KFF Health News

Solving the Home Care Quandary

By Paula Span – You’re ready to leave the hospital, but you don’t feel able to care for yourself at home yet. Or, you’ve completed a couple of weeks in rehab. Can you handle your complicated medication regimen, along with shopping and cooking?

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States Race To Launch Rural Health Transformation Plans

By Sarah Jane Tribble, Arielle Zionts, & Maia Rosenfeld – In late December, President Donald Trump’s administration announced how much all 50 states would get under its new Rural Health Transformation Program, assigning them to use the money to fix systemic problems that leave rural Americans without access to good health care. Now, the clock is ticking.



Shutdown Has Highlighted Washington’s Retreat From Big Ideas on Health Care

By Stephanie Armour – In the run-up to the 2020 election, all 20 Democratic presidential candidates promised voters they’d pursue bold changes to health care, such as a government-run insurance plan or expanding Medicare to cover every American. Fast-forward to the congressional stalemate that has closed the federal government for more than a month.



Concerns Over Fairness, Access Rise as States Compete for Slice of $50B Rural Health Fund

By Sarah Jane Tribble & Arielle Zionts – Echo Kopplin wants South Dakota’s leaders to know that money from a new $50 billion federal rural health fund should help residents with limited transportation options. Kopplin, a physician assistant who works with seniors, low-income people, and mental health patients in the rural Black Hills, shared her thoughts at a meeting hosted by state officials.


A New Car vs. Health Insurance? Average Family Job-Based Coverage Hits $27K

By Phil Galewitz – With the federal shutdown continuing, spurred by a stalemate over the cost of health insurance for 22 million Americans on Affordable Care Act plans, a new report shows that over 154 million people with coverage through an employer also face steep price hikes — and that the situation is likely to get worse.