Holly Hacker
@hackwriter.bsky.social
Data editor @ KFF Health News
Reposted by Holly Hacker
A young woman committed at psychiatric hospital in a flood zone said the river feels like a moat trapping her inside.
“My first feeling is doom,” Aurora said, watching a simulation of the river rising. The facility is one of many.
By @hackwriter.bsky.social et al
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
“My first feeling is doom,” Aurora said, watching a simulation of the river rising. The facility is one of many.
By @hackwriter.bsky.social et al
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
At Least 170 US Hospitals Face Major Flood Risk. Experts Say Trump Is Making It Worse. - KFF Health News
As a warming climate intensifies storms, KFF Health News has identified more than 170 U.S. hospitals at risk of significant and potentially dangerous flooding. Climate experts warn that the Trump admi...
kffhealthnews.org
October 2, 2025 at 3:55 PM
A young woman committed at psychiatric hospital in a flood zone said the river feels like a moat trapping her inside.
“My first feeling is doom,” Aurora said, watching a simulation of the river rising. The facility is one of many.
By @hackwriter.bsky.social et al
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
“My first feeling is doom,” Aurora said, watching a simulation of the river rising. The facility is one of many.
By @hackwriter.bsky.social et al
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
Reposted by Holly Hacker
Doctors with troubled pasts are performing cosmetic surgeries. Some injured patients say they wish they had tried harder to check the backgrounds of doctors and clinics they trusted, but those records are hard to find.
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
Doctors With Troubled Pasts Are Performing Cosmetic Surgeries Tied to Crippling Pain and Injury - KFF Health News
Some injured patients say they wish they had tried harder to check the backgrounds of doctors and clinics they trusted, but those records are hard to find.
kffhealthnews.org
September 30, 2025 at 11:50 AM
Doctors with troubled pasts are performing cosmetic surgeries. Some injured patients say they wish they had tried harder to check the backgrounds of doctors and clinics they trusted, but those records are hard to find.
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
Reposted by Holly Hacker
🚨 "Sick to my stomach."
That's how the researcher who found a link between Tylenol and autism felt when she realized MAHA would link her analysis to vaccines.
My latest exclusive @kffhealthnews.org
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
That's how the researcher who found a link between Tylenol and autism felt when she realized MAHA would link her analysis to vaccines.
My latest exclusive @kffhealthnews.org
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
‘Sick to My Stomach’: Trump Distorts Facts on Autism, Tylenol, and Vaccines, Scientists Say - KFF Health News
The White House’s autism announcement exaggerates links to Tylenol, misleads on vaccines, and sets back the field by ignoring decades of research, scientists say.
kffhealthnews.org
September 23, 2025 at 2:47 AM
🚨 "Sick to my stomach."
That's how the researcher who found a link between Tylenol and autism felt when she realized MAHA would link her analysis to vaccines.
My latest exclusive @kffhealthnews.org
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
That's how the researcher who found a link between Tylenol and autism felt when she realized MAHA would link her analysis to vaccines.
My latest exclusive @kffhealthnews.org
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
Reposted by Holly Hacker
Reporters uncovered major safety lapses at a for-profit rehab chain with little federal oversight. See how they did it + tips for your own reporting: healthjournalism.org/blog/2025/08...
How reporters helped to expose major concerns with a for-profit rehab corporation
Reporters Jordan Rau and Irena Hwang found major safety problems with Encompass Health, a rehab facility owned by a for-profit company.
healthjournalism.org
August 27, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Reporters uncovered major safety lapses at a for-profit rehab chain with little federal oversight. See how they did it + tips for your own reporting: healthjournalism.org/blog/2025/08...
Reposted by Holly Hacker
My latest, for @latimes.com & @kffhealthnews.org: Social Security has a new AI bot. It got rushed out. Customers don't like its glitches.
How the agency's technology push might get sidetracked: www.latimes.com/business/sto...
How the agency's technology push might get sidetracked: www.latimes.com/business/sto...
Social Security praises its new chatbot. Ex-officials say it was tested but shelved under Biden
Social Security’s Facebook page is, from time to time, pockmarked with negative reviews of a new phone bot, which the agency said handed nearly 41% of calls in July.
www.latimes.com
August 23, 2025 at 5:44 PM
My latest, for @latimes.com & @kffhealthnews.org: Social Security has a new AI bot. It got rushed out. Customers don't like its glitches.
