Latest KFF Health News Stories
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': LIVE From KFF: Health Care and the 2024 Election
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 KFF Health News 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.
Journalists Talk Obesity, Oximeters, and Severe Weather’s Impact on Public Health
KFF Health News and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media in recent weeks to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Yet Another Promise for Long-Term Care Coverage
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 KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, excerpts from a KFF lunch with “Shark Tank” panelist and generic drug discounter Mark Cuban, who has been consulting with the Harris campaign about health care issues.
Trump lidera el escepticismo por las vacunas, y el partido lo sigue
Trump ha liderado un cambio radical en la visión de su partido sobre las vacunas, reflejado esta temporada de campaña en afirmaciones falsas de candidatos republicanos durante las primarias y en teorías conspirativas desconcertantes de voces conservadoras prominentes.
Trump Leads, and His Party Follows, on Vaccine Skepticism
Former President Donald Trump has presided over a landslide shift in Republican views on vaccines, reflected in false claims by candidates in election primaries, puzzling conspiracies from prominent conservatives, and a surge in anti-vaccine policies in statehouses.
Vance Rewrites History About Trump and Obamacare
During the Trump administration, enrollment in Affordable Care Act health plans fell by more than 2 million people and the number of uninsured Americans rose.
Florida’s New Covid Booster Guidance Is Straight-Up Misinformation
State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo spread more anti-vaccine misinformation by telling Floridians to avoid mRNA vaccines. Vaccine experts and historians can’t remember another state health leader urging residents to avoid an FDA-approved vaccine.
La nueva guía de Florida sobre los refuerzos de covid es pura desinformación
Clínicos y científicos denuncian este mensaje como una táctica de miedo con motivación política que también debilita los esfuerzos para proteger contra enfermedades como el sarampión y la tos ferina.
Trump Drastically Inflates Annual Fentanyl Death Numbers
The former president’s claim of 300,000 annual opioid deaths contradicts government statistics.
Harris Did Not Vote To ‘Cut Medicare,’ Despite Trump’s Claim
Former President Donald Trump’s claim that Vice President Kamala Harris voted to “cut Medicare” is false, experts say.
Readers Weigh In on Abortion and Ways To Tackle the Opioid Crisis
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
GOP’s Tim Sheehy Revives Discredited Abortion Claims in Pivotal Senate Race
In Montana’s U.S. Senate race, Republican Tim Sheehy made the false claim that his Democratic opponent, incumbent Sen. Jon Tester, supports abortion “up to and including the moment of birth.”
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': SCOTUS Ruling Strips Power From Federal Health Agencies
In what will certainly be remembered as a landmark decision, the Supreme Court has overruled a 40-year-old precedent that gave federal agencies, rather than judges, the power to interpret ambiguous laws passed by Congress. Administrative experts say the decision will dramatically change the way key health agencies do business. Also, the court decided not to decide whether a federal law requiring hospitals to provide emergency care overrides Idaho’s near-total ban on abortion. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Victoria Knight of Axios, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
La vacuna contra el sarampión es segura y eficaz. No te dejes engañar por los escépticos
Este año, el 80% de los casos ha sido en personas no vacunadas o con un estatus de vacunación desconocido. Muchos padres han sido influenciados por una avalancha de desinformación difundida por políticos y personalidades en redes sociales, podcasts, y en la TV.
4 Ways Vaccine Skeptics Mislead You on Measles and More
Vaccine scare tactics haven’t shifted, but more parents are falling for them. Here’s what the rhetoric gets wrong and how it endangers children.
Readers Speak Up About Women’s Health Issues, From Reproductive Care to Drinking
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Florida Limits Abortion — For Now
The Florida Supreme Court handed down dual abortion rulings this week. One said voters will be allowed to decide in November whether to create a state right to abortion. The other ruling, though, allows a 15-week ban to take effect immediately — before an even more sweeping, six-week ban replaces it in May. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden is doubling down on his administration’s health care accomplishments as he kicks off his general election campaign. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins University schools of nursing and public health, and Tami Luhby of CNN join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews health care analyst Jeff Goldsmith about the growing size and influence of UnitedHealth Group in the wake of the Change Healthcare hack.
Four Years After Shelter-in-Place, Covid-19 Misinformation Persists
False claims that covid vaccines cause deaths and other diseases are still prevalent despite multiple studies showing the vaccines are safe and saved lives.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The Supreme Court and the Abortion Pill
The Supreme Court this week heard its first abortion case since overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022, about an appeals court ruling that would dramatically restrict the availability of the abortion pill mifepristone. But while it seems likely that this case could be dismissed on a technicality, abortion opponents have more challenges in the pipeline. Meanwhile, health issues are heating up on the campaign trail, as Republicans continue to take aim at Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act — all things Democrats are delighted to defend. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Tony Leys, who wrote a KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about Medicare and a very expensive air-ambulance ride. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The ACA Turns 14
Saturday marks the 14th anniversary of the still somewhat embattled Affordable Care Act. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra joins host Julie Rovner to discuss the accomplishments of the health law — and the challenges it still faces. Also this week, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Mary Agnes Carey of KFF Health News join Rovner to discuss what should be the final funding bill for HHS for fiscal 2024, next week’s Supreme Court oral arguments in a case challenging abortion medication, and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
