News
Collaborating with KFF Health News with focus on Medicaid, Medicare, Rural & Public Health
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Experts Say Rural Emergency Rooms Are Increasingly Run Without Doctors
Posted on August 12, 2025
EKALAKA, Mont. — There was no doctor on-site when a patient arrived in early June at the emergency room in the small hospital at the intersection of two dirt roads in this town of 400 residents.
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A Guide To Finding Insurance at 26
Posted on August 11, 2025
It was supposed to be easier than this. When the Affordable Care Act was passed in March 2010, the goal was to help more Americans get health insurance. And, indeed, the establishment of online marketplaces and a broadening of the eligibility guidelines for Medicaid accomplished that.
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Why Young Americans Dread Turning 26: Health Insurance Chaos
Posted on August 11, 2025
Amid the challenges of adulthood, one rite of passage is unique to the United States: the need to find your own health insurance by the time you turn 26.
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California Taps Medicaid To Train and Recruit Behavioral Health Workers
Posted on August 08, 2025
Despite recent efforts to bolster California’s behavioral health workforce, the state is operating with only about two-thirds of the psychiatrists and therapists it needs. The problem is so severe it’s making it hard to backfill retiring practitioners, particularly in the state’s rural areas.
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Kennedy Cancels Vaccine Funding
Posted on August 07, 2025
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s announcement that the federal government will cancel nearly $500 million in mRNA research funding is unnerving not only for those who develop vaccines, but also for public health experts who see the technology behind the first covid-19 shots as the nation’s best hope to combat a future pandemic.
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Congress Looks To Ease Restrictions on Veterans’ Use of Non-VA Clinics and Hospitals
Posted on August 06, 2025
WATERLOO, Iowa — John-Paul Sager appreciates the care he has received at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics, but he thinks it should be easier for veterans like him to use their benefits elsewhere.
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As California’s Behavioral Health Workforce Buckles, Help Is Years Away
Posted on August 06, 2025
REDDING, Calif. 𑁋 This spring, the Good News Rescue Mission, which runs the only emergency homeless shelter in Shasta County, received a game-changing $17.8 million state grant to build a 75-bed residential treatment facility in a region where thousands struggle with drug and alcohol addiction.
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New Medicaid Federal Work Requirements Mean Less Leeway for States
Posted on August 05, 2025
When President Donald Trump signed a law adding work requirements for some Medicaid recipients, he may have undercut lawmakers in at least 14 states who were designing their own plans, according to health industry observers.
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Deep Staff Cuts at HRSA Pose Trouble for Droves of Local Community Health Programs
Posted on August 01, 2025
A little-known federal agency that sends more than $12 billion annually to support community health centers, addiction treatment services, and workforce initiatives for America’s neediest people has been hobbled by the Trump administration’s staffing purges.
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Next on Kennedy’s List? Preventive Care and Vaccine Harm
Posted on July 31, 2025
In his ongoing effort to reshape health policy, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reportedly plans to overhaul two more government entities: the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.