Latest KFF Health News Stories
Millions Of Older Americans Live In Counties With No ICU Beds As Pandemic Intensifies
A Kaiser Health News analysis shows that counties with ICUs average one ICU bed for every 1,300 older residents, those most at risk for needing hospitalization.
The Startling Inequality Gap That Emerges After Age 65
The good news: Life expectancy for people who make it to 65 has increased. Yet, coastal and urban people fare better than those in rural and middle America.
Trump’s Medicaid Chief Labels Medicaid ‘Mediocre.’ Is It?
This claim ‘wouldn’t pass muster’ in a first-year statistics class.
School Districts Grapple With Quarantines, Face Masks And Fear
In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, school districts, especially those with large Chinese student populations, are in uncharted territory as they apply new federal travel rules to their students. Some also are weighing requests from parents that are more about fear than science, such as whether to allow students with no travel history to stay home from school.
Distritos escolares lidian con cuarentenas, mascarillas y miedo
Los distritos pisan territorio desconocido cuando aplican reglas federales a sus cuerpos estudiantiles. Y muchas veces toman decisiones sin orientación oficial.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Happy Friday! In news that is technically really good and exciting but is also kind of icky: yarn made from human skin could eventually be used to stitch up surgical wounds as a way to cut down on detrimental reactions from patients. As CNN reports, “The researchers say their ‘human textile,’ which they developed from […]
Reduce Health Costs By Nurturing The Sickest? A Much-Touted Idea Disappoints
Nearly a decade ago, Dr. Jeffrey Brenner and his Camden Coalition appeared to have an answer to remake American health care: Treat the sickest and most expensive patients. But a rigorous study in the New England Journal of Medicine shows the approach doesn’t save money. “We built a brilliant intervention to navigate people to nowhere,” Brenner tells the “Tradeoffs” podcast.
Yang And Sanders Use Maternal Mortality Stats To Talk About Race
These numbers are stark.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
San Francisco Hopes To Improve Care For People With Mental Illness Living On Streets
Dr. Anton Nigusse Bland, a veteran of public health psychiatry, was appointed by San Francisco’s mayor earlier this year to a newly created job: director of mental health reform. His main task is to improve mental health and addiction treatment for people experiencing homelessness.
Black Mothers Get Less Treatment For Postpartum Depression Than Other Moms
Cultural barriers may keep some African American women from seeking treatment for postpartum depression as early as they need it, and the standard screening tools aren’t always relevant for some black women.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
In Hamburg, ‘Gesundheit’ Means More Than A Wish For Good Health
Even with Germany’s generous universal coverage, sizable health disparities persist between Hamburg’s wealthier and poorer neighborhoods. Two health centers are among those trying to close the gaps.
Georgia Sheriff’s Deputy Sues Over Lack Of Transgender Insurance Coverage
A sheriff’s deputy in central Georgia filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Houston County, whose employee insurance plan has denied coverage for her transgender-related health care. The decision would likely result in a ruling that affects the entire state, if not the entire Southeast, and comes after decisions in Wisconsin and Iowa sided with other transgender patients.
As Health Care Costs Rise, Workers At Low-Wage Firms May Pay A Larger Share
People at companies with large numbers of people earning $25,000 or less faced bigger deductibles for single coverage and were asked to pony up a larger share of their income in premiums than those at other firms.
Watch: Trump-Pence Policy Shift Makes Birth Control Harder To Get
The Trump administration’s policy shift on Title X family planning funds is likely to make birth control harder to get and more expensive for low-income women. It will also shift funds from organizations like Planned Parenthood to the Obria Group, which does not give women hormonal contraceptives or condoms in its clinics.
Charity Care Spending By Hospitals Plunges
The proportion of money that California hospitals spent on free and discounted care for low-income people dropped by more than half from 2013 to 2017 — even for nonprofit hospitals. Hospitals say there’s less demand for charity care because more people now have health insurance, but consumer advocates counter that people still need help.
This Indiana Clinic Has Patient-Care Stats Worth Bragging About
A small health center in Goshen, Ind., near the border with Michigan, puts “listening to patients’ stories” first. “The rest is housekeeping.”
En Tijuana, madres migrantes esperan dos fechas límite: el parto y la corte
Más mujeres embarazadas deben vivir meses en refugios en la frontera, esperando por sus audiencias de asilo en EE.UU. Reciben poco o ninguna atención prenatal.
Migrant Moms Await Due Dates And Court Dates
A growing number of pregnant women are among the migrants seeking asylum in the United States. Many must wait in Mexico until their cases are heard, spending weeks or months in migrant shelters with limited access to health care.
