KFF Health News

What KFF Health News does

KFF Health News is a national newsroom and core operating program of KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation), a nonprofit health policy organization founded in 1990. The newsroom produces in-depth investigative and explanatory journalism on U.S. healthcare issues, including healthcare costs, insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, prescription drugs, public health, and rural health. Its product portfolio spans a flagship website (kffhealthnews.org), a daily Morning Briefing email, multiple podcast series (What the Health?, KFF Health News Minute, An Arm and a Leg, HealthQ, Health Hub, Epidemic, Silence in Sikeston), investigative special report series (Bill of the Month, Diagnosis: Debt, Deadly Denials, The Body Shops, Broken Rehab, Priced Out, Dead Zone, Overpayment Outrage, Eleven Minutes, Payback: Tracking Opioid Cash, Guns Race and Profit, Common Ground, Rural Health Payout), and column series (The New Old Age, HealthBent). Content is freely available with no paywall, and KFF Health News operates a free syndication model through which major outlets such as NBC News, CBS News, and regional NPR affiliates republish its reporting.

The business model is nonprofit and donor-funded, with revenue derived from foundation grants, individual donations, and parent KFF allocations rather than commercial sales or subscriptions. The organization serves a horizontally segmented audience including general public readers, policymakers and health policy professionals, media outlets that syndicate content, and researchers. Its competitive position is reinforced by KFF's proprietary health policy polling and research data, which provides a data advantage that generalist newsrooms cannot replicate. Strategic partnerships with academic institutions (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health) and advocacy organizations (Shatterproof, The Trace) have produced high-impact investigative projects such as the national opioid settlement fund database tracking more than $50 billion in state and local expenditures.

KFF Health News operates with 11-50 employees and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. The organization is in a planned leadership transition, with Founding President and CEO Drew Altman retiring on December 31, 2026, and Larry Levitt and Dr. Mollyann Brodie assuming CEO and President roles respectively in January 2027. The newsroom is not venture-backed and has no public or private equity shareholders; it is a mission-driven organization whose growth is constrained by nonprofit funding rather than market-driven demand.

Name

KFF Health News

Legal name

KFF Health News

Website

https://kaiserhealthnews.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

KFF Health News is a nonprofit national newsroom producing in-depth investigative journalism on U.S. health policy, healthcare costs, and public health. It operates as a core program of KFF, distributing content freely via website, podcasts, newsletters, and syndication to major media outlets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Health Policy Journalism

NAICS

Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

Health, Wellness & Fitness Trade Publishing (MPAJAAAL)

Keywords

• Health policy journalism
• Investigative health reporting
• Public health news
• Nonprofit newsroom
• Healthcare policy analysis

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth original and investigative journalism on health policy issues. The organization covers healthcare costs, insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, public health, prescription drugs, and the health industry, distributing its reporting through a website, podcasts, email newsletters, and free syndication to partner media outlets. It operates as one of the core programs of KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation), leveraging the parent organization's polling and health policy research capabilities.

Product overview

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues as one of the core operating programs at KFF. The organization operates as a unified news platform with multiple product lines including original news reporting, audio/podcast content (What the Health?, KFF Health News Minute, An Arm and a Leg, HealthQ, Health Hub, Epidemic), and investigative special report series (Bill of the Month, Deadly Denials, Diagnosis: Debt, The Body Shops, Payback: Tracking Opioid Cash, Guns Race and Profit, Common Ground). The portfolio also includes daily Morning Briefing email summaries, column series (The New Old Age, HealthBent), and topic-specific coverage areas spanning Medicare, Medicaid, healthcare costs, insurance, public health, and rural health. Content is distributed through multiple channels including the website, email newsletters, podcasts, and syndication to partner publications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• What the Health?: Weekly podcast covering health policy news
• KFF Health News Minute
• HealthQ
• Bill of the Month
• Diagnosis: Debt
• Payback: Tracking Opioid Cash

Products and services

• KFF Health News A national newsroom producing in-depth original journalism about health issues, covering healthcare costs, insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, public health, prescription drugs, and the health industry. Content is freely available to all readers.
• What the Health? A weekly podcast featuring health policy discussions, interviews with journalists and experts, and analysis of current health news events.
• KFF Health News Minute A brief audio news segment providing quick summaries of health news stories.
• An Arm and a Leg A podcast series examining the high cost of healthcare in America.
• Morning Briefing A daily news summary email delivering key health policy stories to subscribers each morning.
• Bill of the Month A special report series investigating and explaining medical bills, exposing billing practices and healthcare costs.
• Payback: Tracking Opioid Cash A national database and investigative project tracking how state and local governments spend opioid settlement funds, developed in partnership with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Shatterproof.
• Diagnosis: Debt An investigative series examining medical debt in America, its causes, and consequences for patients.
• Healthcare Helpline A consumer-focused series helping readers navigate healthcare coverage questions, including insurance and weight-loss drug coverage.

