Category: Kaiser Health News

Mothering Over Meds: Docs Say Common Treatment for Opioid-Exposed Babies Isn’t Necessary

Amid what has been called the fourth wave of the opioid epidemic, doctors and researchers are walking back medication-heavy methods of treating babies born experiencing opioid withdrawal symptoms, replacing the regimen with the simplest care: parenting.

Medicare Drug Plans Are Getting Better Next Year. Some Will Also Cost More.

Every year, Medicare officials encourage beneficiaries to shop around for their drug coverage. Few take the time. This year, it might be more important than ever.

Watch: ‘Silence in Sikeston & The Effects of Racial Violence’

KFF Health News Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony talks about how racism affects health on Nine PBS’ “Listen, St. Louis with Carol Daniel,” stemming from her reporting for the “Silence in Sikeston” multimedia project, on the impact of a 1942 lynching and a 2020 police killing on a rural Missouri community.

Helene and CVS Land Double Whammy for 25,000 Patients Who Survive on IV Nutrition

A Massachusetts woman ended up stranded in the hospital because CVS stopped providing the IV nutrition she needs to survive at home. Without it, she’d starve.

Mountain Town Confronts an Unexpected Public Health Catastrophe

Flooding wrought by Hurricane Helene devastated communities around Asheville, North Carolina. A host of government programs are helping restore water, food, and medicine.

California Continues Progressive Policies, With Restraint, in Divisive Election Year

This legislative cycle, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed bills affirming reproductive rights and mandating insurance coverage of in vitro fertilization, but the Democrat was reluctant to impose new regulations and frequently cited costs for vetoing bills.

KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: LIVE From KFF: Health Care and the 2024 Election

The Affordable Care Act has not been a major issue in the 2024 campaign, but abortion and reproductive rights have been front and center. Those are just two of the dozens of health issues that could be profoundly affected by who is elected president and which party controls Congress in 2025. In this special live episode, Tamara Keith of NPR, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Cynthia Cox and Ashley Kirzinger of KFF join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss how health policy has affected the campaign and how the election results might affect health policy. Plus, the panel answers questions from the live audience.

Super Bowl Rally Shooting Victims Pick Up Pieces, but Gun Violence Haunts Their Lives

Eight months after the Feb. 14 shooting, people wounded at the Kansas City Chiefs parade are wary of more gun violence. In this installment of “The Injured,” survivors of the shooting say they feel gun violence is inescapable and are desperately seeking a sense of safety.

Patients Are Relying on Lyft, Uber To Travel Far Distances to Medical Care

Uber and Lyft have become a critical part of the nation’s infrastructure for transporting ailing people from their homes — even in rural areas — to medical care sites in major cities such as Atlanta.

Harris Backs Slashing Medical Debt. Trump’s ‘Concepts’ Worry Advocates.

The Biden administration has taken significant steps to address a problem that burdens 100 million people in America, but gains would be jeopardized by a Trump win, advocates say.