Latest KFF Health News Content

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Fighting for Patient Protections While Attacking ACA — Hard to Have It Both Ways

KFF Health News Original

Montana’s Matt Rosendale and many other Republican congressional candidates face the challenge of convincing voters they support safeguards on preexisting conditions even as they oppose the Affordable Care Act, which codifies those safeguards.

One School, Two Choices: A Study in Classroom vs. Distance Learning

KFF Health News Original

Most students at one Marin County school attend in person, while a dozen study from home. Those on campus are constantly nagged to use hand sanitizer and submit to the thermometer. Home-schoolers yell to their parents for help, while the parents pray that Zoom doesn’t freeze.

A Pandemic Trend? Drinking More, But Cooking Healthier Meals At Home

Morning Briefing

According to a new study, American adults admit to drinking 14% more during the pandemic. Yet food execs report seeing a shift from comfort foods back to healthier options. In other news, Airbnb cancels one-night Halloween reservations, LSU scraps wellness checks at football games, and more.

New Human Virus Linked To Small Animals Emerges In Alaska

Morning Briefing

A second person has been diagnosed with “Alaskapox,” first identified in 2015. Researchers said there’s no cause for alarm. Other public health news is on wildfire dangers to water, food recalls at Walmart and child abuse.

Even As Nation’s Cases Rise, HHS Promotes In-Person Support Systems

Morning Briefing

Modern Healthcare reports on ways in which the federal government will attempt to deal with the nation’s “deteriorating mental health” brought on by shutdown isolation and economic devastation. News is from South Dakota, Washington, Georgia, Michigan and Indiana, as well.

New, Incision-Free Brain Surgery Helps Patients With Parkinson’s Disease

Morning Briefing

The new surgery, MRI-guided focused ultrasound, treats essential tremor and tremor-dominant Parkinson’s disease with sound waves, targeting the brain tissue that causes the shaking. Only 23 hospitals in the U.S. offer this treatment. Hospital news is also reported out of Georgia, Illinois and Kansas.

Study: Coronavirus Lives On Your Skin For 9 Hours

Morning Briefing

Comparatively, influenza A survives on human skin for less than two hours. In other COVID-19 research, a study has shown that nearly a third of hospitalized patients experienced some type of altered mental function.

White House Stops FDA From Issuing High Vaccine Safety Standards For EUA

Morning Briefing

The bar set by the proposed guidelines would have been hard for any vaccine maker to clear by the Nov. 3 election. President Donald Trump has pinned much of his re-election campaign message on a vision that a COVID-19 vaccine would secure FDA emergency use authorization by that date.

CDC Confirms Coronavirus Spreads Through Airborne Transmission

Morning Briefing

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday that the virus may be transmitted between people who are more than 6 feet apart. Yet Monday’s guidance was more cautious than previous guidance that the CDC released last month, before pulling it down shortly thereafter.

Outbreak Puts Vulnerable White House Staffers At Risk; Some Test Positive

Morning Briefing

As a still-contagious President Donald Trump returns from the hospital to the White House, concerns are raised for the people who work in the residence as well as the Secret Service members who staff the area. Some have voiced anger and fear over their working safety conditions.

‘Largest Spreader’ Of Disinformation? Title Goes To Trump, Studies Find

Morning Briefing

The source of many of the fake claims and bad information online about critical topics like the coronavirus pandemic and voter safety is the president of the United States, two recent studies conclude.