The "KFF Health News Minute" brings original healthcare and health policy reporting from our newsroom to the airwaves each week.
Hospitals can prevent medical debt by preemptively wiping out a patient’s bill. But a Tradeoffs analysis finds that few nonprofit facilities in Texas use this tool to the maximum benefit of patients.
Hospitals can prevent medical debt by offering financial help before sending big bills. A Tradeoffs investigation found that nearly half of nonprofit facilities in Texas say they will bill patients before screening them for aid. And most will not offer refunds to patients who pay and are later found to qualify for free care.
These service providers, formerly known as geriatric care managers, can arrange a move to a senior living facility, deal with Medicare and Medicaid, recommend doctors, drive a client to the dentist, and much more.
An initiative on the California ballot would levy the nation’s first wealth tax on billionaires. Supporters say the proceeds would help offset President Donald Trump’s sweeping healthcare cuts. But critics argue that the temporary infusion of cash is a giveaway to politicians.
Amid a decline in youth mental health, momentum builds for a federal crackdown on social media companies over protections for kids.
People who have taken experimental peptides, such as BPC-157, complain of migraines, eye pain, fatigue, and more. Learning whether these popular but unproven drugs are to blame may become harder if Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fulfills a promise to make them more accessible.
A doctor has recommended a course of action that is invasive, expensive, or somehow different from what you'd prefer. Is it OK to get a second opinion? The answer is yes. Here’s how to make the ask a little less awkward.
KFF Health News journalists made the rounds on national and local media recently to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Research shows natural gas pipelines — and the public health risks they carry — are concentrated in low-income and minority areas where people suffer higher rates of poverty and physical disabilities and have fewer means to respond to crises.