How the agency's technology push might get sidetracked: www.latimes.com/business/sto...
How the agency's technology push might get sidetracked: www.latimes.com/business/sto...
Reposted by Holly Hacker
“All of us at CDC train for this moment, a massive outbreak. All this training and then we weren’t allowed to do anything.”
Just one of the quotes/email excerpts from @amymaxmen.bsky.social investigation of CDC’s response to the Texas measles outbreak kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
Just one of the quotes/email excerpts from @amymaxmen.bsky.social investigation of CDC’s response to the Texas measles outbreak kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
As Measles Exploded, Officials in Texas Looked to CDC Scientists. Under Trump, No One Answered. - KFF Health News
Trump officials sowed fear and confusion among CDC scientists, slowing their response to the measles outbreak in West Texas. Cases surged and sparked new outbreaks across the U.S. and Mexico. Together...
kffhealthnews.org
August 25, 2025 at 12:24 PM
“All of us at CDC train for this moment, a massive outbreak. All this training and then we weren’t allowed to do anything.”
Just one of the quotes/email excerpts from @amymaxmen.bsky.social investigation of CDC’s response to the Texas measles outbreak kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
Just one of the quotes/email excerpts from @amymaxmen.bsky.social investigation of CDC’s response to the Texas measles outbreak kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
Reposted by Holly Hacker
Millions of rural Americans live in counties with doctor shortages and where high-speed internet connections aren’t adequate to access advanced telehealth services.
My latest @kffhealthnews.org video with @sjtribble-reports.bsky.social: kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
My latest @kffhealthnews.org video with @sjtribble-reports.bsky.social: kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
Watch: In a ‘Dead Zone,’ Doctors Don’t Practice and Telehealth Doesn’t Reach - KFF Health News
Chief rural health correspondent Sarah Jane Tribble explains how millions of rural Americans live in counties with doctor shortages and where high-speed internet connections aren’t adequate to access ...
kffhealthnews.org
June 3, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Millions of rural Americans live in counties with doctor shortages and where high-speed internet connections aren’t adequate to access advanced telehealth services.
My latest @kffhealthnews.org video with @sjtribble-reports.bsky.social: kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
My latest @kffhealthnews.org video with @sjtribble-reports.bsky.social: kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
Reposted by Holly Hacker
One of the 100K+ people who lost their health insurance when Missouri slashed Medicaid in 2005 was a woman working a $6.70/hour McDonald’s job.
Her ~$300/week pay put her over the stricter income limits despite supporting 3 kids.
Now, congressional GOP are considering cuts that could be bigger...
Her ~$300/week pay put her over the stricter income limits despite supporting 3 kids.
Now, congressional GOP are considering cuts that could be bigger...
If Congress cuts $880 billion from Medicaid, Missouri could face a yearly shortfall of $2 billion. An early 2000s budget gap of about $2.4 billion prompted the state to drop 100,000 people from Medicaid. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
As Republicans Eye Sweeping Medicaid Cuts, Missouri Offers a Preview - KFF Health News
Congressional Republicans are looking to cut at least $880 billion from a pool of federal funding that includes Medicaid — and the program is likely to take a major hit. A previous budget crunch in Mi...
kffhealthnews.org
May 7, 2025 at 5:38 PM
One of the 100K+ people who lost their health insurance when Missouri slashed Medicaid in 2005 was a woman working a $6.70/hour McDonald’s job.
Her ~$300/week pay put her over the stricter income limits despite supporting 3 kids.
Now, congressional GOP are considering cuts that could be bigger...
Her ~$300/week pay put her over the stricter income limits despite supporting 3 kids.
Now, congressional GOP are considering cuts that could be bigger...
Reposted by Holly Hacker
Many processed foods are made with chemicals linked to health concerns. To a great extent, the FDA allows food companies to determine whether their ingredients and additives are safe.
What could go wrong?
📹 w/ @oonazenda.bsky.social for @kffhealthnews.org:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLx9...
What could go wrong?
📹 w/ @oonazenda.bsky.social for @kffhealthnews.org:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLx9...
