Category: Kaiser Health News

When Older Parents Resist Help or Advice, Use These Tips to Cope

Dealing with a stubborn or resistant older parent can be a difficult problem for adult children. Family caregivers and professionals have some hard-won lessons on how to manage these evolving relationships.

Remote Work: An Underestimated Benefit for Family Caregivers

The debate about whether employees should be required to return to the workplace has generally focused on commuting, convenience, and child care. A fourth C, caregiving, has rarely been mentioned.

The Abortion Pill Goes Back to Court

A three-judge appeals court panel heard testimony this week about revoking the FDA’s 22-year-old approval of a key pill used in medication abortion and miscarriage management. The judges all have track records of siding with abortion foes. Meanwhile, as the standoff over raising the federal debt ceiling continues in Washington, a major sticking point is whether to impose work requirements on recipients of Medicaid coverage. Victoria Knight of Axios, Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

Watch: 5th Circuit Judges Question Two-Decade-Old Approval of Abortion Pill

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans heard oral arguments Wednesday in a case brought by conservative Christian abortion opponents seeking to revoke FDA approval of mifepristone, a medication used in more than half of abortions in the U.S.

A Covid Test Medicare Scam May Be a Trial Run for Further Fraud

Before the covid-19 public health emergency ended, Medicare advocates around the country noticed a rise in complaints from beneficiaries who received at-home covid tests they never requested. Bad actors may have used seniors’ Medicare information to improperly bill the federal government — and could do it again, say federal investigators.

Thousands Face Medicaid Whiplash in South Dakota and North Carolina

Thousands of South Dakotans are being knocked off Medicaid, only to be eligible to requalify several months later. Even more enrollees are likely to experience a temporary loss of coverage in North Carolina.

State Lawmakers Eye Forced Treatment to Address Overlap in Homelessness and Mental Illness

Democratic politicians in California and Oregon are reconsidering the restrictions of involuntary commitment laws. They argue that not helping people who are seriously ill and living in squalor on the streets is inhumane.

An AI Chatbot May Be Your Next Therapist. Will It Actually Help Your Mental Health?

Given a dire shortage of human behavioral health providers in the U.S., it may prove tempting for insurers to offer up apps and chatbots to meet the federal mental health parity requirement. But artificial intelligence, by definition fake, can’t master the empathic flow between patient and doctor that’s central to therapy.

Lawyer Fees Draw Scrutiny as Camp Lejeune Claims Stack Up

The Camp Lejeune Justice Act, which became law last year, created a pathway for veterans and their families to pursue damage claims against the government for toxic exposure at the military base. Now, advocates and lawmakers worry high lawyer fees could shortchange those injured.

Study Reveals Staggering Toll of Being Black in America: 1.6M Excess Deaths Over 22 Years

The profound and painful loss — 80 million years of life, compared with the white population — is a call to action to improve the health of Black Americans, especially infants, mothers, and seniors, researchers say.