Quantifiable outcome

• KFF Health News content is republished for free by other media outlets, extending reach to millions of additional readers
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The TracecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 July 2026KFF Health News collaborated with The Trace, a nonprofit news organization covering gun violence, to analyze Florida hospital billing data from 2018 to 2024 on gunshot wound hospitalizations. The investigation found disparities in how uninsured patients were discharged compared to insured patients.
• NBC NewscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 March 2026KFF Health News and NBC News jointly published an investigation into cosmetic surgery chains, documenting alleged disfiguring injuries and multiple patient deaths tied to procedures including liposuction and 'Mommy Makeovers'. The investigation prompted responses from medical boards and industry organizations.
• Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 January 2026KFF Health News partnered with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the nonprofit Shatterproof to launch a national database tracking how state and local governments spend more than $50 billion in opioid settlement funds. The 'Payback: Tracking Opioid Cash' project found nearly $2.7 billion was spent or committed in 2024.
• ShatterproofcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 January 2026KFF Health News partnered with Shatterproof (alongside Johns Hopkins) to create the Payback national database tracking opioid settlement fund expenditures across jurisdictions, monitoring how states spend settlement funds and reporting on allocation to addiction treatment, overdose reversal, and other services.
• WUSF (University of South Florida)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWUSF, a public media station, partners with KFF Health News to cover Florida health issues, including reporting on vaccine mandates and other state-specific health policy topics.
• Nashville Public RadiominorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNashville Public Radio collaborates with KFF Health News on coverage including the 'Caregiving Club' series and other health policy stories affecting the Nashville and Tennessee region.
• Iowa Public RadiominorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIowa Public Radio partners with KFF Health News to cover health stories affecting Iowa, including mental health challenges faced by cancer survivors.
• CBS NewsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCBS News has syndicated KFF Health News articles on rural health funding and other health policy topics, extending reach to CBS's national audience.
• FierceHealthcareminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFierceHealthcare has syndicated KFF Health News reporting on rural health transformation and hospital funding issues.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• ProPublica: Major U.S. nonprofit investigative newsroom producing high-impact journalism across policy domains. Directly comparable as a donor-funded nonprofit publisher with a national footprint and award-winning investigative model similar to KFF Health News.
• STAT News: Health- and life-sciences-focused digital news outlet producing original investigative reporting and newsletters. Most directly comparable specialized health newsroom competing for the same policymaker, journalist, and engaged-reader audience as KFF Health News.
• The Trace: Nonprofit newsroom covering gun violence in America. Directly comparable as a nonprofit, donor-funded investigative newsroom that co-publishes with KFF Health News on cross-cutting issues such as firearms and health.
• The Marshall Project: Nonprofit investigative newsroom covering criminal justice. Comparable as a similarly sized, donor-funded national nonprofit newsroom producing single-topic investigative journalism with partner outlets.
• Center for Public Integrity: Nonprofit investigative newsroom focused on accountability journalism. Comparable as a national nonprofit investigative outlet that combines original reporting with partner syndication to extend reach.
• Health Affairs: Leading peer-reviewed health policy journal and news outlet. Comparable as a health-policy-focused publication serving policymakers, researchers, and industry stakeholders with data-driven analysis.
• MedPage Today: Clinical and policy news outlet serving healthcare professionals. Comparable as a health-focused news publisher serving clinicians and policy stakeholders, with overlapping coverage of Medicare, insurance, and public health issues.

Broad incumbents

• Politico: Major policy-focused digital media outlet with extensive health-care policy coverage. Competes for the same policymaker and policy-professional audience but operates at substantially larger scale and as a for-profit newsroom.
• The Intercept: Online investigative publication covering politics, policy, and social justice. Comparable in its nonprofit-leaning investigative model and topic-driven reporting style, though broader in scope than KFF Health News.
• PBS NewsHour: Major public-media news operation with dedicated health policy reporting. Comparable in mission (public-service journalism) and audience overlap, though at significantly larger scale with broadcast capabilities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/KFFHealthNews
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@kff-healthnews
• Facebookfacebook.com/KFFHealthNews
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kff-health-news
• Instagraminstagram.com/KFFHealthNews
• TikToktiktok.com/@kffhealthnews

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about KFF Health News