Sarah Jane Tribble

Visit to read Sarah's bio.

sjtribble@kff.org

Trump Team鈥檚 Reworking Delays Billions in Broadband Build-Out

国产麻豆精品Health News Original

A Trump administration reworking of a $42 billion broadband expansion program will trigger delays as millions of rural Americans wait for promised connections and the telehealth services they bring.

Watch: In a 鈥楧ead Zone,鈥 Doctors Don鈥檛 Practice and Telehealth Doesn鈥檛 Reach

国产麻豆精品Health News Original

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鈥檛 adequate to access advanced telehealth services.

Flawed Federal Programs Maroon Rural Americans in Telehealth Blackouts

国产麻豆精品Health News Original

Taxpayers 鈥 through federal infrastructure programs 鈥 have paid billions of dollars to internet companies to hook up rural Americans. Some communities have nothing to show for it, leaving medically vulnerable rural patients disconnected and without access to telehealth.

Rural Hospitals and Patients Are Disconnected From Modern Care

国产麻豆精品Health News Original

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 The reliance on outdated technology and piecemeal systems challenge staffs and erode patient care.

Millions in US Live in Places Where Doctors Don鈥檛 Practice and Telehealth Doesn鈥檛 Reach

国产麻豆精品Health News Original

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.

A Few Rural Towns Are Bucking the Trend and Building New Hospitals

国产麻豆精品Health News Original

A remote Wyoming community hoped for years to have more access to health care. Now, after receiving federal funding, it is bucking dismal closure trends throughout the rural U.S. and building its own hospital. And it鈥檚 not the only one.

End of Internet Subsidy Leaves Millions Facing Telehealth Disconnect

国产麻豆精品Health News Original

When the clock struck midnight on May 31, more than 23 million low-income households were dropped from a federal internet subsidy program that for years had helped them get connected. The Affordable Connectivity Program was created in 2021, in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic, to help people plug into jobs, schools and health care by reducing their internet […]

Congress Likely to Kick the Can on Covid-Era Telehealth Policies

国产麻豆精品Health News Original

With an end-of-year deadline and a presidential election approaching, payment rules that fueled rapid expansion of telehealth in the United States face a last-minute congressional decision.

End of Internet Subsidies for Low-Income Households Threatens Telehealth Access

国产麻豆精品Health News Original

A federal program that helped pay for more than 23 million low-income households鈥 internet access runs out of money soon. The end of the subsidy launched earlier in the pandemic could have profound impacts on health care access.

Medicare Advantage Is Popular, but Some Beneficiaries Feel Buyer鈥檚 Remorse

国产麻豆精品Health News Original

Medicare Advantage plans are booming 鈥 30.8 million of the 60 million Americans with Medicare are now enrolled in the private plans rather than the traditional government-run program. But a little-known fact: Once you鈥檙e in a Medicare Advantage plan, you may not be able to get out. Traditional Medicare usually requires beneficiaries to pay 20 […]

Watch: Older Americans Say They Feel Stuck in Medicare Advantage Plans

国产麻豆精品Health News Original

You鈥檝e probably seen advertising about Medicare Advantage plans. 国产麻豆精品Health News’ Sarah Jane Tribble explains the pros and cons of this insurance option as enrollment in these plans increases.

Federal Program to Save Rural Hospitals Feels 鈥楪rowing Pains鈥

国产麻豆精品Health News Original

Fewer than two dozen rural hospitals were converted into Rural Emergency Hospitals in the program鈥檚 first year. Now, advocates and lawmakers say tweaks to the law are necessary to lure more takers and keep health care in rural communities.

Older Americans Say They Feel Trapped in Medicare Advantage Plans

国产麻豆精品Health News Original

As enrollment in private Medicare Advantage plans grows, so do concerns about how well the insurance works, including from those who say they have become trapped in the private plans as their health declines.