An NIH Genetics Study Targets a Long-Standing Challenge: Diversity
By Lauren Sausser
May 7, 2024
KFF Health News Original
In his 2015 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama announced a precision medicine initiative that would later be known as the All of Us program. The research, now well underway at the National Institutes of Health, aims to analyze the DNA of at least 1 million people across the United States to build a diverse health database. The key word there is “diverse.” So […]
California Hospitals, Advocates Seek Stable Funding to Retain Behavioral Health Navigators
By Vanessa G. Sánchez
March 1, 2024
KFF Health News Original
California has supported expanded use of medications in the fight against opioid use disorder and overdose deaths. But hospitals and addiction treatment advocates say the state needs to secure ongoing funding if it wants more behavioral health workers to guide patients into long-term treatment.
Genetics Studies Have a Diversity Problem That Researchers Struggle To Fix
By Lauren Sausser
April 25, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Researchers in Charleston, South Carolina, are trying to build a DNA database of 100,000 people to better understand how genetics affects health risks. But they’re struggling to recruit enough Black participants.
Hospitales de California y defensores buscan financiación estable para retener a navegadores de salud conductual
By Vanessa G. Sánchez
March 8, 2024
KFF Health News Original
En 2022, el año más reciente del que se dispone de datos, 7,385 californianos murieron por sobredosis relacionadas con opioides, de los cuales el 88% involucró fentanilo, un opioide sintético que puede ser 50 veces más potente que la heroína.
Unraveling the Interplay of Omicron, Reinfections, and Long Covid
By Liz Szabo
August 26, 2022
KFF Health News Original
The omicron variant has proved adept at finding hosts, often by reinfecting people who recovered from earlier bouts of covid. But whether omicron triggers long covid as often and severe as previous variants is a matter of heated study.
‘True Cost of Aging’ Index Shows Many Seniors Can’t Afford Basic Necessities
By Judith Graham
July 25, 2022
KFF Health News Original
The Elder Index, developed by researchers at the University of Massachusetts-Boston, shows that nearly 5 million older women living alone, 2 million older men living alone, and more than 2 million older couples have incomes that make them economically insecure.
The End of the Covid Emergency Could Mean a Huge Loss of Health Insurance
By Elisabeth Rosenthal
April 6, 2022
KFF Health News Original
It is a perilous time to throw low- and middle-income Americans off the insurance cliff: A new omicron subvariant is spreading, and a program that provided coronavirus testing and covid-19 treatment at no cost to the uninsured has expired.
Three Things to Know About Insurance Coverage for Abortion
By Julie Appleby
July 13, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Even before the Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to abortion, insurance coverage for the service varied widely. Now it’s become even more complex, with additional changes and court challenges to come.
Tres cosas que hay que saber sobre la cobertura del seguro para abortos
By Julie Appleby
July 13, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Apenas una de las decenas de conflictos: el aborto puede estar cubierto por un plan de salud, pero si no hay proveedores disponibles, las pacientes no tienen acceso.
Fauci Thanks US Health Workers for Sacrifices but Admits PPE Shortages Drove Up Death Toll
By Jessica Glenza, The Guardian
April 9, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Exclusive: The head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases says health workers ‘have lived up to the oath they take’ but says shortages of protective gear have contributed to excess deaths.
4 Things to Know About the J&J Covid Vaccine Pause
By Phil Galewitz
April 14, 2021
KFF Health News Original
The messaging surrounding vaccine safety and efficacy may mean as much as the science.
Covid Spawns ‘Completely New Category’ of Organ Transplants
By JoNel Aleccia
April 13, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Nearly 60 organ transplants have been performed after the coronavirus “basically destroyed” patients’ hearts and lungs.
Cuatro respuestas sobre el freno a la vacuna contra covid de Johnson & Johnson
By Phil Galewitz
April 14, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Expertos en salud se preguntan si el freno a la vacuna de J&J a causa de seis casos de mujeres que desarrollaron coágulos luego de recibirla puede impactar negativamente en los esfuerzos de inmunización.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Au Revoir, Public Health Emergency
February 2, 2023
Podcast
The Biden administration this week announced it would let the covid-19 public health emergency lapse on May 11, even as the Republican-led House was voting to immediately eliminate the special authorities of the so-called PHE. Meanwhile, anti-abortion forces are pressuring legislators to both tighten abortion restrictions and pay for every birth in the nation. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, and Victoria Knight of Axios join KHN’s chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Hannah Wesolowski of the National Alliance on Mental Illness about the rollout of the national 988 suicide prevention hotline.
White House Left States On Their Own To Buy Ventilators. Inside Their Mad Scramble.
By Rachana Pradhan
June 15, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Although laws prohibit price gouging on precious resources in times of emergency, states have been forced to compete for a share of the nation’s stockpile of ventilators — used to treat the sickest COVID patients — or pay top dollar on sideline deals. With quality and quantity control lacking, what happens when the pandemic’s second wave hits?
Opioid Deaths Rise Devastatingly Among Black St. Louisans
April 14, 2022
Morning Briefing
Reports say there’s been a 560% rise of overdose deaths of Black people in St. Louis since 2015. Meanwhile, in Colorado a bill would make it a felony to possess more than 1 gram of fentanyl. In Boston, efforts to reduce alcoholism include an app that “rewards” abstention with a daily $5 bonus.
Don’t Count on Lower Premiums Despite Pandemic-Driven Boon for Insurers
By Bernard J. Wolfson
July 31, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Early in the pandemic, insurers expected the costs of treating COVID-19 would vastly increase medical spending. Instead, non-COVID care has plummeted and insurers have pocketed the result. Still, few industry observers are predicting broad-based premium cuts in 2021, though some health plans have proposed lowering their rates.
Facebook Live: Intimate Lessons From The Front Lines Of Family Caregiving
November 20, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Family caregivers are the backbone of our nation’s system of long-term care for older adults. Every year, more than 34 million unpaid caregivers — mostly family members — provide essential aid to adults age 50 and older, helping with tasks such as bathing or dressing and, increasingly, performing complex medical tasks such as managing medications, dressing wounds and operating medical equipment.
Mask Policy Tightens At Costco; NYC Parties Shut Down; Stockpiling Again?
November 16, 2020
Morning Briefing
If a medical condition prevents someone from wearing a mask, Costco now requires them to wear a face shield at its nearly 560 stores. News is on sheriffs breaking up parties; businesses taking measures to keep shelves full and more.
When Your Doctor Is Also A Lobbyist: Inside The War Over Surprise Medical Bills
By Rachana Pradhan
February 12, 2020
KFF Health News Original
As lawmakers consider bills to protect patients against surprise medical bills, doctors have waged a stealth on-the-ground campaign to win over members of Congress. Here’s how they did it.
