Listen: NPR and KFF Health News Explore How Racism and Violence Hurt Health
By Cara Anthony
KFF Health News Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony and Emily Kwong, host of NPR’s podcast “Shortwave,” talk about Black families living in the aftermath of lynchings and police killings.
Health Insurers Limit Coverage of Prosthetic Limbs, Questioning Their Medical Necessity
By Michelle Andrews
Advocates say it is discrimination and are arguing for “insurance fairness” on the grounds that people who have joints surgically replaced typically don’t face the same kinds of coverage challenges.
Health Care Is Newsom’s Biggest Unfinished Project. Trump Complicates That Task.
By Angela Hart and Christine Mai-Duc
As Gov. Gavin Newsom enters the second half of his final term, health care stands out as his most ambitious but glaringly incomplete initiative for California residents. The issue will likely shape his national profile for better or worse. And now, Donald Trump brings a new wrinkle.
La salud, un proyecto inconcluso del gobernador de California
By Angela Hart and Christine Mai-Duc
Algunas de las iniciativas emblemáticas de Newsom en materia de salud, que podrían definir su perfil en el escenario nacional, están en peligro con el regreso de Donald Trump a la Casa Blanca.
Daily Edition for Friday, January 3, 2025
Ultra-processed foods, alcohol cancer risks, bird flu, the housing crisis, Tricare, psychedelics, weight loss drugs, and more.
Stimulant Users Are Caught in Fatal ‘Fourth Wave’ of Opioid Epidemic
By Lynn Arditi, The Public’s Radio
The migration of fentanyl into illicit stimulants such as cocaine is especially dangerous for people who are not regular opioid users. That’s because they have a low tolerance for opioids, putting them at greater risk of an overdose. They also often don’t take precautions — such as not using alone and carrying the opioid reversal medication naloxone — so they’re unprepared if they overdose.
Syringe Exchange Fears Hobble Fight Against West Virginia HIV Outbreak
By Taylor Sisk
Health workers and researchers say an HIV outbreak in West Virginia that three years ago was called “the most concerning” in the U.S. continues to spread after state and local officials restricted syringe service programs.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Francis Collins on Supporting NIH and Finding Common Ground
Francis Collins led the National Institutes of Health for 12 years, under three presidents. During the Biden administration, he added White House science adviser to his long list of roles. Now he runs his own lab on the NIH campus, and his latest book, “The Road to Wisdom: On Truth, Science, Faith, and Trust,” came out in September. In this special holiday episode of KFF Health News’ “What the Health?” Collins joins host and chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss health misinformation, the Trump administration’s plans for the NIH, and bringing together a fractured society.
Daily Edition for Thursday, January 2, 2025
Drug Overdose Deaths Plummet In 2024: After surging during the covid pandemic into a crushing public health emergency, San Francisco recorded 586 fatal overdoses in the first 11 months of 2024. That represents a nearly 23% decrease, or 174 fewer deaths, compared with the first 11 months of 2023. In total, 810 people died from drug overdoses in 2023, the highest number in city records. Read more from the Los Angeles Times.
For Many Rural Women, Finding Maternity Care Outweighs Concerns About Abortion Access
By Lillian Mongeau Hughes
A legislative effort to expand access to prenatal care in rural Oregon with mobile clinics was scuttled because those clinics would have provided abortions in rural areas. Opposition to the proposal shows that, even in states that ensure access to abortions, that care isn’t universally available or accepted.
