Latest KFF Health News Stories
CDC Warned Security Leaders About Threat Of A Mysterious Pathogen On Jan. 2. What Happened Next?
Behind the scenes, the National Security Council worked around the clock to try to understand the novel coronavirus after the CDC’s Dr. Robert Redfield tipped the members off in early January. Meanwhile, the Trump administration had ended a pandemic detection program two months before the outbreak started in China. And mixed messages and shifting leadership from President Donald Trump and within the White House and Defense Department sow confusion.
The United States has become the epicenter of the epidemic as this country surges toward 250,000 confirmed cases.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial pages focus on these health care topics during the pandemic and others.
Medicaid Nearing ‘Eye Of The Storm’ As Newly Unemployed Look For Coverage
The coronavirus outbreak has forced millions out of work and the federal-state health program for low-income people could face unprecedented strains as many states don’t necessarily have the resources or systems in place to meet the demand.
As The Country Disinfects, Diabetes Patients Can’t Find Rubbing Alcohol
Demand has exploded for rubbing alcohol and alcohol swabs, which are being deployed in the disinfection fight against the coronavirus. Now, people with diabetes who rely on the products for infection control are left scrambling.
Travel restrictions came after the coronavirus had reached the U.S.
Trump Touted Abbott’s Quick COVID-19 Test. HHS Document Shows Only 5,500 Are On Way For Entire U.S.
States urgently need millions of tests, and the game changer they’ve been waiting on falls well short of what is needed, according to government documents obtained by KHN.
Pandemic-Stricken Cities Have Empty Hospitals, But Reopening Them Is Difficult
In Philadelphia, New Orleans and Los Angeles, former safety-net hospitals sit empty in the middle of the city. But reopening a closed hospital, even in the midst of a pandemic when health resources are scarce, is not easy or cheap.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: All Coronavirus All The Time
The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing changes to the U.S. health system that were previously unthinkable. Yet some fights ― including over the Affordable Care Act and abortion — persist even in this time of national emergency. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHN’s Liz Szabo about the latest installment of KHN-NPR’s “Bill of the Month.”
Editorial pages focus on these health care topics and others.
Research Roundup: Antibiotic Use, Medical Device Approval, And Skin Infections
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
Opinion writers weigh in on these health topics and others.
In Ecuador, Victims Who Have Succumbed To Virus Are Being Left In Streets With Morgues At Capacity
The developing world is being hit hard by the outbreak, from medical capacity to economies based largely on informal workers. Global news comes out of China, Africa, France and Sweden, as well.
The companies are taking compounds that already exist, tailoring receptors to match them, and delivering the genetic code for those bespoke receptors as a gene therapy. In other pharmaceutical news: a heartburn drug recall, drug shortages, and a biotech scorecard from Stat.
“It scares me more than getting sick,” one retired pediatrician said about the potential hospital bill that could come if she got sick while pitching in on the efforts. In other news from the front lines: pregnant health workers “terrified,” an option to deploy military personnel to help care for sick, a call for hazard pay for medical workers, and a look at what hospitals need right now.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center treats the world’s top celebrities, while Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital serves some of Los Angeles’ most vulnerable populations. But the distinctions between the two are fading fast as they both brace for an onslaught. Other hospital news comes out of Massachusetts and Texas.
‘COVID Is The Equivalent Of Katrina Hitting 50 States’: Hurricane Season Looms In Distance For FEMA
FEMA, which is handling the coronavirus outbreak, is already taking steps to brace for a potentially devastating hurricane season by possibly rehiring retirees and setting up a second coordination center devoted to non-pandemic related catastrophes. Meanwhile, the agency has debunked the idea that President Donald Trump can issue a nationwide quarantine, but the myth persists.
Skyrocketing Gun Sales: Virus Fears Fuel Second Busiest Month, Double Purchases In Some States
“People are nervous that there’s a certain amount of civil disorder that might come if huge numbers of people are sick and a huge number of institutions are not operating normally,” said Timothy Lytton, an expert on the gun industry. Public health news stemming from the outbreak is on abortion, domestic abuse, foster children and sobriety, as well
Nearly 3,000 Sailors To Leave Aircraft Carrier; Medical Specialists En Route To Guam
The Navy announced that about 1,000 crew members will remain on the USS Theodore Roosevelt while it is docked in Guam to keep the ship running and to secure it. About 100 sailors aboard have tested positive so far, leading the captain to ask for additional protections and evacuations.