Latest KFF Health News Stories
Pandemic Imperiled Non-English Speakers More Than Others
Covid patients who did not speak English well were 35% more likely to die, data from one Boston hospital shows.
Big Investors Push Nursing Homes to Upgrade Care and Working Conditions
Responsible for 34% of the nation’s covid death toll, nursing homes and long-term care facilities get slammed by their investors and are told to change.
‘Red Flag’ Gun Laws Get Another Look After Indiana, Colorado Shootings
It’s unclear whether “red flag” laws — which allow the seizure of guns from a person deemed dangerous — help prevent mass shootings or should have been applied to the suspects in recent shootings in Boulder, Colorado, and Indianapolis.
Time to Say Goodbye to Some Insurers’ Waivers for Covid Treatment Fees
Insurers voluntarily set the charges aside earlier in the pandemic — but that means those same health plans can decide to reinstate them.
‘We’re Coming for You’: For Public Health Officials, a Year of Threats and Menace
Local health officials have become the face of government authority as they work to stem the pandemic. That has made them targets for chilling threats from some of the same militia groups that stormed the U.S. Capitol. Santa Cruz leaders are among those whose daily routines now incorporate security patrols, surveillance cameras and, in some cases, firearms.
From Hospital Profits to Gender Gaps, Journalists Are on the Case
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Michigan’s Outbreak Worries Scientists. Will Conservative Outposts Keep Pandemic Rolling?
The covid outbreak in Michigan stands out on the U.S. contagion map, but odds are it will be repeated elsewhere. How vaccine hesitancy, relaxed restrictions and a coronavirus variant combined to create the worst outbreak in the country.
Only One Vaccine Is OK’d for Older Teens. It’s Also the Hardest to Manage in Rural America.
Of the three covid vaccines the U.S. government has authorized, only one is available to 16- and 17-year-olds: the Pfizer shot. It’s also the most complicated to manage in rural settings, with their small, dispersed populations. That forces some teens and their families to travel long distances for a dose — or go without.
Virtual Care Spreads in Missouri Health System, Home to ‘Hospital Without Beds’
In 2015, St. Louis-based Mercy health system opened what officials called the world’s first “hospital without beds.” Since the pandemic, Mercy has incorporated telehealth throughout its system, part of a national acceleration in virtual care that proponents laud but critics say is happening too fast.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Picking Up the Pace of Undoing Trump Policies
The Biden administration has started to speed efforts to reverse health policies forged under Donald Trump. Most recently, the administration overturned a ban on fetal tissue research and canceled a last-minute extension of a Medicaid waiver for Texas. That latter move may delay the Senate confirmation of President Joe Biden’s nominee to head the Medicare and Medicaid programs, as Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) seeks to fight back. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Rachel Cohrs of Stat and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
Tras accidente de auto, paciente se estrella contra factura de $700,000 por cirugía de columna
La vida de Mark Gottlieb cambió en un instante cuando otro conductor chocó contra su auto. Se dañó cuatro vértebras de la parte superior de la columna vertebral y se destrozó seis dientes.
California and Texas Took Different Routes to Vaccination. Who’s Ahead?
California stresses equity for minority groups. Texas is all about personal choice and liberty. Both are struggling to vaccinate Latinos and contending with vaccine hesitancy among conservative communities.
After Accident, Patient Crashes Into $700,000 Bill for Spine Surgery
Generous personal injury coverage on your car policy may not be enough to cover medical bills. Patients can get financially blindsided when auto insurance and health insurance policies differ.
Doctors Scramble to Understand Long Covid, but Causes and Prognosis Are Elusive
Medical experts are struggling to define or explain the lingering, debilitating symptoms some covid patients experience. Part of the problem is the wide range of symptoms, but doctors say getting a better understanding will mean tracking patients and their outcomes and establishing clinical trials.
Listen: A Rookie Doctor Starts Her Career, Forged by the Pandemic
The latest episode of “America Dissected” features a conversation with Dr. Paloma Marin-Nevarez and KHN senior correspondent Jenny Gold. Gold documented the new physician’s first months on the job at a Fresno, California, hospital, caring for severely ill covid patients.
Censorship or Misinformation? DeSantis and YouTube Spar Over Covid Roundtable Takedown.
The Florida governor considers the pushback he received from the online video platform to be “Orwellian.” But the scientists featured at the event made specific statements YouTube deemed as “misinformation,” at odds with current public health recommendations for controlling the spread of the covid virus.
Strides Against HIV/AIDS Falter, Especially in the South, as Nation Battles Covid
Public health resources have shifted from one pandemic to the other, and experts fear steep declines in testing and diagnoses mean more people will contract HIV and die of AIDS.
Another Soda Tax Bill Dies. Another Win for Big Soda.
A bill that would have allowed California cities and counties to once again pursue taxes on sugary drinks was just shelved in the legislature without a hearing. Public health advocates blame the political — and financial — clout of the soft drink industry.
Tras un año mortal en las carreteras, los estados dicen sí a la seguridad y no a la velocidad
Legisladores de California y otros estados se replantean cómo establecer y hacer cumplir los límites de velocidad, y proponen darle más poder a las jurisdicciones locales para frenar a los conductores en sus comunidades.
UVA Health Will Wipe Out Tens of Thousands of Lawsuits Against Patients
The Virginia hospital giant had already stopped suing patients with less than $107,000 in household income.
