/homepage/kff-health-news-what-the-health/
/post_tag/what-the-health/
The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
101-120 of 610 results
Meet the tech worker on a quest to use artificial intelligence to combat denials for coverage from patients’ health plans.
As Donald Trump readies for his return to the White House — with the backing of a GOP majority in the Senate and, possibly, the House — the entire health care industry is waiting to see what happens next. Clearly on the agenda: the future of abortion and reproductive rights, Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and public health’s infrastructure. Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join ³Ô¹Ï²»´òìÈ’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews ³Ô¹Ï²»´òìÈ’ Jackie Fortiér, who reported and wrote the latest ³Ô¹Ï²»´òìÈ-Washington Post “Bill of the Monthâ€� feature, about a 2-year-old who had a very expensive run-in with a rattlesnake.
It’s the final days of the 2024 campaign, and Republicans are suddenly talking again about making changes to the Affordable Care Act if former President Donald Trump wins. Meanwhile, new reporting uncovers more maternal deaths under state abortion bans — and a case in which a Nevada woman was jailed after a miscarriage. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call join ³Ô¹Ï²»´òìÈ’ Emmarie Huetteman to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, ³Ô¹Ï²»´òìÈ’ Julie Rovner interviews Irving Washington, a senior vice president at KFF and the executive director of its Health Misinformation and Trust Initiative.
In this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,â€� host Dan Weissmann sits down with ³Ô¹Ï²»´òìÈ’ Cara Anthony to talk about the documentary and podcast series she produced about the impact of a 1942 lynching and a 2020 police killing on a rural Missouri community. The project is called “Silence in Sikeston.â€�
With Election Day rapidly approaching, abortion is gaining traction as a voting issue, according to public opinion polls. Meanwhile, states with abortion bans are reviving the lawsuit — dismissed by the Supreme Court on a technicality this year — that could roll back the availability of the abortion pill mifepristone. Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat, and Victoria Knight of Axios join ³Ô¹Ï²»´òìÈ’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Tricia Neuman, senior vice president of KFF and executive director of its Program on Medicare Policy, about Medicare open enrollment and the changes to the federal program for 2025.
The Affordable Care Act has not been a major issue in the 2024 campaign, but abortion and reproductive rights have been front and center. Those are just two of the dozens of health issues that could be profoundly affected by who is elected president and which party controls Congress in 2025. In this special live episode, Tamara Keith of NPR, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Cynthia Cox and Ashley Kirzinger of KFF join ³Ô¹Ï²»´òìÈ chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss how health policy has affected the campaign and how the election results might affect health policy. Plus, the panel answers questions from the live audience.
As part of her presidential campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris has rolled out a plan for Medicare to provide in-home long-term care services. The proposal would fill a longtime need for families trying to simultaneously care for young children and older parents, but its enormous price tag makes it a promise unlikely to be fulfilled. Meanwhile, a growing number of Republican candidates up and down the ballot facing voter backlash over their support for abortion restrictions are trying to reinvent their positions. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico join ³Ô¹Ï²»´òìÈ’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, excerpts from a KFF lunch with “Shark Tankâ€� panelist and generic drug discounter Mark Cuban, who has been consulting with the Harris campaign about health care issues.
An extra $99 fee on top of a copay for a checkup didn’t sit right with a listener. Turns out, state legislators across the country aren’t buying it either.
In the finale of “Silence in Sikeston,� Black residents organize a Juneteenth barbecue. The Department of Public Safety chief encourages officers to attend to build trust. But improving relations between Sikeston’s Black community and the police won’t be easy. Host Cara Anthony discusses the possibility of institutional change in Sikeston.
