More than 30 states are now reimbursing doulas through Medicaid or implementing laws to do so, which can improve health outcomes and reduce racial health disparities.
Author Archives: KFF Health News
Posted inKFF Health News
HHS Eliminates CDC Staff Who Made Sure Birth Control Is Safe for Women at Risk
The Trump administration’s firing of CDC staff who worked on the contraception guidelines has left a gap in the safe prescribing of birth control for women with medical conditions, potentially putting their health at risk.
Posted inKFF Health News
‘We Need to Keep Fighting’: HIV Activists Organize to Save Lives as Trump Guts Funding
HIV advocates are organizing to counter the Trump administration’s cuts to federal HIV funding, which has led to testing and outreach for HIV faltering in the South and could result in an additional 14,600 HIV-related deaths within the next five years.
Posted inHealth
5 Takeaways from Health Insurers’ New Pledge to Improve Prior Authorization
The largest US health insurers have agreed to streamline their preapproval process, making fewer medical procedures subject to prior authorization and speeding up the review process, but the new commitments may not protect the sickest patients who need the most expensive treatment.
Posted inKFF Health News
The Price You Pay for an Obamacare Plan Could Surge Next Year
The expiration of the enhanced subsidies for Obamacare premiums could result in a significant increase in premiums, leaving many low-income individuals and families struggling to afford health insurance and forcing them to turn to short-term health plans that do not have the same benefits and protections as the Affordable Care Act.
Posted inKFF Health News
Trump Decried Crime, Then Gutted Funding for Gun Violence Prevention
The Biden administration has terminated about $500 million in grants to organizations working to prevent gun violence, including a $2 million grant to the Bullet Related Injury Clinic in St. Louis, which provides free physical and mental health care for people injured by bullets.
Posted inHealth
Risky Eating: As Budget Cuts Hit, Food Safety System Unravels
The Trump administration’s anti-regulatory and cost-cutting push may have led to a lack of public communication about a major outbreak of E. coli linked to tainted salad, resulting in a 9-year-old Indiana boy nearly dying from the illness.
Posted inNational
HIV Testing and Outreach Falter as Trump Funding Cuts Sweep the South
Community-based organizations in Southern states are scaling back their HIV prevention efforts due to funding cuts from the Trump administration, which could lead to more infections and deaths.
Posted inHealth
Magic Happens When Kids and Adults Learn to Swim
The Makos Swim Team, a competitive YMCA and USA Swimming program based in North St. Louis, is encouraging Black and multiracial kids to participate in the sport and is working to bridge the gap in aquatic skills for families of color.
Posted inHealth
80M at Risk as Trump HHS Axes Key Poverty Measure Office
The Department of Health and Human Services has fired the entire office that sets federal poverty guidelines, which determine whether tens of millions of Americans are eligible for health programs such as Medicaid, food assistance, child care, and other services.