Latest KFF Health News Stories
Syphilis Cases in California Drive a Record-Setting Year for STDs Nationwide
New data released Tuesday from the CDC shows sexually transmitted infections reached an all-time high in 2019. The biggest spike was in syphilis cases, which rose 74% between 2015 and 2019. Leading the country in syphilis is California, where men who have sex with men make up half the cases.
Covid Spawns ‘Completely New Category’ of Organ Transplants
Nearly 60 organ transplants have been performed after the coronavirus “basically destroyed” patients’ hearts and lungs.
Orange County Hospital Seeks Divorce From Large Catholic Health System
Frustration with the standardization of care across 51 hospitals, loss of local control and restrictions on reproductive health care have pitted Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian against the Providence chain.
Redfield Joins Big Ass Fans, Which Promotes Controversial Covid-Killing Technology
Dr. Robert Redfield, Trump’s CDC director, lends his scientific credibility to its Clean Air Systems subsidiary, which touts a “virus-killing ion technology” added to its fans. But indoor air quality experts question whether some of its technology works in the real world.
‘Explained by KHN’: Health Insurance Help in Covid Relief Law
In this edition of “Explained by KHN” Emmarie Huetteman covers how the $1.9 trillion covid relief law will make health insurance coverage significantly more affordable for millions of people.
Readers and Tweeters Give Tips on Treating Diabetes and Long Covid
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Biden Seeks $400 Billion to Buttress Long-Term Care. A Look at What’s at Stake.
Long-term care options are expensive and often out of reach for seniors and people with disabilities. The president has proposed a massive infusion of federal funding for home and community-based health services that advocates say will go a long way toward helping individuals and families.
The Gender Vaccine Gap: More Women Than Men Are Getting Covid Shots
A KHN examination of state vaccine statistics shows that more women than men have gotten covid vaccines. Experts cite demographic realities of those who were part of the initial rollout but also women’s greater likelihood to seek preventive health care.
Journalists Document True Toll of Covid on Health Care’s Front-Line Force
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.
‘My Children Were Priceless Jewels’: Three Families Reflect on the Health Workers They Lost
The daughter of an internist in the Bronx, the father of a nurse practitioner in Southern California and the son of a nurse in McAllen, Texas, share how grief over their loved ones’ deaths from covid has affected them.
Fauci Thanks US Health Workers for Sacrifices but Admits PPE Shortages Drove Up Death Toll
Exclusive: The head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases says health workers ‘have lived up to the oath they take’ but says shortages of protective gear have contributed to excess deaths.
They Tested Negative for Covid. Still, They Have Long Covid Symptoms.
Despite a negative covid test, people could have been infected with the coronavirus anyway. And some of them might face lingering health issues.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Health Care as Infrastructure
President Joe Biden’s infrastructure proposal includes items not traditionally considered “infrastructure,” including a $400 billion expansion of home and community-based services for seniors and people with disabilities, and a $50 billion effort to replace water pipes lined with lead. Meanwhile, the politics of covid-19 are turning to how or whether Americans will need to prove they’ve been vaccinated. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, Rovner interviews KFF’s Mollyann Brodie about the KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor.
Calls Mount for Biden to Track US Health Care Worker Deaths from Covid
As The Guardian and KHN end Lost on the Frontline, a yearlong project to count health care worker deaths in the pandemic, the White House is under pressure to take up the task.
12 Months of Trauma: More Than 3,600 US Health Workers Died in Covid’s First Year
Lost on the Frontline, a yearlong investigation by The Guardian and KHN to count health care worker deaths, ends today. This is what we learned in a year of tracing the lives of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
‘Go Ahead and Vote Me Out’: What Other Places Can Learn From Santa Rosa’s Tent City
As cities across California wrestle with a crisis of homelessness that has drawn international condemnation, Santa Rosa’s bold experiment with a city-sanctioned encampment suggests a way forward.
California Counties a Hodgepodge of Highs and Lows in Vaccinating Vulnerable Seniors
Like many states, California is seeing huge regional variations in covid vaccination rates for people 65 and older. Remote rural counties are in some cases struggling to give away doses to vulnerable seniors, while metropolitan areas often have more demand than supply.
Doctor Survived Cambodia’s Killing Fields, but Not Covid
Dr. Linath Lim came to the U.S. as a refugee after slaving at work camps under the brutal Khmer Rouge regime. Even with little English or education when she arrived, Lim put herself through college and medical school. As an internal medicine doctor in California’s Central Valley, she treated farmworkers and other Cambodian refugees.
Events of 2020 Moved Medical Students to Political Activism
The emergence of an organization for med students motivated by progressive concerns highlights the changing attitudes of some physicians in training.
Missouri ‘Voted for This Lie,’ Says State Rep Trying to Block Medicaid Expansion
Even with extra federal dollars and a flush budget, Show Me State Republicans are putting up roadblocks to the voter-approved constitutional amendment that would give 275,000 people health insurance.
