KFF
Stories by KFF
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They’re uninsured after Obamacare became too costly. And they’re far from alone.
Some families have decided the price is too great of a financial burden and canceled their coverage.
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Final rules for Medicaid work requirements are out. Here’s what you need to know.
The Trump administration has issued final rules on how states should ensure that millions of Medicaid enrollees prove they’re working or completing other activities, such as job training, volunteering, or being enrolled in an educational program.
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FDA’s greenlight of old chemical offers chance to restore faith in sunscreen
“Bemotrizinol has been used safely in Europe for decades,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in the announcement about the approval.
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1 in 4 covered California enrollees could get state aid under Newsom proposal
As Gov. Gavin Newsom negotiates his last budget with the legislature, the Democrat wants to offer financial help to more than 1 in 4 enrollees in Covered California, the nation’s largest state-run health insurance marketplace. Democratic lawmakers, who hold a supermajority, are still debating the plan.
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Trump bought tobacco stocks and raked in industry donations as FDA eased standards
President Donald Trump, who once declared he had “saved” flavored vapes, grew his stock holdings this year to as much as $1.64 million in tobacco giant Philip Morris.
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Upcoming billing change could make pregnancy pricier
Having a baby in the United States is about to get more complicated.
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RFK Jr. seeks to peek at Americans’ medical records for clues on autism and vaccines
U.S. health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is pursuing federal government access to most Americans’ medical records, in a quest to research a link between vaccines and autism — a connection the medical establishment studied for decades and flatly rejects.
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Michigan found a way to reduce school vaccine waivers. until it backfired.
State health officials urged parents in several counties to vaccinate babies against measles ahead of schedule this spring as cases multiplied in Michigan. The outbreaks of the highly contagious virus — which can lead to brain swelling, deafness, and death — came as parents are opting school-age kids out of vaccinations at a record-high rate.
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A Trump stronghold grapples with health risks of ice detention sites
Until recently, this rural city about 45 minutes east of Atlanta was best known for its Blue Willow Inn cookbooks featuring recipes for Southern dishes such as baked pineapple casserole and kudzu blossom jelly.
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In a vaccine-skeptical California county, a potential playbook to contain measles
While California has some of the strictest vaccine laws in the country, conservative Shasta County’s approach during the pandemic stood in stark contrast with the state’s guidance.
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Cheaper, alternative health plans are having a moment—but critics urge caution
Congress’ decision not to extend enhanced marketplace tax credits has boosted the appeal of alternative health coverage with lower monthly premiums.
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3 medical routines that older people may not need
Recently, investigators have taken on questions about common skin lesions that probably don’t need to be removed, a widely used thyroid medication that many older patients can safely discontinue, and colonoscopies that reduce colon cancer mortality so slightly that the risks may outweigh the benefits.
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Watch: The tug-of-war over taxpayer dollars
Julie Rovner, KFF Health News’ chief Washington correspondent and host of the What the Health? podcast, recently spoke with Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) about the ongoing fight between President Donald Trump and Congress over control of federal spending.
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Religious anti-abortion center finds opportunity in town without OB-GYNs
An anti-abortion pregnancy center on the outskirts of this Idaho Panhandle town greets visitors with an abridged Bible verse painted on the wall of its waiting area: “Come to me & I will give you rest.”
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Kennedy, balancing MAHA and White House, says he won’t run for president in 2028
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is caught between his Make America Healthy Again supporters who want him to do more to advance their priorities, including curtailing vaccines, and a White House trying to combat President Donald Trump’s unpopularity.
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RFK Jr. swaps vaccine talk for healthy foods and reading to tots in push to woo voters
Advised to stay away from the anti-vaccine rhetoric that rocketed him to political stardom, Kennedy has been dispatched by the White House to evangelize about the least controversial — and most popular — parts of his agenda.
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Trump promised cheaper drugs. Some prices dropped. Many others shot up.
Since his second term started, President Donald Trump has announced, negotiated, or floated a flurry of initiatives aimed at taming the excesses of the pharmaceutical industry.
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HHS healthy food agenda puts hospitals on notice about patients’ meals
The backlash was immediate after the Trump administration served notice that hospitals and nursing homes should limit sugary drinks and dietary supplements in favor of what the Department of Health and Human Services terms “real food.”
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An urgent care treated her allergic reaction. An ER monitored her—for $6,700.
By Andrew Jones for KFF Silvana Toska was playing in a grass field with her daughters late last fall when she felt a sting on her ankle. The family had come to listen for barred and great horned owls as the sun set on a large park near their Davidson, North Carolina, home. It was “just…
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Trump’s Medicaid work mandate debuts in this state to much dismay
Nebraska Medicaid officials say they are trying to make it as easy as possible for enrollees to comply, so people don’t lose their coverage for administrative reasons, such as failing to file the proper paperwork.
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Food stamp work rules don’t increase employment, researchers say
By Taylor Sisk for KFF A half-dozen cars had been in the queue for nearly four hours by the time the House of Hope mobile food pantry line began to move. Seventy or so more idled behind them by 11:30 a.m., when the food distribution began. The plan was to begin handing out boxes of groceries…
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A ‘barbaric’ problem in American hospitals is only getting bigger
Patients are getting stuck in the emergency department for days while waiting for a spot in an inpatient ward.
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Your new therapist: Chatty, leaky, and hardly human
Demand for mental health care has grown. Self-reported poor mental health days rose by 25% since the 1990s, found one study analyzing survey data. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide rates in 2022 matched a 2018 high that hadn’t been seen in nearly 80 years.
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States face another challenge with Medicaid work rules: Staffing shortages
By Sam Whitehead for KFF Katie Crouch says calling her state’s Medicaid agency to get information about her benefits can feel like a series of dead ends.
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Tax time brings surprises for some who receive ACA subsidies
By Julie Appleby and Andrew Jones for KFF Tax time can come with big surprises for some people who have Affordable Care Act coverage, including owing money back…
