Rachana Pradhan

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rpradhan@kff.org
@rachanadpradhan

At Urgent Care, He Got 5 Stitches and a Big Surprise: A Plastic Surgeon’s Bill for $1,040

KFF Health News Original

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

KFF Health News Original

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?

Have a Case of a Covid Variant? No One Is Going to Tell You

KFF Health News Original

As experts race to get an approved test for covid variants, officials are severely restricted from sharing information about the cases. That makes it harder to protect others.

After Billions of Dollars and Dozens of Wartime Declarations, Why Are Vaccines Still in Short Supply?

KFF Health News Original

The Trump and Biden administrations both imposed wartime production requirements. But industry experts say the vast quantities of raw materials and specialty equipment needed for billions of newfangled vaccines have required herculean logistical efforts.

Huge Gaps in Vaccine Data Make It Next to Impossible to Know Who Got the Shots

KFF Health News Original

Details about race, ethnicity and occupation are often missing as data collected nationally is scattered across scores of digital systems that don’t connect. And the CDC doesn’t require vaccinators to report occupations of recipients, even though the order in which people get shots largely depends on their job.

Delicate Covid Vaccines Slow Rollout — Leading to Shots Given Out of Turn or, Worse, Wasted

KFF Health News Original

“Thaw. Rest 15 minutes. Do not shake. Do not refreeze.”Do not shake. Do not refreeze.” Moderna’s vaccine comes with complicated instructions. And both available vaccines are good for only six hours once the vial is open. So at day’s end, health workers are left to either throw out precious doses or get shots into any arm that’s available.

Inside the First Chaotic Days of the Effort to Vaccinate America

KFF Health News Original

After missteps in Washington, each state and county is left to juggle where to send vaccines first and how to get them to each nursing home, hospital local health department and even school.

In Becerra, an HHS Nominee With Political Skill But No Front-Line Health Experience

KFF Health News Original

Despite his lack of front-line experience, Democrats see the California attorney general as an important ally to shepherd a progressive agenda on the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, reproductive health services and immigration.

How Pharma Money Colors Operation Warp Speed’s Quest to Defeat COVID

KFF Health News Original

A Trump administration maneuver allows executives who are leading the federal effort to keep investments in drug companies that would benefit from the pandemic response.

Nursing Homes Still See Dangerously Long Waits for COVID Test Results

KFF Health News Original

The Trump administration hailed rapid tests as the way to halt COVID’s spread in nursing homes. A KHN analysis of federal data shows they’re not being used, as questions linger about accuracy and best practices.

Verily’s COVID Testing Program Halted in San Francisco and Oakland

KFF Health News Original

Health officials in San Francisco and Alameda counties have cut ties with Verily’s state-funded COVID testing sites amid concerns about data collection and privacy.