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Consumers who were enrolled fraudulently in Affordable Care Act coverage could receive unexpected tax bills â the first and possibly only clue they were a victim of fraud. Getting help may become difficult as federal workers are laid off and funding for assistance programs is cut.
Federal funding cuts, though temporarily blocked by a judge, have upended vaccination clinics across the country, including in Arizona, Minnesota, Nevada, Texas, and Washington state, amid a rise in vaccine hesitancy and a resurgence of measles.
The fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson prompted both grief and public outrage about the ways insurers deny treatment. Republicans and Democrats agree prior authorization needs fixing, but patients are growing impatient.
A bill proposed by kratom industry advocates is prompting consideration â and some concern â in the Montana Legislature.
Republicans have proposed legislation in several states to ban the pioneering technology used in covid shots. Many doctors worry a huge medical advance could be rolled back.
Californiaâs governor is pressuring Oakland to allow more police pursuits as part of a crackdown on crime. But more pursuits mean a greater risk to public health, with more potential injuries and deaths among bystanders. Policies in cities including New York and San Francisco reflect divergent local priorities.
Health officials expect a measles outbreak in West Texas to exceed 100 cases because of low vaccination rates and undetected infections. Vaccine misinformation and new laws may make such situations more common and harder to contain.
Republicans in Congress have suggested big cuts to Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program for people with low incomes or disabilities. The complex, multifaceted program touches millions of Americans and has become deeply woven into state budgets and the U.S. health care system.
In several red states, officials say few or no abortions happened in 2023, raising alarm among researchers about the politicization of vital statistics.
Itâs common for young people leaving jails and prisons to end up back behind bars, often after lapses related to untreated mental health issues or substance abuse. A new law is aimed at getting them on Medicaid before theyâre released. But the government coordination required to make it happen is significant.
With hospitalizations and at least nine confirmed cases, health officials race to contain a growing outbreak in a community with low vaccination.
Several states require schools to assemble teams of law enforcement and education officials to identify students who could become mass shooters and intervene before itâs too late. But some experts say the efforts often face a lack of guidance and significant pressure, putting them at risk of maligning innocent students.
State legislatures nationwide, including several in the South, are spending millions to improve rural health outcomes and access. For years, though, most Southern states have refused billions of federal dollars to provide public health insurance to more low-income adults. That isnât likely to change with Trump back in office.
California and Massachusetts are teaching immigrants their rights while Florida and Texas are collecting patientsâ immigration status. As states offer differing guidelines for interacting with immigrant patients, hospitals around the U.S. say they wonât turn people away for care because of their immigration status.
Street medicine providers and homeless outreach workers who travel into Las Vegasâ drainage tunnels have noticed an uptick in the number of people living underground, and it can be difficult to persuade them to come aboveground for medicine and treatment.
Homelessness experts and community leaders say vulnerability questionnaires have worsened racial disparities among the unhoused by systematically placing white people in front of the line ahead of Black people. Now places like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Austin, Texas, are developing alternative surveys to reduce bias.
Exclusive reporting reveals how the United States lost track of a virus that could cause the next pandemic. Problems like the sluggish pace of federal action, deference to industry, and neglect for the safety of low-wage workers put the country at risk of another health emergency.
The number of new and returning enrollees using healthcare.gov â the federal marketplace that serves 31 states â is well below last yearâs as of early December. Also, a Biden administration push to give âDreamersâ access to Obamacare coverage and subsidies is facing court challenges.
As criticism of pharmacy benefit managers heats up, fear of lawsuits is driving some big employers to drop the âBig Threeâ PBMs â or force them to change.
A federal judge sided with 19 states seeking an injunction against a Biden administration rule allowing recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals to enroll in Affordable Care Act coverage and qualify for subsidies amid the annual open enrollment period.
Š 2026 KFF