Federal Program to Save Rural Hospitals Feels ‘Growing Pains’ Sarah Jane Tribble, KFF Health News and Tony Leys KEOKUK, Iowa — Folks in this Mississippi River town hope a new federal program can revive the optimism engraved long ago in a plaque on the side of their hospital. “Dedicated to the Future of Health […]

  Rural Hospitals Are Caught in an Aging-Infrastructure Conundrum Markian Hawryluk Kevin Stansbury, the CEO of Lincoln Community Hospital in the 800-person town of Hugo, Colorado, is facing a classic Catch-22: He could boost his rural hospital’s revenues by offering hip replacements and shoulder surgeries, but the 64-year-old hospital needs more money to be able […]

  Hoping to Clear the Air in Casinos, Workers Seek to Ban Tobacco Smoke Sandy West The instant Tammy Brady felt the lump in her breast in February 2022, she knew it was cancer. With no known genetic predisposition for breast cancer, she suspects 38 years of working in smoky Atlantic City casinos played a […]

  Mammography AI Can Cost Patients Extra. Is It Worth It? Michelle Andrews As I checked in at a Manhattan radiology clinic for my annual mammogram in November, the front desk staffer reviewing my paperwork asked an unexpected question: Would I like to spend $40 for an artificial intelligence analysis of my mammogram? It’s not […]

  California Offers a Lifeline for Medical Residents Who Can’t Find Abortion Training Laurie Udesky January 10, 2024 Bria Peacock chose a career in medicine because the Black Georgia native saw the dire health needs in her community — including access to abortion care. Her commitment to becoming a maternal health care provider was sparked […]

  Delicate Labor-Industry Deal in Flux as Newsom Revisits $25 Minimum Health Wage Don Thompson SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom is revisiting California’s phase-in of a nation-leading $25 minimum wage for health workers in the face of a projected $38 billion deficit, less than three months after he approved the measure. But renegotiating wages […]

  There’s a New Covid-19 Variant and Cases Are Ticking Up. What Do You Need to Know? Julie Appleby, KFF Health News It’s winter, that cozy season that brings crackling fireplaces, indoor gatherings — and a wave of respiratory illness. Nearly four years since the pandemic emerged, people are growing weary of dealing with it, […]

  These Patients Had to Lobby for Correct Diabetes Diagnoses. Was Their Race a Reason? Bram Sable-Smith When Phyllisa Deroze was told she had diabetes in a Fayetteville, North Carolina, emergency department years ago, she was handed pamphlets with information on two types of the disease. One had pictures of children on it, she recalled, […]

  Older Americans Say They Feel Trapped in Medicare Advantage Plans Sarah Jane Tribble, KFF Health News In 2016, Richard Timmins went to a free informational seminar to learn more about Medicare coverage. “I listened to the insurance agent and, basically, he really promoted Medicare Advantage,” Timmins said. The agent described less expensive and broader […]

Doctors Are as Vulnerable to Addiction as Anyone. California Grapples With a Response. Bernard J. Wolfson BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Ariella Morrow, an internal medicine doctor, gradually slid from healthy self-esteem and professional success into the depths of depression. Beginning in 2015, she suffered a string of personal troubles, including a shattering family trauma, marital […]