Category: Public Health

KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: Trump Puts Obamacare Repeal Back on Agenda

Although Republicans have never united behind a replacement for the Affordable Care Act, 2024 GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump said this week he wants to put the issue back on the national agenda. That delights Democrats, who have won at least two elections partly by defending the now-popular health law. Meanwhile, the Texas Supreme Court takes up a case brought by women who say their pregnancy complications further endangered their health due to the vagueness of Texas’ near-total ban on abortions. Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Victoria Knight of Axios News join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Rachana Pradhan, who reported and wrote the latest “Bill of the Month” feature.

In Congress, Calls Mount for Social Security to Address Clawbacks

In the wake of a KFF Health News-Cox Media Group investigation, U.S. lawmakers are asking what Social Security will do about its demands on their constituents to repay money already distributed — and sometimes in error. Sen. Rick Scott called the agency’s actions “unacceptable.”

Young women face greater health threats than previous generations

Young women ages 25 to 34 in 2019-2021 are facing more health threats than previous generations, a new report by the Population Reference Bureau found.

Uncle Sam Wants You … to Help Stop Insurers’ Bogus Medicare Advantage Sales Tactics

The Biden administration wants to crack down on deceptive or misleading Medicare Advantage and drug plan sales tactics. It’s counting on beneficiaries to help catch offenders.

'This already happened in the US': Experts weigh in on China's respiratory virus surge

Experts say China’s current outbreak of respiratory illness is another example of what played out in the U.S. last year when COVID-19, flu and respiratory syncytial virus peaked simultaneously, allaying fears that a new virus is behind the surge. 

Medicare Advantage Increasingly Popular With Seniors — But Not Hospitals and Doctors

Some hospitals and physician groups are rejecting Medicare Advantage plans over payment rates and coverage restrictions, causing turmoil for patients.

US life expectancy up in 2022, but still not at pre-pandemic levels

Life expectancy for adults in the U.S. increased to 77.5 years in 2022 — up 1.1 years from 2021 — but the average is still not back to pre-pandemic levels, according to a new report from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.

‘Forever Chemicals’ in Thousands of Private Wells Near Military Sites, Study Finds

New research finds that private wells near more than 82% of select military sites were contaminated with PFAS chemicals.

GOP Presidential Hopefuls Use Trump’s Covid Record to Court Vaccine Skeptics

Candidates see former President Donald Trump’s embrace of his administration’s covid-19 vaccine policies as an opportunity to gain ground. So far, their efforts haven’t found traction.

10 states with high levels of respiratory virus activity

Ten states and New York City reported high levels of respiratory virus activity for the week ending Nov. 18, the latest CDC data shows.