When surgery became unavoidable, a man with no insurance shopped around for the best price for a hernia repair — and saved thousands by traveling out of state.
Congress appropriated $345 million for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality for the 2026 fiscal year, but the agency has spent less than $15 million on grants. AHRQ hasn’t issued a new one in over a year.
While acknowledging that changes must be made to the hospice industry, health policy researchers and providers worry that negative attention and the potential for overly punitive regulations could put patients at risk.
The recent outbreak of a foodborne parasite sickened thousands and hospitalized hundreds across the U.S. before federal investigators identified the suspected source. Food safety experts say cuts to the public health system hobbled the response — and that the next outbreak could be much worse.
The government will cap how much graduate students may borrow in federal loans. The new policy could leave many at the mercy of private lenders with higher interest rates. The borrowing limits will affect students pursuing expensive healthcare careers, and some worry they may impede efforts to diversify the healthcare workforce.
California lawmakers gave public school teachers 14 weeks of paid leave in the state’s new budget, a long-sought benefit for the largely female workforce. Gov. Gavin Newsom previously opposed similar measures.
The tiny federal agency that tracks consumer product safety is pressuring hospitals to turn over patient records from emergency room visits, including about injuries that have nothing to do with consumer products.
KFF Health News is working to collect and post approved plans as more states respond to emails and public records requests for their documents.
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national or local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
A growing network of home-sharing programs is helping people find compatible housemates. And demand is rising, driven by housing shortages, rising rents, and sales prices that affect both the old and the young.