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Many States Cover Doula Care, but Access to a ‘Birthing Bestie’ Is Often Out of Reach

Doula Taja Iglesias and her business partner have built a space in Alexandria, Virginia, that’s all things pregnancy, birth, and childcare. Comfortable couches in one area invite expectant parents to settle in for birth education classes. In another, a colorful pile of toys await the babies and toddlers. And there’s a free supply of diapers and food. Years ago, as Iglesias was giving birth and expressing her wish not to have an epidural for pain, she felt isolated and that her preferences were dismissed by the medical staff. Today, she works hard to make sure other parents can have the...

Same Knee Surgery, Twice the Price: Hospital Monopolies Push Up Healthcare Costs

More than a million times a year, a U.S. surgeon slices open a knee, strips out worn cartilage, caps the leg bones with metal, and drops in a plastic spacer to allow the new joint to glide. While knee replacement procedures have become standard, however, the prices charged have not.

Journalists Cover Cyclospora and Measles Outbreaks, and Changing Health Policies

Céline Gounder, KFF Health News’ editor-at-large for public health, discussed the cyclosporiasis outbreak on CBS News’ CBS Mornings on Aug. 5. Gounder discussed New Mexico’s measles outbreak on CBS News 24/7’s The Daily Report on Aug. 4. She also discussed peptides on Ideastream Public Media/WKSU’s Sound of Ideas on Aug. 3.

Budget Battle Erupts in Nation’s Capital Over Opioid Settlement Money

Your browser does not support the audio element. Can’t see the audio player? Visit kffhealthnews.org to listen. For years, Washington, D.C., has paid for Medicaid — the state-federal health insurance program for low-income people — out of its general budget. But next year, the city is shifting part of that recurring multimillion-dollar cost to a new funding source: opioid settlement dollars. That’s raising red flags for addiction recovery advocates, people directly affected by the crisis, and the commission in charge of recommending how the city uses its share of the settlement money.

Watch: Why Abortions Are on the Rise Since ‘Roe’ Was Overturned

Say you live in deep-red Louisiana, a state that has effectively banned abortion. It may be easier for you to get abortion pills now than before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Here’s why — and what it means for future battles over abortion access. And as a federal court mulls a case that could result in significant restrictions on a pill used in most abortions, healthcare providers say they have alternatives to preserve access even in states with bans in place. Read more here.

The KFF Health News Minute is available every Thursday via direct download or the RSS feed. Aug. 6 Katheryn Houghton [CATH-er-in HOW-tun] reads the week’s news: Some older adults are seeking roommates to help them age in place. Plus, doctors say they shouldn’t be the ones determining if someone is too sick to comply with Medicaid’s new work rules. Your browser does not support the audio element. Can’t see the audio player? Visit kffhealthnews.org to listen. July 30

Medicaid Work Rule Leaves Homeless People in the Cold

MISSOULA, Mont. — Tywon Pugh has seizures that make it hard to find and keep a job. “They called me a ‘liability to the job site,’” Pugh said, recalling the words of his manager when a seizure cost him his last job at a fast-food restaurant in this western Montana city. When the 46-year-old lost work in the past, his wife of 10 years covered their rent and he tended to their home until he found another job. But his wife died last year. Soon after, Pugh became homeless. His problem with alcohol became worse, which made managing his seizures more difficult. “When she died, my whole base was...

Watch: Democratic Senator Proposes a Fix for American Healthcare — Covering All Kids

In this “How Would You Fix It?” interview, Julie Rovner, KFF Health News’ chief Washington correspondent and host of the What the Health? podcast, sat down with Sen. Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democrat, to discuss his proposal to grant all kids access to health coverage. Kim, who serves on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said it is “a real dereliction of our duty that we have not found a way to be able to ensure that every child is able to go see a doctor when they need to without breaking the bank.”

Baltimore Is Rethinking What It Means To Call 911 — And Who Responds

BALTIMORE — In March in a McDonald’s parking lot off a busy street, mental health clinician Michala Williams met a 38-year-old woman in a car. “So, you called the police for help?” Williams asked the woman, who was sobbing uncontrollably and said she sometimes thinks about harming herself. She told Williams she has children ranging from age 2 to 22, she was dealing with health issues, and that her fiancé had recently been jailed. She felt so overwhelmed she couldn’t eat. The woman, who asked not to be named so that she could freely discuss her mental health, explained she’d tried to get help...

Pediatricians and Health Departments Sidestep Trump’s CDC on Vaccine Guidance

AMHERST, Mass. — For the last 30 years, whenever pediatrician John Snyder wanted to find the most up-to-date research on treating young patients, he would turn to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If he wanted to learn more about an outbreak of measles or hantavirus, he would pore over the weekly CDC report that came by email. If a patient’s family was traveling to Africa or Asia, he would check the latest CDC vaccine recommendations for overseas travel. And if a family was worried about potential side effects from a shot, he could always send them to the CDC’s website to...

