Hours after experiencing a flare-up related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Kenney Blewett of Kyle, Texas, died by suicide in June. A medication his doctor prescribed days earlier to ease his breathing problems hadn't been filled due to an “in...

While Democratic congressional candidates are floating the restoration of federal Affordable Care Act subsidies and Medicaid funding, Oregon officials are crafting a more ambitious plan to implement universal coverage in their state.

Think you can terrify us in 17 syllables? KFF Health News’ eighth annual Halloween haiku contest is now open. Send us your most haunting healthcare verses.

The "KFF Health News Minute" brings original healthcare and health policy reporting from our newsroom to the airwaves each week.

Getting financial assistance from hospitals often involves filling out cumbersome forms. Some states now require hospitals to identify and automatically enroll patients eligible for charity care.

Potent sedating medications are often used on agitated people with dementia in long-term care facilities despite federal efforts to discourage their use. A clash over whether to drug a Michigan woman ...

The Congressional Budget Office estimated 100,000 more immigrants will be uninsured by 2034 because of Medicaid eligibility changes under President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act that take effect Oct. 1. A KFF Health News survey of nine states found...

Staff raced against rising floodwater to evacuate 36 residents from a nursing home in New Richland, Minnesota. It’s one of 100 facilities KFF Health News identified as facing some of the nation’s wors...

President Donald Trump has championed sprawling health policy changes under the Make America Healthy Again movement, but a KFF-Associated Press survey of rural voters found people aren't seeing the initiatives reach their communities.

In most states, people with Medicaid coverage will have to prove they're working, volunteering, or studying starting Jan. 1. But Montana put the rules into effect early, and they're sowing uncertainty and anxiety.

The death penalty is legal in 27 states, and lethal injection is the primary method. That means involving medical professionals to store, test, and inject the drugs. After a botched execution in Tenne...

Autumn Daniels went to the hospital with a severe migraine. After four hours in the waiting room, she left to try a different facility -- but the ER still charged her.

Recent outbreaks of foodborne illness and high-profile recalls have made this issue a concern of voters.

Some states have considered barring companies that own a PBM from also owning brick-and-mortar pharmacies, as CVS does. Two states have followed through. A similar proposal at the federal level has gained prominent sponsors, aligning conservative, busin...

Healthcare, in particular its rising costs, is a key issue for voters in both parties this fall. But lawmakers are offering a variety of remedies on the campaign trail, suggesting that neither party has an agreed-upon approach. Meanwhile, the Trump adm...

Four states will vote on abortion-related ballot measures in November, marking the fourth time in five years that millions of Americans will weigh in on their states' abortion rules. The measures follow the Supreme Court's “Dobbs” decision, which upende...

The "KFF Health News Minute" brings original healthcare and health policy reporting from our newsroom to the airwaves each week.

The disease has long been a risk of coal mining, an industry the Trump administration is trying to reinvigorate.

Rural voters rank the cost of living and cost of healthcare as top issues they want to hear about from midterm candidates as they face a tightening pocketbook pinch.

As the oldest baby boomers turn 80, researchers worry there won't be enough room in nursing facilities for a rapidly graying nation.

Like many Americans, Joshua and Ashley Durham saw their health insurance premiums rise by hundreds of dollars a month this year. Despite being healthcare practitioners all too aware of the risks, they chose to go uninsured. Others, though, can't afford ...

“Brain cancer” or “H4 G34-mutant”? As knowledge about genetics advances, some doctors say cancers should be defined by their mutations, not the tissues where they manifest.

Some mental health experts favor suicide prevention steps that are applied broadly, with protections that aren't tied to an individual's specific risk.

An experiment to provide meals to some Medicaid recipients shows food can be cost-effective medicine. But even as federal officials tout the power of nutrition, Medicaid budget cuts could lead states to think twice about covering healthy food for sick r...

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Steep jumps in health insurance premiums and deductibles are top of mind for many voters heading into midterm elections. KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner explains how rising costs may shape competitive races. She also distills...

To get drugs and devices out faster, the FDA lets companies conduct studies of safety or efficacy after the products are approved. In many cases, such “postmarket” studies are behind schedule or overdue, records show.

California is crafting weaker heat protections for prisons than other workplaces, citing billions in costs to cool aging institutions as climate and health risks increase. It's a second-class standard, health and safety advocates say, and would leave co...

Not all older people need benzodiazepines, antibiotics, or daily aspirin — and taking them can carry increased risks.

States are spending rural health dollars on tech startups, betting that untested companies will succeed where doctors have vanished and hospitals have collapsed. Louisiana's call for innovative technology drew more than 200 pitches, seeking from $250,00...

The case was brought by a marketing company that wants to define as employees people who download an app and agree to have their internet activity tracked so they can buy into its employee health plan. Such plans are generally exempt from some state and...

As state governments grapple with how to determine who's sick enough to be excused from new Medicaid work requirements, some families are already struggling with what illnesses guarantee health coverage because of a disability.

With the expiration of enhanced subsidies for Affordable Care Act health plans, thousands of Georgians are paying more for coverage or going uninsured. In one of the state's reddest districts, the economic impact is growing faster than the political fal...

Children in immigrant families are facing health threats from President Donald Trump's policies: separation from parents detained or deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, economic and housing instability, withdrawal from health and nutrition ...

Stat reporter Bob Herman joins “An Arm and a Leg” to discuss the impact of surging health insurance costs on businesses and their workers.

KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

Native Hawaiians will have to comply with the new work requirements in President Donald Trump's signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act, despite facing significant obstacles to employment and healthcare.

A federal judge ruled that President Donald Trump can't unilaterally kill the $2.75 billion Digital Equity Act, but he also sided with the administration by saying using race as a factor in awarding the grants is unconstitutional. The split decision has...

People outside the family frequently step into helping roles when older adults need assistance.

A nonprofit and a local public health agency are subsidizing marketplace health insurance for Austin music artists, even as shifting marketplace conditions make the program a more expensive proposition. It's becoming a model for other cities and sectors.

The people of Troy, New York, united to challenge a national Catholic health system determined to close the last birthing center in the county.

Senate and House Democrats say the Trump administration's plan to collect patients' medical data violates privacy and will discourage people from seeking medical care.

The nation's uninsured rate hit a historical low when Xavier Becerra was health secretary. Now he wants to be California's next governor as states stare down the biggest rise in the uninsured rate in a generation.

States must submit Rural Health Transformation Program progress reports to the federal government, but they aren’t required to proactively post those reports, or related information, publicly.

The true cost of “vertical integration”: patients directed to a higher-priced location for procedures. Or forced to buy from their insurer’s wholly owned pharmacy, which may not stock the drug prescri...

Patients and researchers point to evidence that many cancer drug dosages are excessive, and that reducing the amount and frequency could save billions of dollars and prevent some of the worst side effects.

States must submit Rural Health Transformation Program progress reports to the federal government, but they aren't required to proactively post those reports, or related information, publicly.

Federal programs that support brain injury research and services are in flux, with lapsed legislation and a diminished injury-tracking workforce. Still, in rural Pennsylvania, children with acquired brain injuries gathered for a summer camp that emphasi...

Federal efforts to revive uranium mining in the West and decrease reliance on Russian uranium are raising concerns about drinking water for tribal communities reckoning with the industry’s deadly lega...

Margaret Hvatum ended up in the hospital after her insurer denied coverage of a medicine she relies on to boost her immune system. Hvatum got entangled in the preapproval process, which the insurance ...