KFF Health News

Engineered quartz countertops have surged in popularity. That's triggered an increase in silicosis, an irreversible disease that was once associated with older miners. It’s now prevalent among much younger, often Hispanic men. @celinegounder reports ⤵️ kffhealthnews.org/news/article/q…

About one in ten people who got coverage through the Affordable Care Act last year said they had to forgo health insurance this year. @Julie_appleby reports ⤵️ kffhealthnews.org/news/article/k…

Lawmakers in Wyoming, Kansas, and Oklahoma are considering legislation that would increase protections for crisis pregnancy centers, drafted by an anti-abortion Christian legal advocacy group. @jazmin1orozco reports ⤵️ kffhealthnews.org/news/article/a…

Trump administration officials say California allows billions in health care fraud and have promised an investigation, blaming the “Russian, Armenian mafia.” But data shows California leads most other states in recovering fraud dollars. kffhealthnews.org/news/article/h…

A $5,500 device aims to treat opioid addiction with electrical pulses to the brain. Some researchers and recovery advocates say the company’s rapid consumption of opioid settlement dollars raises red flags, reports @aneripattani⤵️ kffhealthnews.org/news/article/p…

The Affordable Care Act forced individual health insurance policies to look more like employer plans. President Trump says this drove up health care costs. Some analysts say comparing costs before and after the law is like comparing apples to oranges. kffhealthnews.org/news/article/o…

Psychiatrists have historically relied on symptoms alone to diagnose mental illness, but that could change. An influential psychiatric organization plans to incorporate biological indicators of mental illness in future diagnostic criteria. kffhealthnews.org/news/article/p…

There's no clear, nationally binding way to opt out of the organ donation system — or to ensure a later “no” overrides an earlier “yes” in a different state. The gap has become a point of bipartisan congressional concern, reports @celinegounder ⤵️ kffhealthnews.org/news/article/o…

At President Donald Trump and health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s inaugural women’s health conference, it was skeptics of birth control pills in the limelight. @AmandaSeitz reports ⤵️ kffhealthnews.org/news/article/h…

Nearly 10% of Medicare Advantage enrollees will be forced to disenroll this year because their plan will leave the local market. For those switching to original Medicare, getting a supplemental Medigap plan can be tricky, reports @mandrews110 ⤵️ kffhealthnews.org/news/article/m…

Health providers across the country are eyeing tax increases to offset more than $900 billion lost in Medicaid dollars as a result of the GOP budget law. In L.A. County, community clinics have banded together in support of a half-cent sales tax. kffhealthnews.org/news/article/f…

More Americans are eligible to open an health savings account — a kind of tax-free investment account that lets them sock away money for medical expenses — after changes that were part of new legislation last year. Is it worth it to set up one up? kffhealthnews.org/news/article/h…

Health insurers have promised change, but patients still face denials. “I just thought I was going to die,” one said. “I was fighting to survive, and then I was fighting to convince someone that I deserved to survive.” @laurenmsausser reports ⤵️ kffhealthnews.org/news/article/p…

Years after a person has recovered from measles, they can start to experience neurologic symptoms from a rare and usually deadly complication. Doctors fear there will soon be more cases in the U.S., reports @raelnb ⤵️ kffhealthnews.org/news/article/m…

A Medicare Advantage “dark money” group flooded a federal website with thousands of form letters urging more dollars for health plans. That comes as a proposal by the Trump administration would keep insurance payments nearly flat next year. kffhealthnews.org/news/article/m…

It’s been a tough week for @RobertKennedyJr. Kennedy had surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff, the nomination of his ally to become surgeon general is teetering in the Senate, and a controversial FDA leader was forced to resign. Listen for more ⤵️ kffhealthnews.org/news/podcast/w…

“The NIH has been this sort of bipartisan jewel that everybody has supported,” said KFF Health News’ @jrovner. “Now, it’s basically being dismantled in front of our eyes.” Listen for more on this week's health care news 🎧 ⤵️ kffhealthnews.org/news/podcast/w…

Anxieties among suburbanites, women, and independents over HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s policies risk splintering the MAHA coalition that helped win the White House for Donald Trump. @StephArmour1 and @AmandaSeitz report ⤵️ kffhealthnews.org/news/article/m…

A national plastic surgeons group is warning patients to “do their homework” before getting liposuction or other cosmetic procedures. That's after an investigation into cosmetic surgery chains by KFF Health News and NBC News, reports @FredSchulte ⤵️ kffhealthnews.org/news/article/b…

Many independent primary care practices are in financial trouble. Some are banding together to increase their market power. The goal is to change the way they get paid and retain control over how they treat patients, reports @kbrownreports ⤵️ kffhealthnews.org/news/article/p…