How Risky Chemicals Get Into America’s Food Supply
YouTube video by KFF Health News
www.youtube.com
May 7, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Many processed foods are made with chemicals linked to health concerns. To a great extent, the FDA allows food companies to determine whether their ingredients and additives are safe.
What could go wrong?
📹 w/ @oonazenda.bsky.social for @kffhealthnews.org:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLx9...
What could go wrong?
📹 w/ @oonazenda.bsky.social for @kffhealthnews.org:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLx9...
Reposted by Holly Hacker
My latest, for @kffhealthnews.org and @cbsnews.com: Social Security is cracking.
It's declaring people wrongly dead. Beneficiaries and lawyers say records are getting misplaced. Checks are getting sent to the wrong address.
The agency is getting worse, they think, at sending money to people:
It's declaring people wrongly dead. Beneficiaries and lawyers say records are getting misplaced. Checks are getting sent to the wrong address.
The agency is getting worse, they think, at sending money to people:
At Social Security, these are the days of the living dead
In recent weeks, Social Security has been plagued by problems related to technology, system errors, and even the marking of living people as dead.
www.cbsnews.com
May 5, 2025 at 12:51 PM
My latest, for @kffhealthnews.org and @cbsnews.com: Social Security is cracking.
It's declaring people wrongly dead. Beneficiaries and lawyers say records are getting misplaced. Checks are getting sent to the wrong address.
The agency is getting worse, they think, at sending money to people:
It's declaring people wrongly dead. Beneficiaries and lawyers say records are getting misplaced. Checks are getting sent to the wrong address.
The agency is getting worse, they think, at sending money to people:
Reposted by Holly Hacker
🚨 The NIH’s sweeping cuts of research grants are inflicting pain almost universally across the U.S., @raelnb.bsky.social and I found.
At least 43% of organizations that had grants terminated are public universities.
About 40% are in states Trump won in November.
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
At least 43% of organizations that had grants terminated are public universities.
About 40% are in states Trump won in November.
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
Beyond Ivy League, RFK Jr.’s NIH Slashed Science Funding Across States That Backed Trump - KFF Health News
A KFF Health News analysis underscores how the terminations have spared no part of the country, politically or geographically. Of the organizations that had grants cut in the first month, about 40% ar...
kffhealthnews.org
April 17, 2025 at 1:47 PM
🚨 The NIH’s sweeping cuts of research grants are inflicting pain almost universally across the U.S., @raelnb.bsky.social and I found.
At least 43% of organizations that had grants terminated are public universities.
About 40% are in states Trump won in November.
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
At least 43% of organizations that had grants terminated are public universities.
About 40% are in states Trump won in November.
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
Reposted by Holly Hacker
Lack of infrastructure investment will only make rural health care worse.
Rural Hospitals and Patients Are Disconnected From Modern Care kffhealthnews.org/MjAxMDA1Ng by @sjtribble-reports.bsky.social @hackwriter.bsky.social @caressejbskysocial.bsky.social via @kffhealthnews.org @investigatetv.com
Rural Hospitals and Patients Are Disconnected From Modern Care kffhealthnews.org/MjAxMDA1Ng by @sjtribble-reports.bsky.social @hackwriter.bsky.social @caressejbskysocial.bsky.social via @kffhealthnews.org @investigatetv.com
Rural Hospitals and Patients Are Disconnected From Modern Care - KFF Health News
Technological gaps handicap rural hospitals as billions in federal funding to modernize infrastructure lags. The reliance on outdated technology and piecemeal systems challenge staffs and erode…
kffhealthnews.org
April 10, 2025 at 11:31 PM
Lack of infrastructure investment will only make rural health care worse.
