Author: Hill Castle
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A new breed of cosmetic surgery chains, some backed by private equity investors, are competing for a slice of the nation’s growing body-contouring market. The chains sell an array of body-reshaping operations, such as “Mommy Makeovers” and liposuction, targeting customers willing to pay up to $20,000 out-of-pocket for a new figure. A joint investigation by KFF Health News and NBC News found that cosmetic surgery chains have been the target of scores of medical malpractice and negligence lawsuits alleging disfiguring injuries — including 12 wrongful death cases filed over the past seven years. Injured patients have accused the chains of…
A long list of Lynda Hollander’s paternal relatives had heart disease, and several had undergone major surgeries. So when she hit her mid-50s and saw her cholesterol levels creeping up after menopause, she said, “I didn’t want to take a chance.” A cardiologist told Hollander that based on factors like age, sex, cholesterol, and blood pressure, she faced a moderate risk of a major cardiac event, like a heart attack, within the next 10 years. Doctors typically counsel such patients about the importance of diet and exercise, but Hollander, now 64, a social worker in West Orange, New Jersey, didn’t…
Sarah Jane Tribble, KFF Health News and Henry Larweh A little-known federal agency that sends more than $12 billion annually to support community health centers, addiction treatment services, and workforce initiatives for America’s neediest people has been hobbled by the Trump administration’s staffing purges. The cuts are “just a little astonishing,” said Carole Johnson, who previously led the Health Resources and Services Administration. She left the agency in January with the administration change and has described the sweeping staff cuts as a “big threat” to the agency’s ability to distribute billions of dollars in grants to hospitals, clinics, nonprofits, and…
The Host Julie Rovner KFF Health News @jrovner @julierovner.bsky.social Read Julie’s stories. Julie Rovner is chief Washington correspondent and host of KFF Health News’ weekly health policy news podcast, “What the Health?” A noted expert on health policy issues, Julie is the author of the critically praised reference book “Health Care Politics and Policy A to Z,” now in its third edition. In his ongoing effort to reshape health policy, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reportedly plans to overhaul two more government entities: the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and the National Vaccine Injury Compensation…
Sandy West A un niño le apareció un sarpullido después de cuatro días sin que le dejaran cambiarse la ropa interior. Otro pequeño, aburrido y abrumado por la desesperación, comenzó a golpearse la cabeza. A un menor con autismo y trastorno por déficit de atención no le dejaron tomar su medicamento, a pesar de las súplicas de su madre. “Escuché a un oficial decir sobre nosotros: ‘huelen a mier–’, y otro agregó: ‘son mier–’”, contó una persona detenida en una declaración presentada ante un tribunal federal. Entre marzo y junio, abogados de menores inmigrantes recopilaron estos testimonios, y otros de…
On a recent weekday evening, Ashly Richards helped her 13-year-old son, Case, with homework. He did math problems and some reading, underscoring how much he’s accomplished at his school for children with autism. Richards has heard Trump administration officials suggest that food dyes and pediatric vaccines cause autism and ADHD. That stance, she said, unfairly blames parents. “There’s no evidence to support it,” said Richards, 44, a marketing director in Richmond, Virginia. “As a parent, it’s infuriating.” In their zeal to “Make America Healthy Again,” Trump administration officials are making statements that some advocacy and medical groups say depict patients…
Tony Leys In retrospect, Erica Kahn realizes she made two big mistakes. The first was choosing to temporarily forgo health insurance when she was laid off from her job. The second was screaming when a wild bat later landed on her face. The bizarre encounter happened last August, while the Massachusetts resident was photographing the night sky during a vacation at the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Arizona. Kahn, now 33, noticed a few bats flying around but didn’t worry about them — until one flew up to her and got tangled between her camera and her face. She…
Letters to the Editor is a periodic feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection. We edit for length and clarity and require full names. Sounding the Alarm for Ambulances Thank you for shedding much-needed light on the exorbitant costs and lack of reimbursement that have become a harsh reality for many ambulance services across Colorado and the nation (“Insurers Fight State Laws Restricting Surprise Ambulance Bills,” July 9). While it’s vital to protect patients from “surprise” bills — something your coverage highlights — it’s equally important to acknowledge the other side of the equation. Ambulance providers often receive reimbursements well…
Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez ELKO, Nev. — At the Two Spirit Conference in northern Nevada in June, Native Americans gathered in support of the LGBTQ+ community amid federal and state rollbacks of transgender protections and gender-affirming health care. “I want people to not kill themselves for who they are,” said organizer Myk Mendez, a trans and two-spirit citizen of the Fort Hall Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in Idaho. “I want people to love their lives and grow old to tell their stories.” “Two-spirit” is used by Native Americans to describe a distinct gender outside of male or female. The conference in Elko reflects…
Sandy West A child developed a rash after he was prevented from changing his underwear for four days. A little boy, bored and overcome with despair, began hitting himself in the head. A child with autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder was forced to go without his medication, despite his mother’s pleas. “I heard one officer say about us ‘they smell like sh–,’” one detained person recounted in a federal court filing. “And another officer responded, ‘They are sh–.’” Attorneys for immigrant children collected these stories, and more, from youth and families detained in what they called “prison-like” settings across the U.S.…
