Here are five things Donald Trump’s presidency could mean for health care in the U.S.
The new Trump administration is likely to reduce subsidies for Affordable Care Act insurance plans and roll back Medicaid coverage.
Public health authorities worry that anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be empowered.
Follow KFF Health News to stay informed on the latest news in health care and health policy.
Hilda Jaffe is the rarest of seniors: a centenarian who is sharp as a tack, who carries grocery bags in each hand when she walks back from her local market, and who takes city buses to see her physicians or attend a matinee at the Metropolitan Opera.
The advice that Jaffee has for people who want to know how she got to the age of 102, "Keep moving."
Judith Graham, KFF Health News’ “Navigating Aging” columnist, talked with Jaffe and other older adults who live alone by choice or circumstance. They shared what it means to thrive in later years.
Watch the full conversation: https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/watch-going-it-alone-a-conversation-about-growing-old-in-america/
In Las Vegas, hundreds — perhaps thousands — of homeless people live in tunnels under casinos. They have a better shot at recovery above ground. But persuading them to come above ground for treatment is hard.
Here's what you need to know: https://bit.ly/4a9ldQL
Vulnerability questionnaires were created to determine how likely a person is to get sick and die while homeless, and the system has been adopted widely around the country over the past decade to help prioritize who gets housing.
The more a homeless person is perceived to be vulnerable, the more points they score on the questionnaire and the higher they move in the housing queue.
The surveys are being singled out for worsening racial disparities by systematically placing homeless white people at the front of the line, ahead of their Black peers — partly because the scoring awards more points for using health care, and relies on trust in the system, both of which favor white people.
Here's what you need to know. ⤵️ https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/homelessness-vulnerability-surveys-black-men-las-vegas/
Juana Valle never imagined she’d be scared to drink water from her tap or eat fresh eggs and walnuts when she bought her 5-acre farm in San Juan Bautista, California, three years ago. Escaping city life and growing her own food was a dream come true for the 52-year-old.
Then Valle began to suspect water from her well was making her sick.
This year, researchers found worrisome levels of chemicals called PFAS in her well water. Exposure to PFAS, a group of thousands of compounds, has been linked to health problems including cancer, decreased response to vaccines, and low birth weight, according to a federally funded report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
The researchers suspect the toxic chemicals could have made their way into Valle’s water through nearby agricultural operations, which may have used PFAS-laced fertilizers made from dried sludge from wastewater treatment plants, or pesticides found to contain the compounds.
The chemicals have unexpectedly turned up in well water in rural farmland far from known contamination sites, like industrial areas, airports, and military bases. Agricultural communities already face the dangers of heavy metals and nitrates contaminating their tap water. Now researchers worry that PFAS could further harm farmworkers and communities of color disproportionately. They have called for more testing.
President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., says fluoride can cause health problems and wants it removed from our drinking water.
Céline Gounder joined CBS Mornings to discuss the risks and benefits that come with fluoride.
Lloyd Mills was tired of being stuck in a small, drab hospital room.
In February, the 32-year-old with autism, cerebral palsy, and kidney disease was brought to Grady Memorial Hospital from the group home where he had been living because he was having auditory hallucinations and suicidal thoughts, he said.
He wanted to return to a group home or some other community setting where he could receive the care he needs without being confined. It’s his legal right. But it took the state agency overseeing his care more than eight months to get that done — and that placement would be short-lived.
Nearly 15 years ago, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Georgia for unnecessarily segregating people with developmental disabilities and mental illness. The state settled the case and agreed to a massive overhaul of the services it offers to that population. Despite hundreds of millions of dollars in investments and some notable improvements, the state’s system of caring for people with developmental disabilities and mental illness still has holes. The gaps often leave people like Mills sequestered in institutional settings and without the proper community supports.
You may get more meds without an extra IV fluid bag if you’re hospitalized this winter. Jackie Fortiér found hospital administrators are looking to maintain conservation strategies even after the current shortage ends.
The new Trump administration is likely to reduce subsidies for Affordable Care Act insurance plans and roll back Medicaid coverage.
Public health authorities worry that anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be empowered.
Here are five things Donald Trump's victory could mean for health care in the U.S.
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