Category: Kaiser Health News

Once the New Over-the-Counter Birth Control Pill Is Available, What About Cost and Coverage?

The Food and Drug Administration’s approval is viewed as groundbreaking, but many details still must be figured out.

Epidemic: The Goddess of Smallpox

To defeat smallpox in South Asia, public health workers had to navigate the region’s layered cultural ideas about the virus. They also dreamed big. In Episode 1, host Céline Gounder wonders how the U.S. might tap into similar “moral imagination” to prepare for the next public health crisis.

Timeline: The Final Years of the Campaign to End Smallpox

Many people working in global health thought eradicating smallpox was impossible. They were wrong. Season 2 of the Epidemic podcast, “Eradicating Smallpox,” is a journey to South Asia during the last days of variola major smallpox. Explore…

Readers and Tweeters See Ways to Shore Up Primary Care

KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

In Older Adults, a Little Excess Weight Isn’t Such a Bad Thing

Researchers have found that while obesity at any age risks harming health, a few extra pounds in later life isn’t cause for concern.

A Plan to Cut Montana’s Medicaid Waiting List Was Met With Bipartisan Cheers. Then a Veto.

Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte’s veto disappointed and bewildered those seeking to address low-income residents’ long wait for assisted living or in-home care.

How a Combination of Covid Lawsuits and Media Coverage Keeps Misinformation Churning

Even as the covid-19 pandemic wanes, litigation — whether about vaccines, masks, or a range of other public health policies made during the pandemic — isn’t about to end.

KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: The Long Road to Reining in Short-Term Plans 

It took more than two years, but the Biden administration has finally kept a promise made by then-candidate Joe Biden to roll back the Trump administration’s expansion of short-term, limited-duration health plans. The plans have been controversial because, while they offer lower premiums than more comprehensive health plans, they offer far fewer benefits and are […]

Got Milk in School? Farmers Fight Health Advocates Over the Creamy ‘Whole’ Variety

It has been over a decade since whole milk was served in schools through the National School Lunch Program, after U.S. government dietary guidance effectively banned it. But dairy farmers, some health experts, and members of Congress say it’s time to bring it back.

Wait, What’s a PBM?

Pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, are companies that negotiate the prices of prescription drugs. Hear about their role in raising drug prices and the ongoing efforts to regulate this complex industry.