Latest KFF Health News Stories
Colorado Will Pay Hospitals to Close Expensive Free-Standing ERs
The state, concerned about the high cost of care at these stand-alone facilities, is offering hospitals more Medicaid money if they convert them to other uses, such as primary care or mental health centers.
In Appalachia and the Mississippi Delta, Millions Face Long Drives to Stroke Care
Across Appalachia and the Mississippi Delta, where death rates from stroke are above the national average, routing patients from rural areas to the right level of care can be an intricate jigsaw puzzle. The closest hospital might not offer the full scope of stroke treatments, but hospitals with more advanced care could be hours away.
A lo largo de los Apalaches y del delta del Mississippi, donde las tasas de muertes por ataques cerebrales está por encima del promedio nacional, dirigir a los pacientes de áreas rurales al nivel adecuado de atención puede ser un rompecabezas intrincado. El hospital más cercano puede no ofrecer un espectro completo de tratamientos, y los centros de atención de avanzada pueden estar a horas de distancia.
Analysis: I Was a Teenage Rifle Owner, Then an ER Doctor. Assault Weapons Shouldn’t Count as ‘Guns.’
The United States has undergone a cultural, definitional, practical shift on guns and what they are for.
‘Into the Covid ICU’: A New Doctor Bears Witness to the Isolation, Inequities of Pandemic
Dr. Paloma Marin-Nevarez graduated from medical school during the pandemic. We follow the rookie doctor for her first months working at a hospital in Fresno, California, as she grapples with isolation, anti-mask rallies and an overwhelming number of deaths.
‘It Doesn’t Feel Worth It’: Covid Is Pushing New York’s EMTs to the Brink
Struggling with low pay and high stress, New York paramedics and EMTs are reaching a breaking point.
Is Your Covid Vaccine Venue Prepared to Handle Rare, Life-Threatening Reactions?
More than two dozen people who have received the new covid vaccines in U.S. hospitals and health centers suffered anaphylaxis, a potentially fatal allergic reaction. While such severe reactions are rare, experts warn that the drugstores and drive-thru clinics considered integral to the vaccine rollout must be prepared.
In Los Angeles and Beyond, Oxygen Is the Latest Covid Bottleneck
The oxygen delivery infrastructure is crumbling under pressure in Los Angeles and other covid hot spots, jeopardizing patients’ access to precious air and limiting hospital turnover.
As the Terror of COVID Struck, Health Care Workers Struggled to Survive. Thousands Lost the Fight.
At least 2,900 health workers have died since the pandemic began. Many were minorities with the highest levels of patient contact.
‘Nine Months Into It, the Adrenaline Is Gone and It’s Just Exhausting’
A UCSF emergency room physician reflects on California’s response to COVID-19 and on lessons learned — or not — as the coronavirus makes its second devastating surge.
In COVID Hot Zones, Firefighters Now ‘Pump More Oxygen Than Water’
Firefighters are often thrust into front-line health emergencies. During the COVID pandemic, they’ve paid an especially high price.
What Happened When the Only ER Doctor in a Rural Town Got COVID
Hospitals across the country are struggling as staffers get infected with the coronavirus. It’s especially tough for small, rural hospitals, where even one doctor out sick can upend patient capacity.
After Kid’s Minor Bike Accident, Major Bill Sets Legal Wheels in Motion
It was a surprise even in a family of lawyers. The process called “subrogation” began with one Nevada family’s health insurer denying their claim for an emergency room visit after 9-year-old fell off his bike.
Need a COVID-19 Nurse? That’ll Be $8,000 a Week
A shortage of nurses has turned hospital staffing into a sort of national bidding war, with hospitals willing to pay exorbitant wages to secure the nurses they need. That threatens to shift the supply of nurses toward more affluent areas.
Parents Complain That Pediatricians, Wary of COVID, Shift Sick Kids to Urgent Care
Referrals of children to urgent care clinics or emergency rooms have become so prevalent that the American Academy of Pediatrics came out with interim guidance on how practices can safely continue to see patients. The academy recommended that pediatricians strive “to provide care for the same variety of visits that they provided prior to the public health emergency.”
“Todo lo que quieres es que te crean”: el prejuicio inconciente en la atención de salud
Los latinos y los afroamericanos suelen ser menos propensos a recibir analgésicos o atención avanzada que los pacientes blancos no hispanos con las mismas quejas o síntomas.
‘All You Want Is to Be Believed’: The Impacts of Unconscious Bias in Health Care
One woman shares her experience trying to get care in a Bay Area hospital for COVID symptoms. At nearly every turn, a doctor dismissed her complaints. Is bias part of why people of color are disproportionately affected by the coronavirus?
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 3: Patchwork of Urgent Care Frays After a Rural Hospital Closes
Fort Scott, Kansas, went without an ER for 18 days, after the local hospital shut down. Documenting local trauma during that “dark period” helped investigative reporter Sarah Jane Tribble unravel some of the complications that come after a rural hospital closes.
‘You’re Going to Release Him When He Was Hurting Himself?’
Daniel Prude’s family knew he needed psychiatric care and tried to get it for him. Instead, his encounter with police hours after he was released from Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York, proved fatal.
With No Legal Guardrails for Patients, Ambulances Drive Surprise Medical Billing
Studies show that at least half of ground ambulance rides across the nation leave patients with “surprise” medical bills. And a $300-a-mile ride is not unusual. Yet federal legislation to stem what’s known as balance billing has largely ignored ambulance costs.
