition of “Explained by KHN” Emmarie Huetteman covers how the $1.9 trillion covid relief law will make health insurance coverage significantly more affordable for millions of people.
Listen: Crooked Media and KHN Deliver Diagnosis on Pandemic Relief and ACA
March 19, 2021
KFF Health News Original
KHN and Crooked Media’s “America Dissected” have teamed up for a recurring conversation about the policies that make health care seem so tangled. Join KHN journalists and podcast host Dr. Abdul El-Sayed for his “DC Diagnosis.”
What’s It Really Like to Be HHS Secretary? Three Who’ve Done It Spill the Beans
By Julie Rovner and Emmarie Huetteman
June 22, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Three secretaries of Health and Human Services, who served under Presidents Joe Biden, Donald Trump, and Barack Obama, gathered this week for a rare, candid conversation hosted by the Aspen Ideas Festival and KFF Health News’ “What the Health?” about the experience of being the nation’s top health official.
Betting on ‘Golden Age’ of Colonoscopies, Private Equity Invests in Gastro Docs
By Emily Pisacreta and Emmarie Huetteman
May 27, 2022
KFF Health News Original
An aging population in need of regular cancer screenings has driven private equity companies, seeking profits, to invest in many gastroenterology practices and set up aggressive billing practices. Steep prices on routine tests are one consequence for patients.
Evaluating President Joe Biden’s First 100 Days in Office
By Louis Jacobson, PolitiFact
April 27, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Presidential historians say that Joe Biden’s first 100 days in office — a somewhat arbitrary but frequently cited milestone — have included an above-average number of major accomplishments.
Too Big To Fail? Now It’s ‘Too Big To Hack’
April 18, 2024
Podcast
Congress this week had the chance to formally air grievances over the cascading consequences of the Change Healthcare cyberattack, and lawmakers from both major parties agreed on one culprit: consolidation in health care. Plus, about a year after states began stripping people from their Medicaid rolls, a new survey shows nearly a quarter of adults who were disenrolled are now uninsured. Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Mary Agnes Carey to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner interviews Caroline Pearson of the Peterson Health Technology Institute.
Mental Health Services Wane as Insurers Appear to Skirt Parity Rules During Pandemic
By Emmarie Huetteman
April 30, 2021
KFF Health News Original
A report from the Government Accountability Office paints a picture of an already strained behavioral health system struggling after the pandemic struck to meet the treatment needs of millions of Americans with conditions like alcohol use disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Covid Vaccine Hesitancy Drops Among All Americans, New Survey Shows
By Emmarie Huetteman
March 30, 2021
KFF Health News Original
A nationwide poll released by KFF also revealed which arguments are most compelling to persuade people to get a shot — and which ones are unlikely to work.
Democrats Eye Medicare Negotiations to Lower Drug Prices
By Emmarie Huetteman
March 23, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Progressive and conservative Democratic lawmakers, as well as President Joe Biden, are in favor of authorizing federal officials to negotiate with drugmakers over what Medicare pays for at least some of the most expensive brand-name drugs and to base those prices on the drugs’ clinical benefits. Such a measure could put Republicans in the uncomfortable position of opposing an idea that most voters from both parties generally support.
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.