Latest KFF Health News Content

Latest KFF Health News Stories

CDC Urges Store Workers Not To Argue With People Who Aren’t Wearing Masks

Morning Briefing

In other public health news: Princess Cruises and Cunard have canceled their sailings into early 2021; a Kentucky man accused of twice breaking Canada’s COVID rules could be fined $569,000; and more.

American Airlines Warning About Layoffs Signals Congress About Need For Relief

Morning Briefing

Efforts between the Democrats and Republicans to find a compromise on a new relief bill collapsed before the summer recess. In other news, New York joins other states in filing a lawsuit to block postal service changes.

From 99 to 20,000: Superspreading Biogen Conference Likely Source Of Far More Cases Than Previously Estimated

Morning Briefing

A genetic data study finds that the Biogen conference held in Boston in February played a much greater role in spreading the coronavirus in the outbreak’s early days than previously identified. Meanwhile, public health experts say that the recent Sturgis motorcycle rally is shaping up as a similar “superspreader” event.

Melania Trump Delivers Rare Nod At Convention To Tragedy Of Pandemic

Morning Briefing

Telling Americans “you are not alone,” First Lady Melania Trump has been one of the few speakers so far at the Republican National Convention to voice sympathy for the more than 182,000 lives lost in the U.S. due to COVID-19.

All Nursing Homes Must Now Test Workers For COVID, CMS Mandates

Morning Briefing

Facilities face financial penalties if they don’t test staff during an outbreak. The interim regulation is the first time the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has required such testing during the coronavirus pandemic.

CDC: No COVID Symptoms? No Test

Morning Briefing

People who have been exposed to others with the virus “do not necessarily need a test” if they are not experiencing symptoms, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Hospitals Must Report COVID Data Or Risk Medicare, Medicaid Funding

Morning Briefing

In new emergency rules, the Trump administration warned hospitals that it would revoke Medicare and Medicaid dollars if coronavirus patient data and test results are not reported to HHS. The reporting program was previously voluntary.

Prognosis for Rural Hospitals Worsens With Pandemic

KFF Health News Original

Rural hospitals were already struggling before the coronavirus emerged. Now, the loss of revenue from patients who are afraid to come to the emergency room, postponing doctor’s appointments and delaying elective surgeries is adding to the pressure.

Feeling Anxious and Depressed? You’re Right at Home in California.

KFF Health News Original

In a series of July U.S. Census Bureau surveys, nearly half of California adult respondents reported levels of anxiety and gloom typically associated with diagnoses of generalized anxiety disorder or major depressive disorder, a stunning figure that rose through the summer alongside the menacing spread of the coronavirus.

LA Hospital Seeks Vaccine Trial Participants Among Its Own High-Risk Patients

KFF Health News Original

Harbor-UCLA Medical Center serves patients who are especially vulnerable to the coronavirus: They are essential workers, have chronic diseases and are members of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. When the safety-net hospital kicks off enrollment for its COVID-19 vaccine trial Wednesday, it will look to those patients to participate.