Rural Hospitals and Patients Are Disconnected From Modern Care kffhealthnews.org/MjAxMDA1Ng by @sjtribble-reports.bsky.social @hackwriter.bsky.social @caressejbskysocial.bsky.social via @kffhealthnews.org @investigatetv.com
Rural Hospitals and Patients Are Disconnected From Modern Care kffhealthnews.org/MjAxMDA1Ng by @sjtribble-reports.bsky.social @hackwriter.bsky.social @caressejbskysocial.bsky.social via @kffhealthnews.org @investigatetv.com
Reposted by Holly Hacker
"The man responsible for a $1.3 billion fraud scheme. A doctor who gave unnecessary eye injections. A CEO who made a fortune on pain+pee. President Trump claims he will stop health care fraudsters. In his first term, he let these fraudsters go" — Brett Kelman on X
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
Trump Says He’ll Stop Health Care Fraudsters. Last Time, He Let Them Walk. - KFF Health News
In his first term, President Donald Trump granted pardons or clemency to more than 60 convicted fraudsters, including health care executives who defrauded Medicare out of hundreds of millions of dolla...
kffhealthnews.org
April 2, 2025 at 9:54 PM
"The man responsible for a $1.3 billion fraud scheme. A doctor who gave unnecessary eye injections. A CEO who made a fortune on pain+pee. President Trump claims he will stop health care fraudsters. In his first term, he let these fraudsters go" — Brett Kelman on X
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
Reposted by Holly Hacker
In 15 yrs of reporting, I've never had so many health & biomed researchers & outreach orgs tell me they're afraid to talk w/press or barred from speaking bc of new comms policies.
I understand the fear of losing funds. I don't know if silence does more harm than good. If you can speak up, pls do.
I understand the fear of losing funds. I don't know if silence does more harm than good. If you can speak up, pls do.
March 21, 2025 at 2:27 PM
In 15 yrs of reporting, I've never had so many health & biomed researchers & outreach orgs tell me they're afraid to talk w/press or barred from speaking bc of new comms policies.
I understand the fear of losing funds. I don't know if silence does more harm than good. If you can speak up, pls do.
I understand the fear of losing funds. I don't know if silence does more harm than good. If you can speak up, pls do.
Reposted by Holly Hacker
My latest for @kffhealthnews.org: how a band of lovers of vitamins, peptides, and other supplements took over HHS -- and how they're vibing with their base: kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
In Trump’s Team, Supplement Fans Find Kindred Spirits in Search of Better Health - KFF Health News
President Donald Trump’s health team has deep financial ties to the supplements industry. Now they’re poised to boost its growth and remake the government’s approach to health.
kffhealthnews.org
March 13, 2025 at 1:03 PM
My latest for @kffhealthnews.org: how a band of lovers of vitamins, peptides, and other supplements took over HHS -- and how they're vibing with their base: kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
Reposted by Holly Hacker
Nearly 3 million Americans live sicker, shorter lives in the hundreds of rural counties where doctor shortages are the worst and poor internet connections mean little or no access to telehealth services.
📝: @sjtribble-reports.bsky.social + @hackwriter.bsky.social kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
📝: @sjtribble-reports.bsky.social + @hackwriter.bsky.social kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
Millions in US Live in Places Where Doctors Don’t Practice and Telehealth Doesn’t Reach - KFF Health News
Nearly 3 million Americans live sicker, shorter lives in the hundreds of rural counties where doctor shortages are the worst and poor internet connections mean little or no access to telehealth servic...
kffhealthnews.org
March 10, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Nearly 3 million Americans live sicker, shorter lives in the hundreds of rural counties where doctor shortages are the worst and poor internet connections mean little or no access to telehealth services.
📝: @sjtribble-reports.bsky.social + @hackwriter.bsky.social kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
📝: @sjtribble-reports.bsky.social + @hackwriter.bsky.social kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
Reposted by Holly Hacker
Register for tomorrow's in-depth look at the new groundbreaking national database on #OpioidSettlement spending, featuring @kffhealthnews.bsky.social Sr Correspondent @aneripattani.bsky.social and @shatterproofhq.bsky.social VP of State Policy Kristen Pendergrass: kff-org.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Localize This: How to Report on Your Community's Opioid Settlement Spending. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meet...
State and local governments have begun spending billions in opioid settlements paid by companies accused of fueling the overdose crisis. But where is that money going, who is getting it, and is it doi...
kff-org.zoom.us
February 4, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Register for tomorrow's in-depth look at the new groundbreaking national database on #OpioidSettlement spending, featuring @kffhealthnews.bsky.social Sr Correspondent @aneripattani.bsky.social and @shatterproofhq.bsky.social VP of State Policy Kristen Pendergrass: kff-org.zoom.us/meeting/regi...