The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
81 - 100 of 127 Results
Low-income residents in states that havenât expanded Medicaid are in a tough spot: They donât qualify for the subsidies that people with slightly higher incomes get to buy marketplace plans because of a glitch in the federal health law. But a court decision last year makes it easier for them to make good-faith estimates of a pay increase, and there is no financial penalty if they donât hit that figure.
Oregon has become the first state to allow kids to stay in the government health care program from birth to age 6, no matter if their household income changes. California, Washington, and New Mexico are pursuing similar policies.
Centene, the largest Medicaid managed-care company in the U.S., has thrown more than $26.9 million at political campaigns across the country since 2015, especially focused on states where it is wooing Medicaid contracts and settling accusations that it overbilled taxpayers. Among its tactics: Centene is skirting contribution limits by giving to candidates through its many subsidiaries.
Unsafe water and all that comes with it â constant vigilance, extra expenses, and hassle â complicate every aspect of daily life for residents of Jackson, Mississippi. Health advocates say stress exacerbates underlying health problems. That is why a free clinic in one of Jacksonâs poorest neighborhoods has been organizing water giveaways for the past year and a half.
Texas is at least the 12th state to settle with St. Louis-based Centene Corp. over allegations that it overcharged Medicaid prescription drug programs.
More than two years into the pandemic, hospital budgets are beginning to crack. One of the biggest drivers of financial shortfalls has been the cost to find workers.
Nonprofit federally funded health centers are a linchpin in the nationâs health care safety net because they treat the medically underserved. The average profit margin is 5%, but some have recorded margins of 20% or more in three of the past four years.
The community of Bristol straddles the border between two states with very different abortion laws. Tennessee prohibits most abortions at about six weeks and will soon ban them nearly outright. Virginia allows them at least through the second trimester. To maintain abortion access in the area, staff at a clinic on the Tennessee side of the state line are helping open a clinic about a mile down the road on the Virginia side.
Most prenatal genetic tests arenât performed until after 11 weeksâ gestation, and the time between drawing a sample and getting results may be additional weeks. But new abortion restrictions prevent parents from choosing an abortion when they find out their child has a genetic disease, and make the already difficult decision for them.
By undoing that landmark decision, the law of the land since 1973, the court has empowered states to set their own abortion restrictions â so where people live will determine their level of access.
Most of the dozen states that havenât fully expanded eligibility for Medicaid have extended or plan to extend the postpartum coverage window for new mothers. That could mean improved maternal health, but itâs only part of the puzzle when it comes to reducing the number of preventable maternal deaths in the U.S.
For many women, abortion access has also meant better economic opportunities. But that could change in states that plan to ban most abortion access if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. And those constraints could have a big impact on Black women. In Tennessee, Black women have abortions at more than four times the rate of white women.
Research has long shown that doctors are less likely to respect patients who are overweight or obese â terms that now apply to nearly three-quarters of adults in the U.S. The Association of American Medical Colleges plans to roll out new diversity, equity, and inclusion standards aimed at teaching doctors, among other things, how to treat patients who are overweight with respect.
A year ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded states and local health departments $2.25 billion to help people of color and other populations at higher risk from covid. But a KHN review shows public health agencies across the country have been slow to spend it.
Covid cases are again climbing, but you wouldnât know it from the behavior of public health and elected officials, much less the general public, all of whom seem to want to put the pandemic in the rearview mirror. Meanwhile, the fallout over the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion on abortion continues even as the Senate fails â again â to muster the votes to write abortion rights into law. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KHNâs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists suggest their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
If the Supreme Court affirms the leaked draft decision and overturns abortion rights, the effects would be sweeping in states where Republican-led legislatures have been eagerly awaiting the repudiation of a womanâs right to terminate a pregnancy.
An opinion published by Politico confirms what many who have followed the abortion debate already suspected: Roe v. Wade is soon to be no more. But the question remains: How will the public respond?
Conservative-leaning states and nonprofit reproductive health care providers are competing over control of statesâ Title X funding for family planning programs.
Some U.S. states have reduced use of the procedure, including by sharing C-section data with doctors and hospitals. But change has proved difficult in the South, where women are generally less healthy heading into their pregnancies and maternal and infant health problems are among the highest in the U.S.
President Joe Biden welcomed former President Barack Obama back to the White House this week to announce a new policy for the Affordable Care Act that would make subsidies available to more families with unaffordable employer coverage. Meanwhile, Congress struggled to find a compromise for continued federal funding of covid-19 vaccines, testing, and treatments. Tami Luhby of CNN, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call join KHNâs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
Š 2026 KFF