Category: Kaiser Health News

Newsom’s Push To Block Law Could Save California Nursing Homes Over $1 Billion

Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to block a state law that requires nursing homes to have 96 hours of backup power in the case of emergencies, potentially giving the industry a break from spending over $1 billion on facility upgrades. Patient advocates say rolling back the nursing home industry requirements for preparedness could jeopardize the safety of residents.

Two Patients Faced Chemo. The One Who Survived Demanded a Test To See if It Was Safe.

Worried that President Donald Trump’s FDA might not act, a panel of cancer experts recommended that doctors consider testing before dosing patients with a commonly used but sometimes deadly cancer drug. It came too late for many patients.

Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Continues Assault on Obamacare

The domestic policy legislation the House advanced in May includes the most substantial rollback of the Affordable Care Act since President Donald Trump and his Republican allies tried to pass legislation in 2017 that would have largely repealed President Barack Obama’s signature domestic accomplishment.

Ballad Health’s Hospital Monopoly Underperformed. Then Tennessee Lowered the Bar.

Ballad Health, a state-sanctioned hospital monopoly in Tennessee and Virginia, can now be deemed a “clear and convincing” benefit to the public with performance that would earn a “D” on most grading scales, according to Tennessee state documents.

Native Americans Hurt by Federal Health Cuts, Despite RFK Jr.’s Promises of Protection

The Indian Health Service was mostly spared in the federal government’s widespread staffing cuts, but tribal governments and organizations have lost funding elsewhere in the melee of federal health agency cuts.

KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: Live From AHCJ: Shock and Awe in Federal Health Policy

This episode was taped live on Friday, May 30, at the annual conference of the Association of Health Care Journalists in Los Angeles. Host Julie Rovner moderated a panel featuring Rachel Nuzum, senior vice president for policy at The Commonwealth Fund; Berenice Núñez Constant, senior vice president of government relations and civic engagement at AltaMed Health Services; and Anish Mahajan, chief deputy director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. The panelists discussed the national, state, and local implications of funding cuts made over the first 100 days of the second Trump administration and the potential fallout of reductions that have been proposed but not yet implemented. The panelists also took questions from health reporters in the audience.

Role Reversal: Millions of Kids Are Caregivers for Elders. Why Their Numbers Might Grow.

As state officials anticipate Medicaid funding cuts that could strip resources for those with disabilities and chronic health conditions, an army of unpaid caregivers waits in the wings: children. At least 5.4 million kids are estimated to be caring for family members at home, a number likely to rise if Medicaid cuts hit professional home-based services.

RFK Jr. Says Healthy Pregnant Women Don’t Need Covid Boosters. What the Science Says.

Despite opposition by the leader of the Department of Health and Human Services, existing evidence on the safety and efficacy of getting a covid vaccine during pregnancy all points the same way: The shots are important for maternal and fetal health.

American Doctors Are Moving to Canada To Escape the Trump Administration

Canada has seen a surge of American doctors seeking to move north in the months since President Donald Trump returned to the White House.

A Medicaid Patient Had a Heart Attack While Traveling. He Owed Almost $78,000.

Federal law says Medicaid must cover out-of-state emergency care. But a Florida man got a five-figure bill after a South Dakota hospital declined to charge his state’s Medicaid program.