Enrollment of underrepresented groups at medical schools fell precipitously this academic year after the Supreme Court’s 2023 ban on affirmative action. Education and health experts worry the Trump administration’s anti-DEI measures will only worsen the situation, even in states like California that have navigated bans on race-conscious admissions for years.
Nearly 3 million Americans live sicker, shorter lives in the hundreds of rural counties where doctor shortages are the worst and poor internet connections mean little or no access to telehealth services.
To deliver on pledges from the new Trump administration to make America healthy again, policymakers will need to close gaps in longevity among racial and ethnic groups.
The child tax credit passed by Congress at the height of covid has expired, but states and localities are trying to fill the gap with their own programs and funding. In Michigan, Rx Kids already covers every family with a new baby in Flint. Now, other communities aim to follow.
The coronavirus pandemic underscored the importance of paid sick leave, a benefit to help workers and their families when they fall ill. Now voters in Missouri, Nebraska, and Alaska are deciding whether employers must provide it.
The United States has made almost no progress in closing racial health disparities despite promises, research shows. The government, some critics argue, is often the underlying culprit.
A KFF Health News investigation reveals that employers and the government have offered nursing aides little assistance for PTSD and other ongoing maladies triggered by hazardous work during the pandemic.
The term “health equity” means different things to different people. Beyond guaranteeing all Americans access to adequate, affordable medical care, the pursuit of equity can include addressing social determinants of health, such as housing, education, and environment. Systemic and historical racism — manifested in over-policing or contaminated drinking water, for instance — can negatively affect health. In a live taping at the Texas Tribune Festival, special guests Carol Alvarado, the Texas state Senate’s Democratic leader, and Ann Barnes, president and CEO of the Episcopal Health Foundation, along with KFF Health News’ Sabriya Rice and Cara Anthony, join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss addressing health inequities.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra has a plan to protect farmworkers from extreme heat and wildfire smoke, but farmworkers who pick California grapes say they need more, as climate change brings more extreme weather.
For decades, state and federal agencies have restricted or delayed tribes and tribal epidemiology centers from accessing public health data, a blackout that leaves health workers in Native American communities cobbling together information to guide their work, including tracking devastating disease outbreaks.
