12 States Promised To Open the Books on Their Opioid Settlement Funds. We Checked Up on Them.
To discover how millions in opioid settlement funds are being spent in Idaho, you can visit the state attorney general’s website, which hosts 91 documents from state and local entities getting the money. What you’ll find is a lot of bureaucratese. Nearly three years ago, these jurisdictions signed an agreement promising annual reports “specifying the…
7 of 10 States Backed Abortion Rights. But Little To Change Yet.
Voters backed abortion rights in seven of the 10 states where the issue appeared on ballots Tuesday — at first glance, seemingly reshaping the nation’s patchwork of abortion rules. Colorado, Maryland, Montana, and New York — states where abortions are already permitted at least until fetal viability — all will add abortion protections to their…
In Vermont, Where Almost Everyone Has Insurance, Many Can’t Find or Afford Care
RICHMOND, Vt. — On a warm autumn morning, Roger Brown walked through a grove of towering trees whose sap fuels his maple syrup business. He was checking for damage after recent flooding. But these days, his workers’ health worries him more than his trees’. The cost of Slopeside Syrup’s employee health insurance premiums spiked 24%…
Listen to the Latest ‘KFF Health News Minute’
Oct. 31 This week on the KFF Health News Minute: Mobile clinics bring rural areas access to long-acting forms of birth control, and doctors say people have developed opioid addiction from drinking tea made with unwashed poppy seeds. Oct. 24 This week on the KFF Health News Minute: Low-wage health care workers struggle with post-traumatic…
As Nuns Disappear, Many Catholic Hospitals Look More Like Megacorporations
ST. LOUIS — Inside the more than 600 Catholic hospitals across the country, not a single nun can be found occupying a chief executive suite, according to the Catholic Health Association. Nuns founded and led those hospitals in a mission to treat sick and poor people, but some were also shrewd business leaders. Sister Irene…
No Evidence Trump’s Drug Program for Terminal Patients Saved ‘Thousands’ of Lives
“Right To Try” experimental drug program saved “thousands and thousands of lives” Former President Donald Trump on Aug. 30 Former President Donald Trump has boasted in recent months about “Right To Try,” a law he signed in 2018. It’s aimed at boosting terminally ill patients’ access to potentially lifesaving medications not yet approved by the…
Election Outcome Could Bring Big Changes to Medicare
On the campaign trail, both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are eager to portray themselves as guardians of Medicare. Each presidential candidate accuses the other of backing spending cuts and other policies that would damage the health insurance program for older Americans. But the election’s outcome could alter the very nature…
A Rules Change Would Open the ACA to ‘Dreamers’
It’s that time of year again: open enrollment for Affordable Care Act insurance — a period that runs from tomorrow to Jan. 15 in most states, a bit longer in some, and shorter in Idaho. One of the biggest changes this time around: a new rule from the Biden administration that opens enrollment to Deferred…
Trump quiere que Harris pague un precio político por ofrecer salud a inmigrantes sin papeles
María Sánchez emigró al área de Chicago desde México hace unos 30 años. Ahora, a sus 87, sigue viviendo en Estados Unidos sin papeles. Como muchos inmigrantes de larga data, ha trabajado —y pagado impuestos, incluyendo para Medicare— durante todo ese tiempo. Pero Sánchez nunca tuvo seguro médico, y cuando cumplió 65, no pudo inscribirse…
Trump Wants Harris To Pay a Political Price for Generous Immigrant Health Policies
Maria Sanchez immigrated to the Chicago area from Mexico about 30 years ago. Now 87, she’s still living in the U.S. without authorization. Like many longtime immigrants, she has worked — and paid taxes, including Medicare taxes — all that time. But Sanchez never had health insurance, and when she turned 65, she couldn’t enroll…