Medi-Cal, the nation's largest Medicaid program, was in trouble even before the GOP's One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Rapid expansion, spiraling costs, and billions in federal funding cuts will mean tough challenges for California's next governor. On the ca...

The Trump administration has provided few details about its process for canceling hundreds of thousands of Affordable Care Act marketplace enrollments -- even as the next stage of the anti-fraud effort is underway.

This week, Trump administration officials announced their latest efforts to trim what they identified as duplicative and ineligible enrollees from government health programs. They tied the efforts to the administration's broader crackdown on waste, frau...

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

Hospitals can prevent medical debt by preemptively wiping out a patient's bill. But a Tradeoffs analysis finds that few nonprofit facilities in Texas use this tool to the maximum benefit of patients.

Hospitals can prevent medical debt by offering financial help before sending big bills. A Tradeoffs investigation found that nearly half of nonprofit facilities in Texas say they will bill patients before screening them for aid. And most will not offer ...

An initiative on the California ballot would levy the nation’s first wealth tax on billionaires. Supporters say the proceeds would help offset President Donald Trump’s sweeping healthcare cuts. But cr...

These service providers, formerly known as geriatric care managers, can arrange a move to a senior living facility, deal with Medicare and Medicaid, recommend doctors, drive a client to the dentist, and much more.

People who have taken experimental peptides, such as BPC-157, complain of migraines, eye pain, fatigue, and more. Learning whether these popular but unproven drugs are to blame may become harder if Ro...

A doctor has recommended a course of action that is invasive, expensive, or somehow different from what you'd prefer. Is it OK to get a second opinion? The answer is yes. Here's how to make the ask a little less awkward.

Amid a decline in youth mental health, momentum builds for a federal crackdown on social media companies over protections for kids.

People who have taken experimental peptides, such as BPC-157, complain of migraines, eye pain, fatigue, and more. Learning whether these popular but unproven drugs are to blame may become harder if Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fulfills a promise to make them m...

The midterm elections are less than a month away, and a new poll from KFF shows voters are very concerned about rising health costs and trust Democrats more than Republicans to address the issue. In an apparent attempt to close the gap, President Donald...

A Slack workspace managed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has served as an extraordinary war room for AI industry insiders and Trump administration officials to launch a rapid campaign...

Research shows natural gas pipelines -- and the public health risks they carry -- are concentrated in low-income and minority areas where people suffer higher rates of poverty and physical disabilities and have fewer means to respond to crises.

At a time when more than 100 million Americans carry medical debt, it's easy to get behind a promise of free, or free-ish, no-hassle health care. But turning an inspirational slogan into law gets gnarly.

In Los Angeles County, the nation's most populous, a new system could screen hospital patients for financial aid, preventing hundreds of thousands from getting bills they can't pay.

The idea of scrapping the U.S. health insurance system for a massive expansion of government-funded healthcare isn't new. But voters hit by ballooning private health insurance costs are rallying behind midterm candidates calling for universal coverage.

It's been more than a year since President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and SNAP enrollment is down more than 20% in Louisiana. Anti-hunger groups say far more people could lose access if states are required to cover more of the f...

Catherine Sweeney was one of the reporters in the witness room during the attempted execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee. The journalists knew that a recent execution hadn’t gone according to plan a...

Tests like full-body scans marketed directly to consumers are pitched as a way to detect diseases early and establish a baseline of health markers. But there are financial, physical, and psychological...

There’s a term for reducing unnecessary or harmful drugs: “deprescribing.” Especially as patients age, experts say, it’s important to regularly review the medications they’re taking.

At least 2 million seniors will receive notice this fall that their Medicare Advantage plans will disappear at year's end, some without a comparable alternative. Here's a look at this increasingly common problem with Medicare Advantage, and what it says...

Many rural voters say immigrants are a key part of their local economy, but views on whether President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown has had positive or negative effects on their communities are split.

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...

YouTube video by KFF Health News

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...