Latest KFF Health News Stories
Mental Health Industry Stretched To Breaking Point, Report Finds
In other public health topics: homeless camps, pregnancy, museums and Disney’s Splash Mountain.
States With Record-Breaking Numbers Are Losing Control Of Their Outbreaks, Health Leaders Warn
Texas, Arizona and Florida are now leading in the number of new cases confirmed every day, and experts are worried that the states’ leaders aren’t doing enough to get control of the skyrocketing numbers. Other news comes out of California, New York, North Carolina, Vermont, Massachusetts, Maine, Montana, Louisiana and Georgia.
‘The Equivalent Of Landlocked Cruise Ships’: Universities Grapple With How To Reopen Safely
The issue has become all the more serious as the number of young Americans with COVID continues to rise. While some schools are partnering with experts to try to make the reopening as safe as possible, others are relying heavily on digital solutions for their students.
CMS announced Thursday that 487,000 people signed up for an Affordable Care Act exchange plan since the last open enrollment period closed in December. Losing job-based health coverage is one of the life events that qualifies someone for HealthCare.gov special enrollment. Meanwhile, more issues with short-term health plans are reported.
‘This Pandemic Is Not Over’: CDC Issues Guidance About New At-Risk Groups Extending Beyond Elderly
“I’m asking people to recognize that we’re in a different situation today than we were in March, in April, where the virus was being disproportionately recognized in older individuals with significant comorbidities and was causing significant hospitalizations and deaths,” said CDC Director Robert Redfield. Public health news is on infections among younger people, charting the spread of infection, vaccines, unexpected weight gains, social distancing in bars, seniors who can’t use telemedicine, mask-wearing, LBGTQ health care, mental health, hands-off exhibit time, and more, as well.
Greater Telehealth Flexibility For Medicare Providers To Become Permanent, CMS Says
According to a proposed rule, CMS would permanently allow telehealth costs to be reimbursable for home health agencies. And CMS’ Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation announced an extension for its pilot Medicare Care Choices Model program.
Pressure Mounts Against Facebook To Prevent Racist Posts
Also: Country music deals with racial stereotypes; LGBTQ Pride movement prepares to turn 50; the mental effects of racism; and more.
More Than 30% Of Black Americans Know Someone With COVID In Latest Sign Of Racial Disparities
Data and other evidence continues to pile up that shows that Black Americans are being disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Meanwhile, as states and cities across the country continue to grapple with the issue of police violence.
GOP Lawmakers Let Rare Frustration With Trump Slip Through As Virus Cases Spike Across Country
Republican lawmakers said they wished that in some instances President Donald Trump would wear a mask so that the general public would follow his example. Meanwhile, Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz of Texas — a state where cases are skyrocketing — say they don’t understand the administration’s decision to cut federal support of drive-thru testing sites.
Contrasting Messages From Trump, Biden On Virus Increasingly On Display As Election Draws Closer
“Amazingly, he hasn’t grasped the most basic fact of this crisis: To fix the economy we have to get control over the virus,” presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden said of President Donald Trump, who has been on the road touting recovery efforts.
Using terms like “treason” and “insurrection,” President Donald Trump’s comments have become increasingly aggressive about the protests against racial profiling and police violence.
Fed Sent $1.4B In Stimulus Checks To More Than A Million Deceased People In Rush To Disburse Funds
The GAO report makes clear how the mistakes were made by sending checks to people who had died since filing tax returns. Currently, as the government considers a second round of stimulus checks, there are no plans to recoup the first payments.
House Passes Democrats’ Police Reform Bill, But The Expansive Legislation Is Doomed In Senate
The Democrats’ bill includes several measures that civil rights activists have been pushing for decades, such as amending the federal criminal code to make it easier to prosecute police officers for misconduct by lowering the standard that prosecutors must meet. But both parties have signaled an unwillingness to compromise on their bills.
The briefing will take place at HHS rather than the White House, with Vice President Mike Pence at the helm. Meanwhile, NBC News obtained the task force’s internal data tracking COVID-19 sharp surges in locations around the nation, despite President Donald Trump’s message that the outbreak is “going away.”
Trump Administration Trying To Sabotage New Job, Whistleblower Says
In other news: Feminist legal scholars applaud campus sex-assault rules; U.S. Postal Service finds surprising financial upside during the pandemic.
Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court To Overturn Health Law In Midst Of Escalating Pandemic
If the Supreme Court invalidated the health law, more than 20 million Americans could lose their coverage and protections for pre-existing conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Democrats seized on the Trump administration’s move, calling it an “unfathomable cruelty.”
‘Trump Can’t Wish It Away:’ In Speech On Health Care, Biden Blasts Rival’s Handling Of Pandemic
“[Donald Trump’s] like a child who can’t believe this has happened to him — all his whining and self-pity,” presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said during a campaign speech in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. “Well, this pandemic didn’t happen to him. It happened to all of us. And his job isn’t to whine about it. His job is to do something about it, to lead.” Biden also criticized the president’s “heartless” actions around the ACA and called for a public option. Meanwhile, Trump campaign message continues to sidestep the resurgence of coronavirus cases.
Texas, Other States Halt Reopening As Coronavirus Cases Soar
Oregon, Nevada, Kansas, Louisiana, North Carolina, New Mexico and other states also reconsider their plans.
By CDC Director Robert Redfield’s estimate, that means that up to 24 million Americans may have been infected by the virus. “Our best estimate right now is for every case reported there were actually 10 other infections,” Redfield said.
Governor Baker Leads List Of Reforms For Holyoke Soldiers’ Home With Stringent Annual Inspections
Because the facility isn’t overseen by HHS, it isn’t subject to annual state inspections. The federal Veterans Affairs department inspects the home annually, and a private organization inspects it every three years, but some feel those inspections aren’t rigorous enough. News on nursing homes is from Georgia and France, as well.
