Latest KFF Health News Stories
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Dealing With Drug Prices
Medicare officials tentatively plan to restrict the use of a controversial Alzheimer’s drug to only those patients participating in clinical trials, while the Department of Health and Human Services looks into lowering the monthly Medicare Part B premium. Meanwhile, covid confusion still reigns, as the Biden administration moves, belatedly, to make more masks and tests available. Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
Long-Excluded Uterine Cancer Patients Are a Step Closer to 9/11 Benefits
More than 20 years after the terrorist attacks, the World Trade Center Health Program is considering covering the most common form of uterine cancer, in what patient advocates say is a key acknowledgment of the women affected by the 9/11 fallout.
La máscara de tela, ¿es lo suficientemente buena contra omicron?
Además de instar a los estadounidenses a vacunarse y recibir el refuerzo contra covid, funcionarios de salud pública recomiendan que las personas cambien sus máscaras de tela por máscaras médicas de mayor calidad.
Ask KHN-PolitiFact: Is My Cloth Mask Good Enough? The 2022 Edition
With the omicron variant surging throughout the U.S., many experts warn that a single-layer cloth mask is not enough protection. Instead, they recommend an upgrade: layering wardrobe masks with surgical masks or wearing an N95 or KN95 respirator.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Contagion Confusion
It’s 2022 and the covid-19 pandemic is still with us, as are congressional efforts to pass President Joe Biden’s big health and social spending bill. But other issues seem certain to take center stage on this year’s health agenda, including abortion, the state of the health care workforce, and prescription drug prices. Tami Luhby of CNN, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Victoria Knight, who reported the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode.
With Sexually Transmitted Infections Off the Charts, California Pushes At-Home Tests
A new law makes California the first state to require that health insurance plans, including Medicaid, cover home STI tests. But some details still need to be worked out.
Con récord de infecciones de transmisión sexual, California impulsa las pruebas caseras
California se ha convertido en el primer estado en exigir que los seguros médicos cubran las pruebas caseras para infecciones de transmisión sexual (ITS) como el VIH, la clamidia y la sífilis.
Pandemic Poses Short- and Long-Term Risks to Babies, Especially Boys
A mother’s immune response to covid can be a greater danger to the fetus than the virus itself.
La pandemia presenta riesgos a corto y largo plazo para bebés, especialmente varones
Las embarazadas con covid tienen cinco veces más probabilidades que las que no lo están de necesitar cuidados intensivos. Pero las consecuencias para el bebé pueden ser a largo plazo.
Health Experts Worry CDC’s Covid Vaccination Rates Appear Inflated
Accuracy issues raise red flags because the data is used to plan and direct resources in the nation’s continuing response to the covid-19 pandemic.
¿Ha llegado el momento de cambiar la definición de “totalmente vacunado”?
Científicos y funcionarios de salud pública debaten cuándo será el momento de cambiar la definición de “totalmente vacunado” para que incluya una vacuna de refuerzo.
Is It Time to Change the Definition of ‘Fully Vaccinated’?
Experts weigh in as the federal government urges everyone to get boosted amid concerns over omicron, a new covid variant.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The Big Biden Budget Bill Passes the House
President Joe Biden’s social spending budget is on its way to the U.S. Senate, where Democratic leaders are (optimistically) hoping to complete work by the end of the year. Meanwhile, covid is surging again in parts of the country, along with the political divides it continues to cause. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, and Mary Agnes Carey of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner previews next week’s Supreme Court abortion oral arguments with Florida State University law professor Mary Ziegler.
Schools, Pediatricians Look to Make Up Lost Ground on Non-Covid Vaccinations
Health officials hope the rollout of covid shots for young children and other initiatives will boost routine vaccine rates that dropped during the pandemic and narrow socioeconomic disparities.
Quarantine and Tracing Rules Are All Over the Map for Students
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers guidance but calls for localities to set quarantine rules for unvaccinated children exposed to someone with covid-19. That’s led to a pandemic patchwork of rules.
Live Performers Find Red State Rules a Tough Act to Follow
Theater companies and musical ensembles are restarting live performances after a crippling pandemic pause. In some conservative states, artists find creative ways to get around state laws that go against public health recommendations.
Journalists Drill Down on Covid Vaccine Boosters, Misinformation Online
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Who Qualifies for a Covid Booster? The List Is Growing Longer
KHN’s Sarah Jane Tribble and Arthur Allen join Science Friday host Ira Flatow to recap the evolving news in the run-up to offering booster shots for the covid vaccine.
From the FDA’s Empty Seat to Chock-Full ICUs, Journalists Recap the Week’s Stories
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Mounting Covid Deaths Fuel School Bus Drivers’ Fears
Since August, school bus drivers and monitors have died of covid-19 in at least 10 states, including Georgia and Florida. Masks are required on school buses, but enforcing the rules in districts without school mask mandates is especially hard to do.