Nurses Chase Cyclospora, Aided by Interviews, Fast-Food Receipts — And the Messy Details

More than 900 people in Washtenaw County, Michigan, have been sickened with cyclosporiasis since mid-June. Linda Kim, a public health nurse, has called more than 100 of them. Almost everyone has said the same thing: It’s excruciating, and one of the worst illnesses they’ve experienced. But on a Wednesday in July, she called one man who said he wouldn’t mind having it again, actually. “You’re enjoying the weight loss?” Kim said, laughing as she took notes in a small conference room at the Washtenaw County Health Department building, just outside Ann Arbor. “Well, I’m glad to hear that. At...

AI Is Being Used to Boost Medicaid Enrollment, but Not Without Concerns

Vanessa Barahona received a call this past spring from Angelica at Kern Family Health Care in Bakersfield, California, telling her it was time to renew her coverage under Medi-Cal, the state’s version of Medicaid. Angelica helped Barahona, 41, schedule an appointment to complete her paperwork in person at Kern Family’s offices before she submitted it to Kern County officials for approval. When Barahona had a conflict with her office-cleaning job, Angelica rescheduled the appointment. Barahona finished the process a little later than she’d planned but early enough to avoid an interruption in...

Kennedy, Oz Contend Fraud Crackdown, Not Skyrocketing Prices, Led Millions To Leave Obamacare

The Trump administration credits its fraud control efforts for the disappearance of millions of people from Obamacare rolls rather than a sharp rise in premiums — a claim disputed by policy experts that glosses over the reality that many more Americans now find themselves without health insurance.

People With Disabilities Fear Service Cuts as Trump’s DOJ Questions Legal Protections

Amanda DeSimone-Shabrack relies on a home healthcare aide to help her high-needs autistic 12-year-old son. Virginia’s Medicaid program covers the assistance, enabling her to work as both an education technology specialist and a professor, run errands, and keep Mason in the home. That could change. In June, the Department of Justice issued a legal opinion saying federal disability rights laws don’t require states to provide services that allow people with disabilities to remain in their homes rather than institutions.

Earlier Lifeline for Rural Hospitals Faces Test Under ‘Big Beautiful’ Law

A century-old hospital near Michigan’s southern border was one of the nation’s first to convert into a new emergency-focused model Congress created to save rural care. Afterward, though, use of Sturgis Hospital’s emergency department fell, according to data collected at the state level. In June, three years after taking the federal lifeline, the hospital closed, leaving residents of Sturgis, a town of about 11,000 people, without critical healthcare. Its leaders had tried “every reasonable option” to remain open, including seeking a buyer, according to a hospital news release.

Journalists Catch You Up on Fauci Hearing, Peptides, and Kids’ Caffeine Consumption

Céline Gounder, KFF Health News’ editor-at-large for public health, discussed how children’s caffeine consumption is affecting their health on CBS News’ CBS Mornings on July 30. Click here to watch Gounder on CBS Mornings. KFF Health News senior correspondent Arthur Allen discussed the recent Anthony Fauci Senate hearing on CBS News 24/7 on July 29.

The Newest Federally Recognized Tribe Wants Better Healthcare. It May Be On Its Own.

LUMBERTON, N.C. — Soybean fields surround Angie Lowery’s home in Robeson County, on a plot of rural land in southeastern North Carolina. Dozens of antique gas station signs, 20 feet tall, dominate her front yard. A framed re-creation of The Last Supper, Lone Ranger posters, and a 3-foot-wide tobacco harvesting basket adorn the walls of her home. A collector, Lowery over the years has amassed remnants of her region’s past. But behind the house, the 44-year-old’s backyard garden showcases her goals for the future, one that involves a long, healthy life with her kids: collard greens, bell...

They Worked To Protect Public Health. Now They Want the Public’s Votes.

A handful of former public health officials are campaigning for top statewide offices across the country, testing whether their experience with covid and other hot-button health issues will appeal to voters in November. The officials, all Democrats, are running at a time when the Trump administration is reducing government funding for scientific research, restricting access to some vaccines, and making it more difficult for some Americans to obtain health insurance. Shaughnessy Naughton, president of 3.14 Action, a political action committee that recruits Democratic candidates with science...

Abortion Drug Law in Louisiana Heightens Hemorrhage Risk for Pregnant Patients

Over the past decade, Louisiana hospitals began stocking specialized carts designed to treat hemorrhages, one of the most common pregnancy complications in the state. The plug-in cart can be wheeled from room to room and holds surgical tools and lifesaving medications to stem blood loss. A state law passed in 2024 forced hospitals to remove a key drug — misoprostol — from the medical cart and keep it locked in a secure room designated for controlled substances. For physicians like New Orleans obstetrician-gynecologist Nicole Freehill, misoprostol is the go-to medication to treat hemorrhages....

Medicaid Insurers’ Contracts on the Line in Tight Governor’s Race

One of America’s most competitive gubernatorial races could settle a heated argument over whether private insurance companies should run Medicaid. The race is in Iowa, whose Medicaid program has been plagued with controversy since 2016, when the state hired national insurance companies to manage billions of dollars’ worth of benefits. That shift was made by then-Gov. Terry Branstad, a Republican. With his executive order, Iowa joined most other states in privatizing the management of Medicaid, which covers healthcare for more than 67 million Americans with low incomes or disabilities.