Rae Ellen Bichell

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rbichell@kff.org
@raelnb

With Federal Covid Sick Leave Gone, Workers Feel Pressure to Show Up at Work

KFF Health News Original

National paid sick leave provisions for covid expired, and an uncertain covid winter is around the corner. Colorado, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh are among the places trying to fill the gap, but many employees still face financial pressure to go to work while sick.

Covid Testing, Turnaround Times Are Still Uneven This Far Into Pandemic

KFF Health News Original

The availability of covid testing and turnaround times for results still vary widely around the country, some 19 months since the pandemic was declared a national crisis. A jumbled testing system, technician burnout and squirrely spikes in demand are all part of the problem.

A Colorado Town Is About as Vaccinated as It Can Get. Covid Still Isn’t Over There.

KFF Health News Original

San Juan County, Colorado, is one of the most vaccinated counties in the U.S. Leaders across the country continue to expound on the vaccine as the path forward in the pandemic. But San Juan’s experience the past few weeks with its first covid hospitalizations shows that, even with an extremely vaccinated population, masks are still necessary.

Déjà Vu? Consumers Scramble for Covid Tests in Hard-Hit Areas

KFF Health News Original

As the nation confronts the delta variant, many consumers are again facing delays getting tested. The problem appears most acute in the South and Midwest, where new infections are growing the fastest.

Red State, Blue State, Twin Outbreak: Behind Wyoming and Colorado’s Anomalous Covid Spikes

KFF Health News Original

Statistics show that Colorado residents are much more likely than Wyoming residents to be vaccinated against covid. Yet both Wyoming and Colorado were among the top 12 states with the highest covid case rates at the beginning of July. A closer look at a pair of similarly sized counties in those states helps explain why.

A Hospital Charged $722.50 to Push Medicine Through an IV. Twice.

KFF Health News Original

A college student never got an answer for what caused her intense pain, but she did get a bill that totaled $18,736 for an ER visit. She and her mom, a nurse practitioner, fought to understand all the charges.

Farmworkers Recall Mistreatment as Colorado Aims to Guarantee Medical Access

KFF Health News Original

Agricultural workers living in employer-owned housing can have trouble getting health care. It’s symptomatic of bigger gaps in worker protections that the pandemic spotlighted, say proponents of a newly passed Colorado bill for farmworker rights.

Kidney Experts Say It’s Time to Remove Race From Medical Algorithms. Doing So Is Complicated.

KFF Health News Original

When estimating how well a patient’s kidneys are working, doctors frequently turn to an equation that depends on a question: Is the patient Black? Kidney experts are now debating how to remove the race adjustment and whether the question is a function of sound science. It’s considered just the first step in dismantling institutional racism in kidney care.

Durango’s Covid ‘Cowboy’ Rounds Up Spring Break Scofflaws, Lines ’Em Up for Shots

KFF Health News Original

The city of Durango has hired an actor to bring his Old West acting skills to tackle a current problem: the Wild West of spring break, in which visitors from states such as Texas and Oklahoma flock to town. The “lawman” cajoles them into wearing masks while vaccinators stand ready for out-of-town visitors.