Latest KFF Health News Stories
Otra amenaza a la educación en la era de covid: jubilación masiva de maestros latinos
En 2021, el 59% de los educadores hispanos estaba planeando retirarse, algunos antes de tiempo. Una cifra mucho más alta que años anteriores.
What Are Taxpayers Spending for Those ‘Free’ Covid Tests? The Government Won’t Say.
Inquiries lead from one federal office to the next, with no clear answers. At one Army Contracting Command, a protocol office employee says that “voicemail has been down for months.” And the email address listed for fielding media inquiries? “The army stopped using the email address about eight years ago.”
Exits by Black and Hispanic Teachers Pose a New Threat to Covid-Era Education
Schools that serve poor and disadvantaged kids have taken a series of hits during the pandemic. Now, teachers of color are leaving the profession at higher rates than are white teachers.
Don’t Nurse That Moscow Mule — It Could Be a Health Hazard
Researchers in Montana have found that unsafe levels of copper can leach into the cocktail in less than half an hour.
Cuidado con este cóctel, puede ser peligroso para la salud
El Moscow Mule se toma en una jarra de cobre, lo que lo vuelve fascinante, y tal vez peligroso.
La historia muestra que vacunar a los niños ayuda a prevenir brotes de enfermedades graves. ¿Qué pasará con covid?
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: FDA Takes Center Stage
Congress is set to start its once-every-five-years review of the law that authorizes user fees to finance the hiring of personnel to speed the FDA review of drugs. The periodic renewals of “PDUFA” also give lawmakers a chance to make other changes to the agency at the hub of the pandemic. Meanwhile, the FDA could also find itself at the center of the abortion debate and a controversial new medication to treat Alzheimer’s disease. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
Skirmish Between Biden and Red States Over Medicaid Leaves Enrollees in the Balance
The Biden administration is getting rid of several policies implemented by Trump-era appointees that restricted enrollment. Federal officials now say states can no longer charge premiums to low-income residents enrolled in Medicaid and have ruled out work requirements.
Montana Mice May Hold the Secret to Virus Spillover
Researchers in Montana are working to figure out how climate change and biodiversity affect viruses’ jump from animals to people.
‘Somebody Is Gonna Die’: Medi-Cal Patients Struggle to Fill Prescriptions
Problems with California’s new Medicaid prescription drug program are preventing thousands of patients from getting their medications, including some life-saving ones. State officials say they’re working on fixes.
Polio, Chickenpox, Measles, Now Covid. It’s Time to Consult History on School Vaccine Mandates
As some states adopt covid vaccine requirements, not everyone agrees mandates for children are the way forward. Taking a page from history: We have two paths to putting the pandemic behind us: a quicker, more certain one of mandatory vaccination or a stuttering, drawn-out, likely more deadly affair.
The Doctor Will See You Now — In the Hallway
At Salem Health Salem Hospital in Oregon, the omicron surge is still swamping health care workers. They are ground down emotionally but keep showing up for their patients.
¿Listo para otra enfermedad pandémica? Se llama “fatiga por tomar decisiones”
Antes, ir a un restaurant o visitar a los abuelos era una decisión simple pero ahora puede significar la vida o la muerte. Un experto explica esta afección pandémica.
Missouri’s War on Public Health Shows Extent of National Rift
A public health official who said he was anti-abortion and anti-mandate for masks and covid vaccines did not pass the purity test of a Missouri senator who opposes covid public health restrictions. The senator killed the official’s nomination to be state health director, highlighting how hands may be tied in the nationwide fight against infectious diseases.
Federal Investigation Into Spine Surgeries Uses Mob Laws to Target Health Care Fraud
Investigators allege a Texas company that arranges spine surgery and other medical care for people injured in car crashes accepted bribes in violation of 1960s-era racketeering law.
Health Care Paradox: Medicare Penalizes Dozens of Hospitals It Also Gives Five Stars
Among the 764 hospitals hit with a 1% reduction in Medicare payments this year for having high numbers of patient infections and avoidable complications are more than three dozen that Medicare also ranks as among the best in the country.
Casas pequeñas ofrecen más que un techo para las personas sin hogar
Hasta Arnold Schwarzenegger donó dinero para 25 casas pequeñas en Los Angeles. Una solución para las personas sin techo.
Ready for Another Pandemic Malady? It’s Called ‘Decision Fatigue’
Pandemic living has come with a barrage of daily choices that have many of us complaining of a sort of brain freeze. That exhaustion is real, and it’s got a name: “decision fatigue.”
Bounties and Bonuses Leave Small Hospitals Behind in Staffing Wars
A hospital in Wisconsin sued to keep seven employees from taking jobs with a competitor. A health system in South Dakota is offering nurses $40,000 signing bonuses. Facilities with fewer resources are finding it difficult or impossible to compete for health care workers.
How the Tiny-Home Movement Is Providing More Than Just a Roof to Homeless People
Cities and nonprofits across the country are building communities of tiny homes to safely house people amid covid and cold winters. Proponents say tiny homes give people dignity and privacy, but some advocates for homeless people say they don’t go far enough.
