Woman Petitions Health Insurer After Company Approves — Then Rejects — Her Infusions Lauren Sausser When KFF Health News published an article in August about the “prior authorization hell” Sally Nix said she went through to secure approval from her insurance company for the expensive monthly infusions she needs, we thought her story had […]

  Most People Dropped in Medicaid ‘Unwinding’ Never Tried to Renew Coverage, Utah Finds Phil Galewitz, KFF Health News A first-of-its-kind survey of people who lost Medicaid coverage last year found just over half made no effort to renew their coverage — in many cases because they were unable to navigate paperwork requirements. The survey […]

  Can Family Doctors Deliver Rural America From Its Maternal Health Crisis? Sarah Jane Tribble, KFF Health News CAIRO, Ga. — Zita Magloire carefully adjusted a soft measuring tape across Kenadie Evans’ pregnant belly. Determining a baby’s size during a 28-week obstetrical visit is routine. But Magloire, a family physician trained in obstetrics, knows that […]

  Patients With Narcolepsy Face a Dual Nightmare of Medication Shortages and Stigma Lauren Peace, Tampa Bay Times Nina Shand couldn’t stay awake. She had taken afternoon naps since she was a teenager to accommodate her “work hard, play hard” attitude, but when she was in her mid-20s the sleepiness became more severe. Menial computer […]

  A Baby Spent 36 Days in an In-Network NICU. Why Did the Hospital Next Door Send a Bill? Harris Meyer [UPDATED at 12:45 p.m. PT] Brenna Kearney was seven months pregnant in December 2019 when she experienced what she thought were bad flu symptoms. Her husband, Casey Trumble, drove her from their Chicago home […]

States Expand Health Coverage for Immigrants as GOP Hits Biden Over Border Crossings Phil Galewitz A growing number of states are opening taxpayer-funded health insurance programs to immigrants, including those living in the U.S. without authorization, even as Republicans assail President Joe Biden over a dramatic increase in illegal crossings of the southern border. Eleven […]

  Mental Health Courts Can Struggle to Fulfill Decades-Old Promise Sam Whitehead GAINESVILLE, Ga. — In early December, Donald Brown stood nervously in the Hall County Courthouse, concerned he’d be sent back to jail. The 55-year-old struggles with depression, addiction, and suicidal thoughts. He worried a judge would terminate him from a special diversion program […]

  Deep Flaws in FDA Oversight of Medical Devices, and Patient Harm, Exposed in Lawsuits and Records Fred Schulte, KFF Health News and Holly K. Hacker Living with diabetes, Carlton “PeeWee” Gautney Jr. relied on a digital device about the size of a deck of playing cards to pump insulin into his bloodstream. The pump, […]

      ‘AGGA’ Inventor Testifies His Dental Device Was Not Meant for TMJ or Sleep Apnea Brett Kelman and Anna Werner, CBS News A Tennessee dentist who has been sued by multiple TMJ and sleep apnea patients over an unproven dental device he invented has said under oath that he never taught dentists to […]

  ‘I Am Just Waiting to Die’: Social Security Clawbacks Drive Some Into Homelessness Fred Clasen-Kelly More than a year after the federal government first cut off her disability benefits, Denise Woods drives nightly to strip malls, truck stops, and parking lots around Savannah, Georgia, looking for a safe place to sleep in her Chevy. […]