Latest KFF Health News Stories
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 5: With Rural Hospital Gone, Cancer Care Means a Daylong Trek
The hunt for good cancer treatment often means miles on the road, time spent waiting and exhaustion from treatment and transit. “The further you have to travel to get care, the less likely that you are going to take that effort to do that,” said Boban Mathew, an oncologist in southeastern Kansas.
Telemedicine or In-Person Visit? Pros and Cons
The volume of virtual medical appointments has exploded during the pandemic as patients and doctors have sought to avoid infection through in-person visits.
For People With Visual Impairments, Truly Secret Ballots Are Elusive
Voters in several states who live with visual impairments must rely on family and friends to fill out their mail-in or absentee paper ballots, compromising their privacy. More states are relying on mail-in and absentee voting to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
If Trump Wins, Don’t Hold Your Breath Waiting for That ACA Replacement Plan
The administration seeks to have the Supreme Court overturn the federal health law but has not explained how it would ensure Americans’ health care coverage.
Opinion writers weigh on these pandemic topics and others.
Editorial pages focus on these public health issues and others.
Crowded Hospitals Could Also Be Hot Spots For Superbug
National Geographic reports that an influx of COVID patients in hospitals could be driving a surge of a drug-resistant fungal infection. News is on false positives, tuberculosis, online interviews and more.
Immigrants At Georgia Detention Center Forced To Have Unnecessary Gynecological Surgeries
Media outlets report on news from Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Vermont, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Michigan, Missouri, Montana and Texas.
Bayer Pays Up To $4B For NC-Based Gene Therapy Firm AskBio
Bayer is offering $2 billion up front, and could pay out another $2 billion if the firm hits certain milestones, Stat reports.
2020 Thanksgiving: Big Happy Reunion Or Red-Hot Problem?
News outlets begin to roll out advice that will help people, eager to see family and friends, make safe plans. News is on vaccine rates for toddlers and quarantines for Fox News president and staff.
Senate Speeds Toward Barrett Confirmation
After a rare all-night Sunday session, in which Republicans easily beat back Democrats’ efforts to oppose moving forward, Amy Coney Barrett is expected to be approved to the Supreme Court in a vote tonight.
One ‘Operation Warp Speed’ Contract Released, Riddled With Redactions
HHS made public the federal government’s $1.5-billion deal with Moderna to secure access to its COVID-19 vaccine candidate. But information on 39 pages of the 53-page document is obscured by redactions, NPR reports. Other developments on the vaccine race were also in the weekend’s news.
Near The Brink, Utah Hospitals May Soon Start Rationing Care
Under the criteria, patients who are getting worse despite receiving intensive care would be moved out first. In the event that two patients’ conditions are equal, the young get priority over the old, since older patients are more likely to die.
Trump Health Advisers — Past And Present — Urge National Mask Mandate
And “Ho, ho, ho” turns to “no, no, no” as the Trump administration backs off a plan that would have put Santa Claus performers near the front of the vaccine line.
Biden, Trump Paint Starkly Different Pictures Of Pandemic For Voters
On the campaign trial, former Vice President Joe Biden outlines his plan for containing the COVID-19 surge while President Donald Trump says the nation is already “rounding the turn.”
Pence’s Team Now Infected By COVID: Chief Of Staff, Top Aides Test Positive
The vice president’s chief of staff Marc Short and at least four other staffers are reported to have the coronavirus. Mike Pence has so far tested negative and will continue to travel to campaign.
Is White House Giving Up On Limiting Spread Of Coronavirus?
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows signals that the Trump administration may be doing so when he said during an interview: “We’re not going to control the pandemic.” Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said the statement is a flag of surrender.
US Just Had Worst Week Of Pandemic As COVID Races Through Nation
The numbers are grim. The highest seven-day average of new cases was just set: 68,767. The single-day case record also broken: 83,757. Deaths, according to one tally: 225,000. And currently hospitalized: over 42,000.
As Voters Across The US Rethink Issues, One State Seems To Have Too Many
From surging COVID cases to racial protests to economic troubles, “Wisconsin,” Chris Walton, chair of the Milwaukee County Democrats, said, “is one-stop shopping this year. We’ve got it all.”
‘Deeply Troubling’: Italy, Other Parts Of Europe Hit By Rapidly Spreading Virus
Reports are from Italy, France, Germany, Poland, Spain, Mexico, Iceland, England, South Korea and Finland.