Latest Morning Briefing Stories
An Arm and a Leg: ‘Your Money or Your Life’: This Doctor Wrote the Book on Medical Debt
What happens when you can’t afford the health care you need? On this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” hear from emergency medicine physician and historian Luke Messac about the history of medical debt collection in the United States.
Children Who Survive Shootings Endure Huge Health Obstacles and Costs
A new study finds that young people who have been injured by firearms are more prone to psychiatric diagnoses and developing a substance use disorder than kids who have not been shot — and their families also suffer long-term ill effects.
Medicare Expands the Roster of Available Mental Health Professionals
Medicare is expanding access to mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists come Jan. 1. But the belief that seniors who suffer from mental health problems should just grin and bear it remains a troubling barrier to care.
Medicare amplía su lista de profesionales de salud mental
Los prejuicios sobre las afecciones mentales y la discriminación por edad hacen que algunos profesionales no tomen en serio el sufrimiento de las personas mayores, profundizando las barreras de acceso a la atención.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': For ACA Plans, It’s Time to Shop Around
It’s Obamacare open enrollment season, which means that, for people who rely on these plans for coverage, it’s time to shop around. With enhanced premium subsidies and cost-sharing assistance, consumers may find savings by switching plans. It is especially important for people who lost their coverage because of the Medicaid unwinding to investigate their options. Many qualify for assistance. Meanwhile, the countdown to Election Day is on, and Ohio’s State Issue 1 is grabbing headlines. The closely watched ballot initiative has become a testing ground for abortion-related messaging, which has been rife with misinformation. This week’s panelists are Mary Agnes Carey of KFF Health News, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Rachana Pradhan of KFF Health News.
Gubernatorial Candidates Quarrel Over Glory for Winning Opioid Settlements
Some gubernatorial candidates are sparring over bragging rights for their state’s share of $50 billion in opioid settlement funds. Many of the candidates are attorneys general who pursued the lawsuits that produced the payouts.
Smaller Employers Weigh a Big-Company Fix for Scarce Primary Care: Their Own Clinics
Company health clinics are most common at large workplaces, but some small employers say they see advantages, too: healthier workers, lower costs, and better access to primary care.
A New Era of Vaccines Leaves Old Questions About Prices Unanswered
The CDC’s RSV vaccination recommendations beg the question: How much should an immunization that will possibly be given to millions of Americans cost to be truly valuable?
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The New Speaker’s (Limited) Record on Health
The House finally has a new speaker: Mike Johnson (R-La). He’s a relative newcomer who’s been a lower-level member of the House GOP leadership. And while he’s an outspoken opponent of abortion and same-sex marriage, his record on other health issues is scant. Meanwhile, the National Institutes of Health appears on track to be getting a new director, and Georgia’s Medicaid work requirement experiment is off to a very slow start. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank.
Doubts Abound About a New Alzheimer’s Blood Test
Quest Diagnostics is selling a blood test online to consumers. But results may not be reliable or easy to interpret. And it isn’t covered by insurance.