Latest KFF Health News Stories
The CDC report also stated that the numbers of health care professionals testing positive and dying from COVID-19 were likely to go up. Meanwhile, KHN and The Guardian team up to track and profile the health care workers who have died from the virus.
New York City’s Death Toll Jumps By More Than 3,700 After Officials Take Into Account Probable Cases
“Behind every death is a friend, a family member, a loved one. We are focused on ensuring that every New Yorker who died because of COVID-19 gets counted,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot. The revised numbers hint at how much the country has likely under-counted deaths. The U.S. recorded its deadliest day on Tuesday.
During President Donald Trump’s tenure, his administration has chipped away at the health law and attempted to make moves on transparency and drug costs. But his legacy might be expanded federal health spending that looks a lot like his political foes’ dreams. Meanwhile, Politico looks at what the president said he’d do and what he’s actually done during the pandemic.
Military leaders sound more cautious that President Donald Trump, warning that expecting things to go back to normal in the summer is a best-case scenario.
The options to get kids back into schools safely involve staggered start times and a rethinking of mass gatherings such as assemblies, recess and gym time. Meanwhile, some universities start thinking about pushing off in-person classes until 2021.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom laid out a plan that relies on certain requirements the state needs to be able to meet before the state could get back to work. Those include: the capacity for hospitals to handle a potential surge in patients; the identification of promising treatments; the creation of a data-tracking system that provides an early warning if the state needs to reinstate stay-at-home orders; and wide-spread testing, among other things.
Federal Ventilator Program Would Allow Hospitals To Send Unused Machines To Help Hot Spots
“There are over 60,000 ventilators in our hospitals right now that are not in use,” says Adam Boehler, a former HHS official tapped to help with the government’s response. The program is voluntary but would allow hospitals in cold spots to send needed equipment to facilities that are overwhelmed with patients. Meanwhile, the federal government expects to receive tens of thousands more ventilators in coming weeks.
The Washington Post obtained a draft version of the CDC and FEMA plan to reopen the country. The plan lays out three phases: a national communication campaign and community readiness assessment; increased manufacturing of test kits and personal protective equipment; and more emergency funding. Then staged reopenings would begin, depending on local conditions.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo even threatened legal action if President Donald Trump tried to interfere with the decision to lift New York’s shut-down orders. And it wasn’t just Democrats who balked at Trump’s claim he is the final decider on when the country reopens. For some Republicans, Trump’s statements sounded like a direct repudiation of a long-standing conservative legal principle.
Trump Latches On To May 1 Reopen Date Despite Warnings, But It’s Not As Easy As Flipping A Switch
President Donald Trump announced a panel filled with dozens of business and labor leaders to help get the country reopen in the coming weeks. But even officials within the administration say that it’s going to be a slow process that may take months. Trump, who has tied his presidency to the success of the economy, has been itching to try to mitigate some of the financial devastation caused by the pandemic.
Trump’s Decision To Cut Off WHO Funding Draws Swift Push Back From Medical Community, Democrats
“During the worst public health crisis in a century, halting funding to the World Health Organization is a dangerous step in the wrong direction that will not make defeating COVID-19 easier,” American Medical Association President Patrice Harris said. President Donald Trump had previously floated the idea, which critics say is the president’s way of trying to shift blame for his own early missteps.
Editorial pages express views about these pandemic issues.
Know of a health care worker who died of COVID 19? KHN and The Guardian are going to document the lives of U.S. workers who succumbed during the crisis. These are the frontline health workers who risk their lives to care for the sick and keep our health care facilities running. Please share their stories here.
Perspectives: Until Patient Advocates Get On Board, Lowering Drug Prices Is A Tough Sell
Read recent commentaries about drug-cost issues.
Are Efforts To Curb High Drug Prices Really Stalled Amid Pandemic?
Read about the biggest pharmaceutical development and pricing stories from the past week in KHN’s Prescription Drug Watch roundup.
Opinion writers weigh in on these coronavirus crisis issues and others.
Media outlets report on news from Wyoming, Michigan, Wisconsin, California, Georgia and Vermont.
Courts have been slow to extend the same benefit to young people who are incarcerated that they’re allowing for some adults. Staff members and youths at facilities in at least a half-dozen states have tested positive. In Washington, D.C., a staff member in the juvenile justice system has died.
As hospitals pause some services, workers trained in specialty areas have little to do even as staffing needs surge amid the crisis. Hospitals are trying to train those providers and recruit retirees as well to handle the expected influx of patients. In other health-care worker news: hazard pay, mask shortages, child care concerns, and more.
The staff told ABC News that they were caught off guard by the rapid spread at Canterbury Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center near Richmond, which has suffered the worst loss of life to coronavirus of any nursing home in the U.S. Nursing home news is from Massachusetts, Florida, and Pennsylvania, as well.
