Reporter with KFF Health News. Previously: The Tennessean, The Desert Sun and Pacific Daily News. Charisma is my dump stat. 615 218 8496, BrettK@kff.org
Nashville, TN
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I never would have guessed my journalistic niche would be "dental body horror," and yet here we are. kffhealthnews.org/news/artic…
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Brett Kelman retweeted
NEW: At least 170 U.S. hospitals are at risk of significant or dangerous flooding, which could interrupt or halt patient care, according to a months-long KFF Health News investigation.
📝: @hollyhacker, @BrettKelman, @dchangmiami
kffhealthnews.org/news/artic…
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Fun fact: One the hospitals in this story is so close to a major American river that the only way I could take a good photo was from a kayak.
NEW: At least 170 U.S. hospitals are at risk of significant or dangerous flooding, which could interrupt or halt patient care, according to a months-long KFF Health News investigation.
📝: @hollyhacker, @BrettKelman, @dchangmiami
kffhealthnews.org/news/artic…
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The government might be shut down, but Mother Nature doesn't care. At least 170 American hospitals face a major flood risk, which could cut off ERs and force evacuations. A @KFFHealthNews investigation from me, @hollyhacker and @dchangmiami. kffhealthnews.org/news/artic…
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Brett Kelman retweeted
Almost unfathomable: This Lender Said Its Loans Would Help Tennesseans. It Has Sued More Than 110,000 of Them. Yes, you read that right. propublica.org/article/flex-… by @friedmanadam5 @TNLookout
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I'm wading back in to the hellhole that is Twitter to share this story about the hellhole that is payday loans. Tennessee lawmakers are allowing "flex loans" to eat their constituents alive. Story by @TNLookout and @propublica, some of the best. tennesseelookout.com/2025/05…
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The man responsible for a $1.3 billion fraud scheme. A doctor who gave unnecessary eye injections. A CEO made a fortune on pain and pee. President Trump claims he will stop health care fraudsters. In his first term, he let these fraudsters go. kffhealthnews.org/news/artic…
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Brett Kelman retweeted
NEW: At least 230 U.S. counties have both a dire shortage of dentists and largely unfluoridated water, which could lead to rampant tooth decay and a lifetime of dental pain and costs.
@BrettKelman reports. ⤵️ kffhealthnews.org/news/artic…
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Former Tennessee Sen. Brian Kelsey, who pleaded guilty to campaign finance crimes and reported to prison two weeks ago, says he was pardoned by President Trump. I have just one story about Kelsey. This is it.
I once tried to question Sen. Kelsey as he hurried from the Senate chamber to avoid the media. I had soft cast on my foot due to tendinitis. I said "come on dude who runs from a guy in a medical boot?" He paused for a second and hustled down some stairs. tennessean.com/story/news/po…
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A Tennessee-based pain clinic company gave patients more than 700,000 unnecessary spinal injections that did not help their pain and sometimes made it worse. New story from me for @KFFHealthNews. kffhealthnews.org/news/artic…
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This story, like nearly all @KFFHealthNews articles, is completely free and available for any and all news organizations to republish. Yes, really. Go for it.
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Brett Kelman retweeted
NEW: “This was the pain clinic that was supposed to be helping me,” said Michelle Shaw, a former patient of Pain MD, which had clinics in three states. “I would come home crying. It just felt like they were using me.”
@BrettKelman reports. ⤵️ kffhealthnews.org/news/artic…
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Brett Kelman retweeted
US Dentists Are Pulling ‘Healthy’ and Treatable Teeth To Profit From Implants, Experts Warn
kffhealthnews.org/news/artic… via @BrettKelman et al
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Live footage of me writing about 700,000 spinal injections
A Tennessee pain clinic company made millions by giving patients about 700,000 unnecessary injections near the spine that did not diminish their pain and sometimes made it worse. A new story from me for
@KFFHealthNews & @TNLookout. tennesseelookout.com/2025/02…
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A Tennessee pain clinic company made millions by giving patients about 700,000 unnecessary injections near the spine that did not diminish their pain and sometimes made it worse. A new story from me for
@KFFHealthNews & @TNLookout. tennesseelookout.com/2025/02…
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Brett Kelman retweeted
NEW: In the wake of Hurricane Helene, 70 people were rescued by helicopters from an Appalachian hospital destroyed by flash flooding from a nearby river. Why was it built on a flood plain in the first place?
📝: @laurenmsausser & @hollyhacker kffhealthnews.org/news/artic…
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Brett Kelman retweeted
In a large swath of Appalachia, many residents are afraid of the hospital, but there is nowhere else to go. This is my latest @KFFHealthNews story on Ballad Health, the largest state-sanctioned hospital monopoly in the nation. kffhealthnews.org/news/artic…
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Brett Kelman retweeted
Ballad Health, the nation’s largest state-sanctioned hospital monopoly, is only option for hospital care in a large swath of Appalachia. Some residents say they’ve become wary, afraid, or unwilling to get care at Ballad hospitals.
@BrettKelman reports: kffhealthnews.org/news/artic…
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Brett Kelman retweeted
When Jerry Qualls had a heart attack in 2022, physicians at a Ballad Health facility said he couldn't be expected to recover. At a non-Ballad hospital, he received a heart transplant. @BrettKelman with @KFFHealthNews reports on Ballad Health.
tennesseelookout.com/2024/12…
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In a large swath of Appalachia, many residents are afraid of the hospital, but there is nowhere else to go. This is my latest @KFFHealthNews story on Ballad Health, the largest state-sanctioned hospital monopoly in the nation. kffhealthnews.org/news/artic…
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This Ballad Health article, like all of my stories for @KFFHealthNews, is completely free and available for any news organization to republish (photos too.) Take it. Spread the world. Tell the people. kffhealthnews.org/news/artic…
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