The Latest Breaking News from KHN

2 counties square off with California over mental health duties

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento and Solano counties are in a standoff with the state over mental health coverage for a portion of Medicaid patients in those counties — a dispute that threatens to disrupt care for nearly 50,000 low-income residents receiving treatment for severe mental illness.

Tribune News Service · Mar 17, 2023

FDA looks into dental device after investigation of patient harm

In the wake of a joint investigation by KHN and CBS News into a dental appliance that multiple lawsuits allege caused grievous harm to patients, the FDA has begun looking into the product, the Anterior Growth Guidance Appliance, or AGGA, according to a former agency official.

Tribune News Service · Mar 16, 2023

Why Medicare is suddenly under debate again

As the White House and Republicans in Congress gear up for negotiations over the U.S. debt ceiling, how to pay for senior health care could be a sticking point, even if cuts are "off the table."

WEKU · Mar 14, 2023

Reentry programs to help former prisoners obtain health care are often underused

When Matthew Boyd was released from a Georgia state prison in December 2020, officials sent him home without medicines he uses to manage chronic heart and lung conditions and high blood pressure, he said.

Tribune News Service · Mar 12, 2023

Girls in Texas could get birth control at federal clinics — until a dad sued

Trump-appointed federal judge Matthew Kacsmaryk ruled that free birth control for teens from a federal program violates Texas law and parental rights. For now, it's still available in other states.

WEKU · Mar 9, 2023

Despite pharma claims, illicit drug shipments to US aren’t full of opioids. It’s generic Viagra

For years, the FDA has defended its efforts to intercept prescription drugs coming from abroad by mail as necessary to keep out dangerous opioids, including fentanyl.

Tribune News Service · Mar 8, 2023

Biden administration urged to take more aggressive steps to relieve medical debt

Dozens of advocates for patients and consumers, citing widespread harm caused by medical debt, are pushing the Biden administration to take more aggressive steps to protect Americans from medical bills and debt collectors.

Tribune News Service · Mar 8, 2023

Information blackout shrouds new reports of deaths, injuries and abuse at Montana State Hospital

BUTTE, Mont. — Jennifer Mitchell remembered getting a call nearly two years ago that her 69-year-old husband, Bill, had crashed his car and had been committed to the Montana State Hospital, the state-run psychiatric hospital for adults about 20 miles from their home in Butte.

Tribune News Service · Mar 7, 2023

Medical debt affects millions, and advocates push IRS, consumer agency for relief

More than 50 consumer and patient groups want the Biden Administration to aggressively protect Americans from medical bills and debt collectors. The effort follows a KHN/NPR investigation.

WEKU · Mar 7, 2023

This dental device was sold to fix patients’ jaws. Lawsuits claim it wrecked their teeth

Boja Kragulj, an accomplished clarinetist who once performed with orchestras in New York, Philadelphia and Jacksonville, Florida, has already lost four teeth. And she expects to lose at least a dozen more.

Tribune News Service · Mar 5, 2023