Elizabeth Lucas

Elizabeth Lucas was the data editor at KFF Health News until August 2021.

@eklucas

Pharma Campaign Cash Delivered to Key Lawmakers With Surgical Precision

KFF Health News Original

With an eye to shutting down Medicare drug price negotiations, drug companies and their lobbying groups gave roughly $1.6 million in the first six months of 2021, with Democrats edging closer than they have in a decade to Republicans’ total haul.

At Texas Border, Pandemic’s High Toll Lays Bare Gaps in Health and Insurance

KFF Health News Original

In Texas’ border communities, which are overwhelmingly Hispanic, covid-19 death rates for people under age 65 were double those in the rest of the state and three times the national average. They were also significantly higher than rates in New Mexico border areas.

A Senator From Arizona Emerges As A Pharma Favorite

KFF Health News Original

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has received almost $100,000 from drug companies in the current election cycle, a KHN analysis shows, one of the largest cash hauls in Congress. And it’s only her first term.

Millions Stuck At Home With No Plumbing, Kitchen Or Space To Stay Safe

KFF Health News Original

In 470,000 American homes spread across every state, washing hands to prevent COVID-19 may not be as easy as turning on a faucet. They don’t have showers or toilets or, in some cases, even water piped into their homes. Nearly a million U.S. homes don’t have complete kitchens and millions more are overcrowded, making it much tougher for people to shelter in place and avoid infection.

How Well Does Your Nursing Home Fight Infections? Look It Up Here

KFF Health News Original

More nursing homes have been faulted for failing to follow practices designed to prevent and control infections than for any other type of error. Such lapses have become matters of heightened concern with the spread of the coronavirus this spring, especially as the virus is a bigger threat to the elderly.

Opioid Operators: How Surgeons Ply Patients With Painkillers

KFF Health News Original

Even as awareness of the opioid crisis grew, prescribing habits of surgeons changed very little from 2011 to 2016, found a data analysis by KHN and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Use this interactive tool to search by doctor or practicing hospital.