Kaiser Health News

What Kaiser Health News does

KFF Health News is a national newsroom and core operating program of KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in San Francisco, California. It produces in-depth, independent journalism on health policy and healthcare in the United States, covering topics such as Medicaid, Medicare, prescription drugs, the Affordable Care Act, public health, healthcare costs, mental health, and the health industry. Editorial output spans a flagship website (kffhealthnews.org), the daily Morning Briefing email newsletter, a portfolio of podcasts (including "What the Health?", "An Arm and a Leg," "Epidemic," "Healthcare Helpline," "Health Hub," "HealthQ," "Silence in Sikeston," and the KFF Health News Minute), recurring columns ("The New Old Age," "HealthBent"), and a large slate of investigative special reports (e.g., "Bill of the Month," "Diagnosis: Debt," "Priced Out," "Rural Health Payout," "Payback: Tracking Opioid Settlement Cash," "Denied," "Memory Gaps," "Eleven Minutes," "Common Ground," "Dead Zone").

The business model is donor- and grant-supported nonprofit journalism rather than subscription or advertising revenue. Content is distributed free to readers and made available for free republication by other media outlets under syndication agreements, with the foundation, corporate, and individual donor base underwriting operations. The newsroom maintains regional bureaus in California, the Mountain States, the Midwest, and the South, produces Spanish-language content, and distributes across major social platforms (X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Bluesky). There is no commercial technology product, app, or AI product disclosed in the input; the underlying "platform" is its journalism brand, editorial infrastructure, and the parent KFF's research and polling assets.

Name

Kaiser Health News

Legal name

KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation)

Website

https://khn.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

KFF Health News is the national newsroom of the KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) nonprofit, producing independent, in-depth journalism on U.S. health policy and healthcare for the general public, policymakers, and other media under a donor-funded model with free syndication.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Health Policy Journalism

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Syndication, Licensing & Content Partnerships (Columns, Features, Photos) (MPAJADAI)

Keywords

• Health policy journalism
• Investigative health reporting
• Healthcare news podcasts
• Nonprofit newsroom
• Health policy newsletters

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donor/Foundation Support: KFF Health News is a core operating program of KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation), which is a nonprofit organization supported by foundations, major donors, and individual contributors. As a journalism nonprofit, revenue comes from donations and grants rather than commercial sales.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

KFF Health News operates a national newsroom that produces in-depth, independent journalism on health policy and health care issues, including investigative reporting, daily news articles, podcast series, daily email newsletters, and multimedia special reports. The organization also makes its content freely available for republication by other media outlets under syndication agreements. It functions as a core operating program of KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation).

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 (Kaiser Family Foundation). The offering operates as a multi-platform journalism organization rather than a traditional software product. Its portfolio includes the core newsroom producing investigative reporting and breaking news; multiple podcast series including What the Health?, Healthcare Helpline, An Arm and a Leg, Health Hub, HealthQ, KFF Health News Minute, Epidemic, and Silence in Sikeston; daily and newsletter-based products like the Morning Briefing; and numerous special report series including Bill of the Month, Diagnosis: Debt, Priced Out, Rural Health Payout, Payback: Tracking Opioid Settlement Cash, Common Ground, Eleven Minutes, Memory Gaps, Denied, The Body Shops, Guns Race and Profit, Broken Rehab, and Dead Zone; plus column content through The New Old Age and HealthBent. The organization also maintains Spanish-language content through Noticias en español.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• KFF Health News Newsroom

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

One partnership is on record.

• Mississippi TodayminorOthersCollaboration on rural health coverage. Gwen Dilworth from Mississippi Today contributed reporting on pregnant woman's roadside death in Mississippi Delta.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• CalMatters: CalMatters is a California-focused nonprofit newsroom covering state policy with extensive health policy coverage, multiple newsletters, and a regional bureau model that mirrors KFF Health News' California/Mountain States/Midwest/South structure. Operates on a similar nonprofit, donor-supported model.
• The Texas Tribune: The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit newsroom producing in-depth journalism with state-level coverage, regional focus, and free syndication to partner outlets. While Texas-focused rather than national, it shares the nonprofit newsroom model, free republication model, and multi-platform distribution (newsletters, podcasts, events).
• Center for Public Integrity: Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit investigative newsroom producing in-depth reporting on government accountability and public policy. Shares the nonprofit donor-funded model, focus on investigative journalism, and free syndication approach. Topic overlap includes healthcare and policy accountability.
• The Marshall Project: The Marshall Project is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom covering the criminal justice system with deep investigative reporting, podcasts, and newsletters. While topic-focused differently (criminal justice vs. health policy), it shares the same nonprofit newsroom business model, donor-funded operations, and focus on a complex public-policy beat.
• STAT News: STAT News is a direct peer — a health and life sciences newsroom covering health policy, pharma, biotech, and medicine. Both serve overlapping audiences (policymakers, healthcare professionals, engaged consumers) with original journalism, newsletters, and podcasts, and compete for the same health-policy reader mindshare.

Broad incumbents

• ProPublica: ProPublica is a large, established nonprofit investigative newsroom. Both are nonprofit journalism operations funded by foundations that produce in-depth, freely available investigative reporting and syndicate content. ProPublica is broader in topic scope, while KFF Health News is specialized in health policy.
• Politico: Politico is a broad incumbent in policy journalism with a dedicated health care vertical covering health policy, FDA, and congressional activity. Both organizations cover health policy developments for policymakers and engaged readers, though Politico operates a subscription model across broader policy verticals.

Emerging players

• The Conversation U.S. The Conversation is a nonprofit news organization that publishes explanatory journalism written by academics and distributes content via free Creative Commons republication through partner media outlets. Closely comparable free syndication model, though its health coverage is one of many verticals rather than a dedicated beat.
• The 19th News: The 19th News is a nonprofit newsroom covering gender and policy, including significant health policy coverage (reproductive health, maternal health). Comparable in nonprofit model, audience-centric approach, and free access to content, though smaller and focused on a narrower topic vertical.
• Type Investigations: Type Investigations is a nonprofit investigative reporting organization producing long-form journalism and collaborating with media partners for syndication. Comparable as a smaller nonprofit newsroom model with co-publication and partner distribution — though without KFF Health News' specialized health beat.

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

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 Kaiser Health News