Louisiana lawmakers have added two drugs commonly used in pregnancy and reproductive health care to the state’s list of controlled dangerous substances, a move that has alarmed doctors in the state.
Category: Audio
KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: At GOP Convention, Health Policy Is Mostly MIA
The Republican National Convention highlighted a number of policy issues this week, but health care was not among them. That was not much of a surprise, as it is not a top priority for former President Donald Trump or most GOP voters. The nomination of Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio adds an outspoken abortion opponent […]
End of Pandemic Internet Subsidies Threatens a Health Care Lifeline for Rural America
As the Affordable Connectivity Program runs out of money, millions of people face a jump in internet costs or lost connections if federal lawmakers don’t pass a funding extension.
He Fell Ill on a Cruise. Before He Boarded the Rescue Boat, They Handed Him the Bill.
A man from Michigan was evacuated from a cruise ship after having seizures. First, he drained his bank account to pay his medical bills.
Why One New York Health System Stopped Suing Its Patients
Most U.S. hospitals aggressively pursue patients for unpaid bills. One New York hospital system decided to work with them instead.
Paid Sick Leave Sticks After Many Pandemic Protections Vanish
The U.S. is one of nine countries that do not guarantee paid sick leave. Since the covid pandemic, advocates in states including Missouri, Alaska, and Nebraska are organizing to take the issue to voters with ballot initiatives this November.
Could Better Inhalers Help Patients, and the Planet?
Puff inhalers can be lifesavers for people with asthma and other respiratory diseases, but some types release potent greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. That, in turn, worsens wildfires, contributes to air pollution, and intensifies allergy seasons — which can increase the need for inhalers. Some doctors are helping patients switch to more eco-sensitive inhalers.
Sign Here? Financial Agreements May Leave Doctors in the Driver’s Seat
Agreeing to an out-of-network doctor’s own financial policy — which generally protects their ability to get paid and may be littered with confusing insurance and legal jargon — can create a binding contract that leaves a patient owing.
Unsheltered People Are Losing Medicaid in Redetermination Mix-Ups
Some of the nearly 130,000 Montanans who have lost Medicaid coverage as the state reevaluates eligibility are homeless. That’s in part because Montana kicked more than 80,000 people off the program for technical reasons rather than because of income ineligibility. For unhoused people who were disenrolled, getting back on Medicaid can be extraordinarily difficult.
He Thinks His Wife Died in an Understaffed Hospital. Now He’s Trying to Change the Industry.
Nurses are telling lawmakers that there are not enough of them working in hospitals and that it risks patients’ lives. California and Oregon legally limit the number of patients under a nurse’s care. Other states trying to do the same were blocked by the hospital industry. Now patients’ relatives are joining the fight.
