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…
Paid Sick Leave Is Up for a Vote in Three States
ST. LOUIS — Voters in Missouri, Nebraska, and Alaska will soon decide whether workers in those states should be entitled to paid sick leave. If approved, the ballot measures would allow many workers to accrue paid time off, a benefit supporters say means workers — especially those with low-paying jobs — would no longer have…
What’s at Stake: A Pivotal Election for Six Big Health Issues
In the final days of the campaign, stark disagreements between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump over the future of American health care are on display — in particular, in sober warnings about abortion access, the specter of future cuts to the Affordable Care Act, and bold pronouncements about empowering activists eager…
Dentists Are Pulling ‘Healthy’ and Treatable Teeth To Profit From Implants, Experts Warn
Becky Carroll was missing a few teeth, and others were stained or crooked. Ashamed, she smiled with lips pressed closed. Her dentist offered to fix most of her teeth with root canals and crowns, Carroll said, but she was wary of traveling a long road of dental work. Then Carroll saw a TV commercial for…
KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: The Campaign’s Final Days
The Host Emmarie Huetteman KFF Health News Emmarie Huetteman, senior editor, oversees a team of Washington reporters, as well as “Bill of the Month” and KFF Health News’ “What the Health?” She previously spent more than a decade reporting on the federal government, most recently covering surprise medical bills, drug pricing reform, and other health policy debates…
Ghosts, Ghouls, and Ghastly Drug Prices in Winning Halloween Haikus
If you dare, feast your eyes on this year’s winners of KFF Health News’ sixth annual Halloween Haiku contest. We received more than four dozen spooky submissions but only a few bubbled to the top of the cauldron. Here’s the winner and the top runners-up, illustrated by Oona Zenda. The judges’ favorites were inspired by…
Toddler’s Backyard Snakebite Bills Totaled More Than a Quarter Million Dollars
This spring, a few days after his 2nd birthday, Brigland Pfeffer was playing with his siblings in their San Diego backyard. His mother, Lindsay Pfeffer, was a few feet away when Brigland made a noise and came running from the stone firepit, holding his right hand. She noticed a pinprick of blood between his thumb…
For People With Opioid Addiction, Medicaid ‘Unwinding’ Raises the Stakes
CITRUS COUNTY, Fla. — It was hard enough for Stephanie to get methadone treatment when she moved to Florida from Indiana last year. The nearest clinic was almost an hour’s drive away and she couldn’t drive herself. But at least she didn’t have to worry about the cost of care. As a parent with young…
Florida Medical Device Maker Exactech Declares Bankruptcy
Exactech, a Florida device manufacturer that faces more than 2,000 state and federal lawsuits from patients who allege the company sold defective hip and knee implants, filed for bankruptcy protection Tuesday. The Gainesville-based company said in a statement it was restructuring and would be sold to an investor group of private equity and “alternative asset”…
‘Dreamers’ Can Enroll in ACA Plans This Year — But a Court Challenge Could Get in the Way
When open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, starts nationwide this week, a group that had previously been barred from signing up will be eligible for the first time: The “Dreamers.” That’s the name given to children brought to the United States without immigration paperwork who have since qualified for the Deferred Action…