Category: Kaiser Health News

As a Union Pushes to Cap Hospital CEO Pay, It’s Accused of Playing Politics

A union is asking Los Angeles city voters to cap hospital executive pay at the U.S. president’s salary. However, hospitals accuse the union of using the proposal as political leverage, and policy experts question whether the policy, if enacted, would be workable.

Amid Lack of Accountability for Bias in Maternity Care, a California Family Seeks Justice

April Valentine’s family wants to know whether racism could have played a role in her death. A KFF Health News analysis shows state regulators are ill-equipped to find discrimination in its many forms.

What One Lending Company’s Hospital Contracts Reveal About Financing Patient Debt

Within two years of North Carolina’s public university system going into business with AccessOne to finance patients’ payment plans, nearly half of its patients were in loans that charged interest. As federal scrutiny increases on lenders, KFF Health News is sharing that contract and others obtained through public records requests.

Seeking Medicare Coverage for Weight Loss Drugs, Pharma Giant Courts Black Influencers

Novo Nordisk, the dominant company in the multibillion-dollar market for weight loss drugs, focuses on Black lawmakers and opinion leaders to spread the message that obesity is a chronic disease that needs treatment.

How the Texas Trial Changed the Story of Abortion Rights in America

Stark, plaintive testimony from women denied abortion care represents the start of “the 50-year fight to get rid of Dobbs,” one historian says.

As Many American Cities Get Hotter, Health Systems Face Off Against Heatstroke

With millions of Americans suffering under relentless heat waves this summer, more people are seeking medical attention for heat-related illnesses. As temperatures get more extreme, hospitals, fire departments, and ambulance crews are preparing to treat more patients for heat exhaustion and heatstroke.

The NIH Ices a Research Project. Is It Self-Censorship?

The National Institutes of Health appeared to be digging into health misinformation. But then the federal agency stepped back. It can’t quite explain why, sometimes even offering contradictory explanations.

Survey: Americans Want Weight Loss Drugs Despite High Cost

A new poll reveals enthusiasm for a pricey new generation of weight loss drugs, but interest drops if users potentially have to deal with weekly injections, lack of insurance coverage, or a need to continue the medications indefinitely to avoid regaining weight.

As Water Reuse Expands, Proponents Battle the ‘Yuck’ Factor

As drought and climate change threaten water supplies, municipalities around the country are ramping up water reuse efforts. But they have to overcome the “yuk” factor.

KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: Congress Is Out. The Presidential Campaign Is In.

Congress is in recess until after Labor Day, and lawmakers won’t have much time when they return to get the government funded before the next fiscal year. Meanwhile, the Republican campaign for president has begun in earnest, and while repealing the Affordable Care Act is no longer the top promise, some candidates have lively ideas about what to do with federal health programs. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Phil Galewitz, who reported the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month,” about how a bill that should never have been sent created headaches for one patient.