The Host Julie Rovner KFF Health News @jrovner 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. The national abortion landscape was shaken again this week as Florida’s six-week abortion ban took effect. That leaves North Carolina and Virginia as the lone Southern states where abortion remains widely available. Clinics in thos ..read more

Céline Gounder, KFF Health News’ senior fellow and editor-at-large for public health, discussed the latest bird flu developments on CBS’ “CBS Mornings” on April 25. Click here to watch Gounder on “CBS Mornings” KFF Health News senior correspondent Aneri Pattani discussed the details of Tennessee’s distribution of $80 million in opioid settlement funds on WPLN’s “Morning Edition” on April 22. Click here to hear Pattani on “Morning Edition” Read Pattani’s series “Payback: Tracking the Opioid Settlement Cash” KFF Health News contributor Andy Miller discussed water fluoridation on WUGA’s “The ..read more

En una estrecha calle de townhouses y un taller mecánico en el vecindario Kensington, en el norte de Philadelphia, Marsella Elie subió los escalones y golpeó fuerte las puertas de las casas. Un hombre de mediana edad abrió, con mirada cautelosa. “Hola, señor, ¿cómo está hoy?”, le preguntó Elie, que tenía puesta una chaqueta con el logo de la Campana de la Libertad, del gobierno de la ciudad. “Mi nombre es Marsella. Estoy trabajando con la ciudad. ¿Ha oído hablar de las sobredosis que están ocurriendo en el vecindario, verdad?”. El hombre asintió. Elie señaló los folletos que tenía sobre sobred ..read more

Un equipo de investigadores de Montana está jugando un papel clave en el desarrollo de una vacuna más efectiva contra la tuberculosis, una enfermedad infecciosa que ha matado a más personas que ninguna otra. La BCG (Bacille Calmette-Guérin), desarrollada en 1921, sigue siendo la única vacuna contra la tuberculosis (TB). Si bien tiene una eficacia del 40% al 80% en niños pequeños, su efectividad es muy baja en adolescentes y adultos, lo que impulsó un esfuerzo mundial para encontrar una vacuna que sea más potente. El Centro de Medicina Translacional de la Universidad de Montana está llevando a ..read more

A team of Montana researchers is playing a key role in the development of a more effective vaccine against tuberculosis, an infectious disease that has killed more people than any other. The BCG (Bacille Calmette-Guérin) vaccine, created in 1921, remains the sole TB vaccine. While it is 40% to 80% effective in young children, its efficacy is very low in adolescents and adults, leading to a worldwide push to create a more powerful vaccine. One effort is underway at the University of Montana Center for Translational Medicine. The center specializes in improving and creating vaccines by adding wh ..read more

On a narrow street lined with row houses and an auto body shop in the Kensington neighborhood of North Philadelphia, Marsella Elie climbs a home’s front steps and knocks hard on the door. A middle-aged man appears with a wary look on his face. “Hello, sir, how are you doing today?” asked Elie, wearing a royal-blue jacket embroidered with the city government’s Liberty Bell logo. “My name is Marsella. I’m working with the city. You heard about the overdoses that are going around in the neighborhood, right?” The man gives a cautious nod. Elie gestures to the pamphlets she’s holding about drug ove ..read more

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. Many readers responded to our data-driven coverage of how ethical and religious directives issued by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops affect care options at Catholic and Catholic-affiliated hospitals in the United States. And we encourage other readers to share their feedback. A communications specialist in Seattle stated her opinion bluntly in an X post. "More and more women are running into barriers to obtaining care ..read more

When the FDA recently convened a committee of advisers to assess a cardiac device made by Abbott, the agency didn’t disclose that most of them had received payments from the company or conducted research it had funded — information readily available in a federal database. One member of the FDA advisory committee was linked to hundreds of payments from Abbott totaling almost $200,000, according to a database maintained by the Department of Health and Human Services. Another was connected to 100 payments totaling about $100,000 and conducted research supported by about $50,000 from Abbott. A thi ..read more

Insulin for Medicare beneficiaries “was costing 400 bucks a month on average. It now costs $35 a month.” President Joe Biden, in a March 22 speech The cost of insulin in the United States has risen considerably in recent years, with some estimates finding that Americans have paid around 10 times as much for the drug as people in other developed countries. But recent changes by the federal government and drug manufacturers have started to drive insulin prices down, something President Joe Biden often mentions at campaign events. Biden told the crowd at a March 19 campaign reception in Reno, Nev ..read more

The Host Julie Rovner KFF Health News @jrovner 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 its first abortion case since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, the Supreme Court this week looked unlikely to uphold an appeals court ruling that would dramatically restrict the availability of the abortion pill mifeprist ..read more