For two decades, Washington, D.C., pediatrician Lanre Falusi has counseled parents about vaccine safety, side effects, and timing. But this year, she said, the conversations have changed. “For the first time, I’m having parents of newborns ask me if their baby will still be able to get vaccines,” Falusi said. Throughout the country, pediatricians say anxious parents are concerned about access to routine childhood immunizations, especially those with children on Medicaid, the government insurance program for low-income families and people with disabilities. Medicaid covers 4 in 10 children in the U.S. “It really became an issue when RFK Jr. stepped…
A Fortina Hernández la llaman “la que lo sabe todo”. Durante más de dos décadas, esta trabajadora de salud comunitaria ha ayudado a cientos de familias del sureste de Los Ángeles a inscribirse en programas de ayuda alimentaria, ha informado sobre seguros médicos asequibles y ha ayudado con medicamentos para sus afecciones crónicas. Su frase favorita: “más vale prevenir que curar”. Pero sólo gana unos $20 la hora en una organización de salud comunitaria y tiene un segundo trabajo para poder llegar a fin de mes. “Nos pagan muy poco y esperan demasiado”, dijo. “Generamos confianza. Ofrecemos apoyo. Somos el…
Durante dos décadas, la pediatra Lanre Falusi, de Washington D.C., ha asesorado a los padres sobre el calendario de vacunas que deben recibir sus hijos, la seguridad de la vacunación y sus efectos secundarios. Pero dijo que este año las charlas han cambiado. “Por primera vez, los padres de recién nacidos me preguntan si en el futuro sus bebés podrán seguir recibiendo las vacunas”, contó Falusi. A lo largo del país, pediatras dicen que padres ansiosos están preocupados por si continuará habiendo acceso a las vacunas infantiles de rutina. Los más intranquilos son aquellos con hijos en Medicaid, el programa…
Arielle Zionts RAPID CITY, S.D. — Native American tribes and health organizations are responding to concerns about low measles vaccination rates and patients’ difficulty getting care as an outbreak of the disease spreads around the country. They’re hosting mobile vaccine clinics, running social media campaigns, making sure health providers are vaccinated, reaching out to the parents of unvaccinated children, and hosting online training sessions. The push to ensure Native American communities are protected from the virus comes as the U.S. is experiencing its worst measles outbreak since 1992. The South Dakota health department announced in early June that the first…
July 24 Sam Whitehead read the week’s news: Affordable Care Act health plan will likely be more expensive next year, and work requirements for Medicaid recipients can be expensive and hard to navigate for enrollees. July 17 Sam Whitehead reads the week’s news: President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown is threatening nursing home staff, and the country’s largest health insurers say they’ll simplify the process they use to decide whether to pay for doctor-ordered care. July 10 Zach Dyer reads the week’s news: Federal funding cuts have left some of the nation’s most popular beaches without lifeguards this summer, and new research shows vaccines…
Jess Mador, WABE A Georgia woman declared brain-dead and kept on life support for more than three months because she was pregnant was removed from a ventilator in June and died, days after doctors delivered her 1-pound, 13-ounce baby by emergency cesarean section. The baby is in the neonatal intensive care unit. The case has drawn national attention to Georgia’s six-week abortion ban and its impacts on pregnancy care. Adriana Smith was put on life support at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta in February. The then-30-year-old Atlanta nurse was more than eight weeks pregnant and suffering dangerous complications. Her condition…
If you want to create a perfect storm at Covered California and other Affordable Care Act marketplaces, all you have to do is make enrollment more time-consuming, ratchet up the toll on consumers’ pocketbooks, and terminate financial aid for some of the youngest and healthiest enrollees. And presto: You’ve got people dropping coverage; rising costs; and a smaller, sicker group of enrollees, which translates to higher premiums. The Trump administration and congressional Republicans have just checked that achievement off their list. They have done it with the sprawling tax and spending law President Donald Trump signed on July 4 and…
Acerca Care of Carl Care of Carl ofrece “The Classics of Tomorrow” – una selección curada de marcas premium y de lujo, tan relevantes hoy como mañana. Nos esforzamos por ayudar a los hombres a descubrir su estilo personal, enfocándonos en la calidad y la sostenibilidad. Ofrecemos más de 250 marcas cuidadosamente seleccionadas como Moncler, Brunello Cucinelli, Crockett & Jones, Drake’s y Polo Ralph Lauren. Una gran parte de nuestro catálogo puede considerarse como representante de un estilo masculino algo más formal y elegante. En combinación con una parte más contemporánea de la selección, esto crea una mezcla de marcas…
Thank you for your interest in supporting Kaiser Health News (KHN), the nation’s leading nonprofit newsroom focused on health and health policy. We distribute our journalism for free and without advertising through media partners of all sizes and in communities large and small. We appreciate all forms of engagement from our readers and listeners, and welcome your support. KHN is an editorially independent program of KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). You can support KHN by making a contribution to KFF, a non-profit charitable organization that is not associated with Kaiser Permanente. Click the button below to go to KFF’s donation page…
A few days after a harrowing cosmetic surgery procedure, Erin Schaeffer said, she woke up with fluid leaking from an open wound in her stomach. Schaeffer went on to spend a week in a Florida hospital battling a severe infection after a type of tummy tuck and liposuction at the Jacksonville branch of Sono Bello, a national cosmetic surgery chain. More than a year later, scars remain on her lower body — and in a lawsuit she is accusing Sono Bello of using an obstetrician-gynecologist who was inadequately trained to remove her excess skin and fat, a procedure she says…
Vanessa G. Sánchez Fortina Hernández is called “the one who knows it all.” For more than two decades, the community health worker has supported hundreds of families throughout southeast Los Angeles by helping them sign up for food assistance, sharing information about affordable health coverage, and managing medications for their chronic illnesses. She’s guided by the expression “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” But she makes only around $20 an hour from a community health organization and must hold down a second job to make ends meet. “They pay us very little and expect too much,”…