Patients’ Perilous Months-Long Waiting for Medicaid Coverage Is a Sign of What’s to Come
The pandemic crisis has overwhelmed understaffed state Medicaid agencies, already delaying access to the insurance program in Missouri. As the public health emergency ends, low-income people nationwide could find it even harder to have coverage.
‘The Danger Is Still There’ ― As Omicron Lurks, Native Americans Are Wary of Boosters
Federal data shows that vaccination rates for American Indians and Alaska Natives were some of the highest in the nation, but tribes say resistance has slowed efforts to boost members.
Big Pharma Is Betting on Bigger Political Ambitions From Sen. Tim Scott
The South Carolina senator led the congressional pack in pharma campaign contributions for the second half of 2021. There are clear reasons.
Biden Pledges Better Nursing Home Care, but He Likely Won’t Fast-Track It
CMS chief Chiquita Brooks-LaSure says the agency reserves its power to quickly institute new regulations for “absolute emergencies.” On staffing, nursing home residents might need to wait years to see any real change.
Why Millions on Medicaid Are at Risk of Losing Coverage in the Months Ahead
State Medicaid agencies for months have been preparing for the end of a federal mandate that has prevented states from removing people from the safety-net program during the pandemic.
At Nursing Homes, Long Waits for Results Render Covid Tests ‘Useless’
As omicron surges, more nursing homes are facing a double whammy: Lab tests are taking too long, and fast antigen tests are in short supply.
As Omicron Surges, Effort to Vaccinate Young Children Stalls
Just 18% of 5- to 11-year-olds are fully vaccinated, with rates varying significantly across the country, a KHN analysis of federal data shows. Pediatricians say the slow pace and geographic disparities are alarming, especially against the backdrop of record numbers of cases and pediatric hospitalizations.
Hospitales le piden a Santa suministros: falta de todo, desde sillas de ruedas hasta jeringas
En otra consecuencia de la crisis de la cadena de suministro global, hospitales que gestionan los picos de casos de covid durante las Fiestas y a todos sus otros pacientes se están quedando sin suministros básicos para atenderlos
Never Mind Toys, It’s Time to Ask Santa for Crutches and Catheters
As hospitals juggle holiday covid surges and all their other patients, the global supply chain crisis has left them short of critical supplies.
Why You Can’t Find Cheap At-Home Covid Tests
You probably won’t be testing everyone at your Thanksgiving table for covid because the tests are expensive and hard to find. Why? The federal government is partly to blame.
Investigaciones han demostrado que la pérdida de la audición puede socavar la calidad de vida de las personas mayores, lo que conduce a la soledad, el aislamiento, la depresión, y trastornos de la comunicación.
Democrats Plan to Expand Medicare Hearing Benefits. What Can Consumers Expect?
KHN answers questions for seniors about how this new benefit might work.
Pharma Campaign Cash Delivered to Key Lawmakers With Surgical Precision
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.
Community Clinics Shouldered Much of the Vaccine Rollout. Many Haven’t Been Paid.
Federally qualified health centers from California to Michigan are mired in a bureaucratic mess over how they should be paid under Medicaid for each dose of covid vaccine given. In California alone, clinics await reimbursement for at least 1 million shots, causing a “massive cash flow problem.”
Public Health Experts ‘Flabbergasted’ That Biden Still Hasn’t Picked an FDA Chief
The Food and Drug Administration has been mired in controversies related to drug approvals and covid vaccines, all without a permanent leader.
To Quarantine or Not: The Hard Choices Schools Are Leaving to Parents and Staff
Back-to-school season has fueled immediate covid outbreaks. Instead of beefing up protections, some districts are letting students go without masks, physical distancing and quarantines. And parents are left to make impossibly tough decisions.
What Missouri Learned the Hard Way About Rapid Covid Testing in Schools
Missouri’s ambitious school testing plan landed with a thud. What it can teach us now about keeping the delta variant out of classrooms.
‘We Sent a Terrible Message’: Scientists Say Biden Jumped the Gun With Vaccine Booster Plan
Many experts say the evidence doesn’t justify widespread booster shots for adults.
At Urgent Care, He Got 5 Stitches and a Big Surprise: A Plastic Surgeon’s Bill for $1,040
The Biden administration is weighing how to treat urgent care clinics as part of broad regulations banning surprise, out-of-network medical bills. At the heart of the matter: What counts as an emergency?
Novavax’s Effort to Vaccinate the World, From Zero to Not Quite Warp Speed
Novavax is a vaccine company that, despite $2 billion in new federal and international funding, still hasn’t come through with a licensed covid vaccine. It hopes it can still help to fight the global covid scourge, but will it deliver?