Tests like full-body scans marketed directly to consumers are pitched as a way to detect diseases early and establish a baseline of health markers. But there are financial, physical, and psychological risks to all medical tests — and in some cases, not getting a test could be better for your health.
Catherine Sweeney was one of the reporters in the witness room during the attempted execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee. The journalists knew that a recent execution hadn’t gone according to plan and that Pike’s lawyers had predicted failure because of a health condition. They’d even asked for her to be hanged instead.
At least 2 million seniors will receive notice this fall that their Medicare Advantage plans will disappear at year’s end, some without a comparable alternative. Here’s a look at this increasingly common problem with Medicare Advantage, and what it says about Medicare as a whole.
Hours after experiencing a flare-up related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Kenney Blewett of Kyle, Texas, died by suicide in June. A medication his doctor prescribed days earlier to ease his breathing problems hadn’t been filled due to an “insurance issue,” his pharmacy explained via email.
The Make America Healthy Again movement held a shindig in Washington, D.C., this week. But rather than moms arguing to get chemicals out of their kids’ food, the room was full of Trump administration officials and industry representatives looking to promote health-related products. Meanwhile, the administration for the second year in a row is refusing to spend money Congress appropriated. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Rachana Pradhan of KFF Health News, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also, Rovner interviews Aaron Carroll of AcademyHealth.
Getting financial assistance from hospitals often involves filling out cumbersome forms. Some states now require hospitals to identify and automatically enroll patients eligible for charity care.
President Donald Trump has championed sprawling health policy changes under the Make America Healthy Again movement, but a KFF-Associated Press survey of rural voters found people aren’t seeing the initiatives reach their communities.
Potent sedating medications are often used on agitated people with dementia in long-term care facilities despite federal efforts to discourage their use. A clash over whether to drug a Michigan woman illuminates the wrenching decisions families and guardians face.
Staff raced against rising floodwater to evacuate 36 residents from a nursing home in New Richland, Minnesota. It’s one of 100 facilities KFF Health News identified as facing some of the nation’s worst flood risk.
The death penalty is legal in 27 states, and lethal injection is the primary method. That means involving medical professionals to store, test, and inject the drugs. After a botched execution in Tennessee, doctors and nurses there say medical professionals need to be removed from the process completely.
