The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
A federal advisory panel says people between ages 27 and 45 may benefit from the vaccine to fight the human papillomavirus. But some public health advocates worry that the advice doesn鈥檛 provide doctors and patients clear guidance about who in this large age group are good candidates for the vaccine.
Obesity prevention does not get much attention in Colorado, often billed as the healthiest state. Yet more than 1 in 4 black or Hispanic residents are obese, as state and federal public health spending fuels other needs.
Amid forecasts for increasingly unhealthy air due to wildfire smoke, residents in Western states are snatching up home air purifiers. With good reason.
A case of questionable logic.
After journalists investigate, Fresenius, one of the largest dialysis providers in the U.S., has agreed to waive a half-million-dollar bill. Sovereign Valentine, from Plains, Mont., said it鈥檚 a 鈥渉uge relief.鈥
KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner appears on CSPAN鈥檚 Washington Journal Tuesday and compares two key health programs being touted by Democratic presidential candidates: 鈥淢edicare for All鈥 and an optional government health plan, often called a public option.
Studies long have linked urban firefighters鈥 on-the-job exposure to toxins with an increased risk of cancer. More recently, as urban-style development reaches into once remote stretches of California鈥檚 mountains and forests, wildfire crews are exposed to fuels and carcinogens more typical of urban fires. We talk with Tony Stefani of the San Francisco Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation about the health risks that poses for firefighters.
So-called red flag laws that let police take guns away from people with mental illness have support from both advocates and opponents of gun control. But it won鈥檛 alleviate gun violence.
Known as 鈥渁uthorized generics,鈥 in-house spinoffs of brand-name drugs quietly undermine the competition.
Kathy Brandt and her wife, Kim Acquaviva, national experts in hospice and palliative care, shared intimate details of Brandt鈥檚 experience with terminal cancer before her death Sunday.
Kelley Watson Snyder, a mother who for years opposed mandatory childhood vaccinations and joined with like-minded parents who espoused similar views, today runs a pro-vaccination Facebook page. What changed?
Treatments for baseball pitcher Max Scherzer and other pros may mislead fans about costly, controversial, unapproved stem cell shots.
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don鈥檛 have to.
Colorado is on the front lines in dealing with how marijuana use affects surgery. Lessons learned on operating tables and in recovery rooms have prompted calls for more research on marijuana nationwide.
When it comes to physician-administered infusion drugs, doctors sometimes have a financial reason for their choice and patients often aren鈥檛 aware of cheaper options.
Health care was a major topic at the Democratic presidential candidate debates in Detroit on Tuesday and Wednesday, but the focus on plan minutiae may have left viewers more confused than edified. Alice Ollstein of Politico, Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner and Caitlin Owens of Axios join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss the points made by the candidates plus a series of Trump administration health initiatives on drug prices and hospital shopping.
As California Attorney General Xavier Becerra cracks down on pharmaceutical companies he said paid competitors to delay generic versions of their drugs, he鈥檚 also pushing for legislation that would give his department tools to catch more of them. It鈥檚 the first of its kind in the nation.
Surgeons are rethinking the old notions of “informed consent.” With older patients especially, a push is on to talk candidly about what a surgery will do, its risks and how it will affect their quality of life.
The Wednesday night event marked the second night in a row for Democratic presidential hopefuls to stake claims on how to fix the health care system.
HHS secretary announces a preliminary plan Wednesday to allow Americans to import certain lower-cost drugs from Canada. Manufacturers were quick to criticize the plan, saying it does not guarantee the safety of drugs coming into the country.
