Race & Health

Eloisa Mendoza has spent 18 years helping people who aren’t fluent in English navigate complex legal documents. She guides them through stressful events and accompanying dense paperwork, such as citizenship applications, divorces, and birth certificate translations. Mendoza works in Elko, Nevada, situated in a remote region in the state’s northeastern corner. Her work has become […]

KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner discussed President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement that he will nominate former TV host Mehmet Oz to lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on WBUR’s “Here & Now” on Nov. 20. Rovner also discussed what it could mean for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to run the Department […]

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. Relating to Relatives of Lonely Dementia Patients I was sent the article by Judith Graham on older adults with dementia living alone (“Going It Alone: Millions of Aging Americans Are Facing […]

For the past four years, journalist Cara Anthony, a KFF Health News Midwest correspondent, has been reporting on the public health effects of racism, violence, and intergenerational trauma in a small Missouri town. The result: a new documentary and podcast series called “Silence in Sikeston.”  Cara Anthony sits down with “An Arm and a Leg” […]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — This year, Gov. Gavin Newsom affirmed abortion access, calling California “a proud reproductive freedom state” and criticizing Republicans across the country for trying to take away families’ rights. He signed legislation mandating that insurance companies cover in vitro fertilization. He supported restricting students’ cellphone use in schools and signed a nation-leading ban […]

Vice President Kamala Harris, now on the presidential campaign trail, is making inroads with a key voting bloc: Black women, who are rallying behind her because of her work on issues such as preserving abortion access, curbing gun violence and reducing maternal deaths. What has become clear is not just that this voting group supports […]

KFF Health News senior fellow and editor-at-large for public health Céline Gounder discussed how best to prepare for a storm on “CBS News 24/7” on Oct. 9. Click here to watch Gounder on “CBS News 24/7” KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner discussed obesity on WAMU and NPR’s “1A” on Oct. 9. Click […]

In her first months as a community health worker, Jee Hyo Kim helped violent crime survivors access supportive services and resources. When a client with post-traumatic stress disorder sought a therapist, she linked him to one that fit his needs. She helped clients afraid to leave their homes obtain food delivery vouchers. As one client […]

SIKESTON, Mo. — In the summer of 2021, Sikeston residents organized the biggest Juneteenth party in the city’s history. Sikeston police officers came too, both to provide security for the event and to try to build bridges with the community. But after decades of mistrust, some residents questioned their motives.  In the series finale of […]

OAKLAND, Calif. — The patient was in his 60s, an African American man with emphysema. The oximeter placed on his fingertip registered well above the 88% blood oxygen saturation level that signals an urgent risk of organ failure and death. Yet his doctor, Noha Aboelata, believed the patient was sicker than the device showed. So […]