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Medicaid is the United States health program for eligible individuals and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the states and federal government, and is managed by the states.

Flooding from Hurricane Sandy raises heart disease risk years later

Although the material damage from 2012's Hurricane Sandy may have been repaired, the storm left a lasting impact on cardiovascular health, according to new findings from Weill Cornell Medicine and New York University researchers.

3 Sep 2025

Do pediatricians recommend vaccines to make a profit? There’s not much money in it

It makes sense to approach some marketing efforts with skepticism. Scams, deepfakes, and deceptive social media posts are common, with people you don't know seeking to profit from your behavior.

3 Sep 2025

Medicaid expansion boosts access to opioid use disorder treatment

Medicaid plays a key role for giving people with opioid-use disorder access to treatment, according to a Rutgers Health study.

2 Sep 2025

When hospitals and insurers fight, patients get caught in the middle

Amy Frank said it took 17 hours on the phone over nearly three weeks, bouncing between her insurer and her local hospital system, to make sure her plan would cover her husband's post-surgery care.

2 Sep 2025

Most US neurologists prescribing multiple sclerosis drugs receive pharma industry payments

Nearly 80% of US neurologists prescribing drugs for multiple sclerosis (MS) received at least one pharma industry payment, with higher volume prescribers more likely to be beneficiaries, finds a 5 year analysis of Medicare database payments, published in the open access journal BMJ Open.

27 Aug 2025

Insurance status influences survival chances for critically ill patients

Does insurance play a role in which critically ill patients live or die? The unfortunate answer may be yes, due in part to a difference in the rate of inter-hospital transfer, according to new research from the University of Michigan.

26 Aug 2025

Polysubstance-involved opioid overdoses found to be prevalent among youth

Most research suggests that opioid overdoses involving multiple substances in the United States typically occur among people ages 25-54.

26 Aug 2025

Blue states that sued kept most CDC grants, while red states feel brunt of Trump clawbacks

The Trump administration's cuts to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funding for state and local health departments had vastly uneven effects depending on the political leanings of a state, according to a KFF Health News analysis.

26 Aug 2025

Modest gift card boosts enrollment of low-income participants in Alzheimer’s registry

Offering a modest gift card significantly increased enrollment of low-income individuals in a patient registry designed to accelerate Alzheimer's disease clinical trials, a new USC study finds.

22 Aug 2025

The price increases that should cause Americans more alarm

Wary of inflation, Americans have been watching the prices of everyday items such as eggs and gasoline. A less-noticed expense should cause greater alarm: rising premiums for health insurance. They have been trending upward for years and are now rising faster than ever.

22 Aug 2025

Native Americans want to avoid past Medicaid enrollment snafus as work requirements loom

Jonnell Wieder earned too much money at her job to keep her Medicaid coverage when the covid-19 public health emergency ended in 2023 and states resumed checking whether people were eligible for the program.

22 Aug 2025

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Happy 60th, Medicare and Medicaid!

On July 30, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed landmark legislation creating Medicare and Medicaid. Sixty years later, the programs represent a fifth of the federal budget and provide coverage to nearly 1 in 4 Americans.

21 Aug 2025

Planned parenthood bets on redistricting to push back against GOP funding cuts

Abortion rights groups are backing California Democrats in the escalating battle to redraw congressional maps, warning that Republicans are rigging seats on the heels of deeply unpopular cuts to safety net health programs and restrictions on reproductive care.

20 Aug 2025

Over-the-counter oral birth control pill improves access to contraception

Two years ago, the Food and Drug Administration approved the sale of an over-the-counter birth control pill for the first time in the United States without a prescription.

18 Aug 2025

Youth mental health crisis leads to prolonged emergency room stays

America's youth mental health crisis has escalated to the point that thousands of children primarily suffering from suicide-related behaviors and depression are stuck in hospital emergency rooms for three days or more, according to new research from Oregon Health & Science University.

18 Aug 2025

Health care groups aim to counter growing ‘national scandal’ of elder homelessness

At age 82, Roberta Rabinovitz realized she had no place to go. A widow, she had lost both her daughters to cancer, after living with one and then the other, nursing them until their deaths.

18 Aug 2025

Breaking down why Medicare Part D premiums are likely to go up

Medicare enrollees who buy the optional Part D drug benefit may see substantial premium price hikes — potentially up to $50 a month — when they shop for next year's coverage.

17 Aug 2025

‘A fear pandemic’: Immigration raids push patients into telehealth

Jacob Sweidan has seen his patients through the federal immigration raids of the 1990s, a sitting governor's call to abolish birthright citizenship, and the highly publicized workplace crackdowns and family separation policies of President Donald Trump's first term.

14 Aug 2025

Why young Americans dread turning 26: Health insurance chaos

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.

11 Aug 2025

A guide to finding insurance at 26‌

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.

11 Aug 2025