Aneri Pattani - KFF Health News

Federal workers say they feel overwhelmed, have obtained or considered seeking psychiatric care and medication, and are anxious about paying their bills. And soon, their health insurance will run out.

COVID relief is drying up and DOGE has thrown into question once-reliable federal funding, leaving many states hunting for alternatives to maintain crucial services. Opioid settlement money can seem like an attractive option.

A decision about how to spend settlement funds in Carter County, Kentucky, which was hit hard by the opioid epidemic, offers a window into the choices that surround this windfall.

In many places, victims of the opioid epidemic are silenced in decision-making about how to use opioid settlement money, a first-of-its-kind survey conducted by KFF Health News and Spotlight PA found.

Want to know how much opioid settlement money your city, county, or state has received so far? Or how much they’re expecting in the future? Use this new searchable database to find out.

More than 100 million people in the U.S. have medical debt, which can ruin credit and deplete savings. One woman who was hounded for years by debt collectors for a bill she never should have gotten.

Despite a consensus that patients should be able to get mental health care from primary care doctors, insurance policies and financial incentives may not support that.

A family received a $4,928 bill that was settled with the health system 18 months earlier, resurrecting painful memories. Hospital billing experts say this distressing scenario occurs frequently.