Many People Living in the ‘Diabetes Belt’ Are Plagued With Medical Debt
By Robert Benincasa, NPR and Nick McMillan, NPR
The “Diabetes Belt,” as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, comprises 644 mostly Southern counties where diabetes rates are high. Of those counties, KFF Health News and NPR found, more than half also have high levels of medical debt.
Cardiovascular Disease Is Primed to Kill More Older Adults, Especially Blacks and Hispanics
By Judith Graham
Cardiovascular disease is the biggest killer of older Americans, with Black and Hispanic people at higher risk. Despite medical advances, researchers say, disparities are expected to worsen in the coming decades.
Daily Edition for Friday, May 26, 2023
Mammograms, abortion access, long covid symptoms, fentanyl, military health, debt talks, and more are in the news.
¿Mamografías a los 40? Nueva pauta para la detección del cáncer de seno genera debate
By Ronnie Cohen
Algunos médicos e investigadores que están interesados en un enfoque más individualizado para encontrar tumores problemáticos se muestran escépticos y plantean preguntas sobre los datos y el razonamiento detrás del cambio radical del Grupo de Trabajo de Servicios Preventivos de Estados Unidos
Mammograms at 40? Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines Spark Fresh Debate
By Ronnie Cohen
There is no direct evidence that screening women in their 40s will save lives, yet modeling suggests expanding routine mammography to include them might avert 1.3 deaths per 1,000. Highlighting the risk of false positives, some specialists call for a more personalized approach.
A Catch-22 for Clinics: State Bans Limit Abortion Counseling. Federal Title X Rules Require It.
By Rachana Pradhan
Family planning clinics are getting caught between state abortion bans and a federal requirement to refer patients for abortion care on request.
Denials of Health Insurance Claims Are Rising — And Getting Weirder
By Elisabeth Rosenthal
The Department of Health and Human Services is tasked with monitoring denials both by Obamacare health plans and those offered through employers and insurers. As insurers’ denials become more common, they sometimes defy not just medical standards of care but sheer logic. Why hasn’t the agency fulfilled its assignment?
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': When an Anti-Vaccine Activist Runs for President
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s official entry into the presidential race poses a thorny challenge for journalists: how to cover a candidate who’s opposed to vaccines without amplifying misinformation. And South Carolina becomes the latest state in the South to ban abortion after roughly six weeks of pregnancy. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News senior correspondent Aneri Pattani about her project to track the billions of dollars coming from opioid makers to settle lawsuits.
Daily Edition for Thursday, May 25, 2023
Hospital bailouts, CalFresh, firefighter PTSD care, opioids, social media, birth declines, covid, and more are in the news.
California Hospitals Seek a Broad Bailout, but They Don’t All Need It
By Samantha Young and Angela Hart
As hospitals squeeze Democratic leaders in Sacramento for more money, health care finance experts and former state officials warn against falling for the industry’s fear tactics. They point to healthy profits and a recession-era financing scheme that allows rich hospitals to take tax money from poorer ones.