The 2024 presidential race is taking on a familiar tone — with Democrats accusing Republicans of wanting to ban abortion and repeal the Affordable Care Act and Republicans insisting they have no such plans. Voters will determine whom they believe. Meanwhile, for the second time in a month, a state judge overturned an abortion ban, but few expect the decision to settle the matter. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join ³Ô¹Ï²»´òìÈ chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews ³Ô¹Ï²»´òìÈ’ Lauren Sausser, who reported and wrote the latest ³Ô¹Ï²»´òìÈ-Washington Post “Bill of the Month,â€� about a teenage athlete whose needed surgery lacked a billing code.
Denzel Taylor, a young Black father, moved from Chicago to Sikeston, Missouri, for a fresh start in life. There, he proposed to his girlfriend, started a family, and then, in April 2020, was fatally shot by police officers. Taylor had two young daughters and another on the way when he was killed. Pediatrician Rhea Boyd talks about how children process such loss.
Congress left Washington for the campaign trail this week, but not before approving a spending bill that expires shortly before Christmas. Lawmakers will be busy after the election working on not just the legislation needed to keep the government running, but also several health programs set to expire. Meanwhile, Republicans continue to downplay abortion as Democrats press it as a campaign issue. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico join ³Ô¹Ï²»´òìÈ chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.
Dreaming of a Trump victory, Republicans have a wish list of health policy changes — including loosening Affordable Care Act regulations to make cheaper coverage available and ending Medicare drug price negotiations. Meanwhile, after a publicly reported death stemming from a state abortion ban, Vice President Kamala Harris is emphasizing the consequences of Trump’s work to overturn Roe v. Wade. Tami Luhby of CNN, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Joanne Kenen of Politico and Johns Hopkins University join ³Ô¹Ï²»´òìÈ senior editor Emmarie Huetteman to discuss these stories and more.
In Episode 2 of the “Silence in Sikeston� podcast, host Cara Anthony speaks with Sikeston, Missouri, resident Larry McClellon, who grew up being told not to talk about the 1942 lynching of Cleo Wright. He is determined to break the cycle of silence in his community. Anthony also unearths a secret in her own family and grapples with the possible effects of intergenerational trauma.
Every family has secrets. I spent the past few years reporting about racial violence in Sikeston, Missouri. Interviewing Black families there helped me uncover my family's traumatic past, too.
The "Silence in Sikeston" podcast explores what it means to live with racism and violence, then charts the toll on health — from hives and high blood pressure to struggles with mental health. The deaths of two Black men killed nearly 80 years apart in the same Missouri community anchor a conversation about the public health consequences of systemic bias.
The term “health equityâ€� means different things to different people. Beyond guaranteeing all Americans access to adequate, affordable medical care, the pursuit of equity can include addressing social determinants of health, such as housing, education, and environment. Systemic and historical racism — manifested in over-policing or contaminated drinking water, for instance — can negatively affect health. In a live taping at the Texas Tribune Festival, special guests Carol Alvarado, the Texas state Senate’s Democratic leader, and Ann Barnes, president and CEO of the Episcopal Health Foundation, along with ³Ô¹Ï²»´òìÈ’ Sabriya Rice and Cara Anthony, join ³Ô¹Ï²»´òìÈ’ Julie Rovner to discuss addressing health inequities.
In this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,� host Dan Weissmann speaks with Caitlyn Mai, a woman in Oklahoma who received a six-figure bill for a surgery her insurance promised to cover. This episode is an extended version of the “Bill of the Month� series, produced in partnership with NPR.
Abortion and reproductive health issues headlined the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, as expected. But what Vice President Kamala Harris has in mind for other health policies as the Democratic nominee remains something of a mystery. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump says he would not use the 19th-century Comstock Act to impose, in effect, a national ban on abortion, which angered his anti-abortion backers. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Johns Hopkins University, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join ³Ô¹Ï²»´òìÈ’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews ³Ô¹Ï²»´òìÈ’ Tony Leys, who reported and wrote the latest ³Ô¹Ï²»´òìÈ-NPR “Bill of the Monthâ€� feature about a woman who fought back after being charged for two surgeries despite undergoing only one.
© 2026 KFF