The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
Showing 1 - 20 of 64
Over the past 70 years, the number of inpatient psychiatric beds has dropped dramatically, leaving many without critical care when they experience mental health crises. I was one of the lucky ones to get a bed — after 21 hours of waiting.
Deductible. Copay. Out-of-pocket limit. What do these health insurance terms actually mean? We explain common phrases from insurance policies so navigating your plan is less of a headache.
A federal agency has dramatically slowed its review of visa waiver applications that allow international physicians completing U.S. training programs to stay in the country to work in underserved areas. The delay may send hundreds of doctors back to their home countries.
With high demand for mental health care, a wave of artificial intelligence-powered chatbots are being marketed as therapy apps — with little evidence they work and few regulations.
As President Donald Trump’s heightened immigration enforcement continues across the country, some states are updating temporary guardianship laws to keep the children of detained and deported immigrants out of state custody.
Lower premiums often mean higher costs when you get sick and need care. Among the ways to plan ahead and soften the financial hit: health savings accounts, which act like a medical piggy bank.
A Massachusetts woman knew the medicine her doctor prescribed required preauthorization, but she didn’t realize the approval had an expiration date. It took nearly three weeks of phone calls and paperwork to get her prescription refilled.
ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø News shares our favorite reader-submitted health policy valentines. One struck us in the heart and inspired an original cartoon.
Some hospitals are registering patients detained by federal immigration officers under pseudonyms and prohibiting staff from contacting family members. Attorneys and health care workers say the practices facilitate rights violations and create ethical concerns. Hospitals say they’re trying to protect patients.
Native American women face higher rates of death than other demographics. In response, Native Americans have been working with state and federal officials to boost tribal participation and leadership in maternal mortality review committees to better track and address pregnancy-related deaths.
It’s been more than 10 years since the FDA first approved an HIV prevention drug. Today, people who could benefit from preexposure prophylaxis often struggle to access the lifesaving medicine or run into doctors without the education or empathy to offer affirming care. And those lapses can produce billing headaches.
Studies increasingly find links between higher concentrations of certain pollutants and the prevalence of dementia.
Through shrouded bureaucratic maneuvers, White House budget director Russell Vought and DOGE have quietly upended outbreak response, HIV treatment, and dementia care in communities across America.
This year’s most spirited Halloween haikus were inspired by tick migration, Medicaid work requirements, and rising copays.
Patients sometimes find themselves scrambling for affordable care when a contract dispute causes a hospital — and most of the doctors and other clinicians who work there — to be dropped from an insurance network. Here are six things to know if that happens to you.
As families fracture, people are living longer and are more likely to find themselves without close relatives or friends at the end of their lives.
Submissions are open for ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø News’ seventh annual Halloween haiku competition. Conjure your most chilling verses — if you dare.
A joint project of NPR and ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø News, Healthcare Helpline helps you navigate the health system hurdles between you and good care. Send us your tricky questions, and we may tap a policy sleuth to puzzle them out. Here is what to do if your preventive care gets denied.
Congressional Republicans successfully pushed to add hurdles to qualify for Medicaid by saying they would eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse. This is the story of a Montana man who explains why he said he is breaking the rules to keep his health insurance and his job.
As state officials anticipate Medicaid funding cuts that could strip resources for those with disabilities and chronic health conditions, an army of unpaid caregivers waits in the wings: children. At least 5.4 million kids are estimated to be caring for family members at home, a number likely to rise if Medicaid cuts hit professional home-based services.
Stay informed by signing up for the Morning Briefing and other emails:
© 2026 KFF