Lauren Weber

Lauren Weber was a Midwest correspondent for KFF Health News until December 2022.

@LaurenWeberHP

KHN Investigation: The System Feds Rely On to Stop Repeat Health Fraud Is Broken

KFF Health News Original

A months-long KHN examination of the system meant to bar fraudsters from Medicaid, Medicare, and other federal health programs found gaping holes and expansive gray areas through which banned individuals slip to repeatedly bilk taxpayer-funded programs.

The Disability Tax: Medical Bills Remain Inaccessible for Many Blind Americans

KFF Health News Original

Health insurers and health care systems across the country are violating disability rights laws by sending medical bills that blind and visually impaired people cannot read, a KHN investigation has found. By hindering the ability of blind Americans to know what they owe, some bills get sent to debt collections.

Thousands of Experts Hired to Aid Public Health Departments Are Losing Their Jobs

KFF Health News Original

As the covid-19 pandemic raged, an independent nonprofit tied to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hired an army of seasoned professionals to fill the gaps in the country’s public health system. Now, the money has largely run out, and state and local health departments are again without their expertise.

Shattered Dreams and Bills in the Millions: Losing a Baby in America

KFF Health News Original

On top of fearing for their children’s lives, new parents of very fragile, very sick infants can face exorbitant hospital bills — even if they have insurance. Medical bills don’t go away if a child dies.

Las clínicas de salud sexual luchan sin medios contra la viruela del simio

KFF Health News Original

Las clínicas que tratan las enfermedades de transmisión sexual —que ya se enfrentaban a un aumento explosivo de enfermedades como la sífilis y la gonorrea— se encuentran ahora en la primera línea de la lucha para controlar el brote de viruela del simio, que crece rápidamente.

Conservative Blocs Unleash Litigation to Curb Public Health Powers

KFF Health News Original

Spurred on by opposition to pandemic-related health mandates, a coalition of religious liberty groups, conservative think tanks, and Republican state attorneys general has filed a cascade of litigation seeking to rein in the powers of public health authorities.

Feds Want a Policy That Advocates Say Would Let Hospitals Off the Hook for Covid-Era Lapses

KFF Health News Original

The pandemic disrupted all sense of normalcy for U.S. hospitals, so federal officials are proposing to pause financial penalties against the facilities and to block public access to key hospital safety data — such as the frequency of falls and sepsis — because of concerns that the data isn’t accurate enough. But consumer advocates are furious about the proposal.

States Have Yet to Spend Hundreds of Millions of Federal Dollars to Tackle Covid Health Disparities

KFF Health News Original

A year ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded states and local health departments $2.25 billion to help people of color and other populations at higher risk from covid. But a KHN review shows public health agencies across the country have been slow to spend it.

Pandemic Funding Is Running Out for Community Health Workers

KFF Health News Original

Illinois used federal pandemic money to hire community health workers who connect people with food banks and rental assistance programs, just like public health officials have long hoped to do. What will happen to the community trust that has been built up when the federal money runs out and the workers disappear?

Pandemic Medical Innovations Leave Behind People With Disabilities

KFF Health News Original

As the country enters Year 3 of the pandemic emergency, people with disabilities across the U.S. are still finding it difficult to use innovations in telemedicine, teleworking, and testing.

Desperate for Cash: Programs for People With Disabilities Still Not Seeing Federal Funds

KFF Health News Original

Almost a year after the American Rescue Plan Act allocated what could amount to $25 billion to home and community-based services run by Medicaid, many states have yet to access much of the money due to delays and red tape.

Missouri’s War on Public Health Shows Extent of National Rift

KFF Health News Original

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.

Hospitales enfrentan más casos de covid en personas ya hospitalizadas, con menos personal

KFF Health News Original

Las infecciones están exacerbando algunas condiciones médicas y dificultando la reducción de la propagación de covid dentro de las paredes del hospital, especialmente porque los pacientes se presentan en etapas más tempranas y más infecciosas de la enfermedad.

Incidental Cases and Staff Shortages Make Covid’s Next Act Tough for Hospitals

KFF Health News Original

As omicron sweeps the country, many hospitals are dealing with a flood of people hospitalized with covid — including those primarily admitted for other reasons. While often milder cases, so-called incidental covid infections still drain the beleaguered health care workforce and can put them and other patients at higher risk for contracting covid.