Latest KFF Health News Stories
To ‘Keep The Lights On,’ Doctors And Hospitals Ask For Advance Medicare Payments
As part of the federal response to the coronavirus crisis, Medicare is offering to give hospitals and doctors accelerated payments.
‘It’s Like Walking Into Chernobyl,’ One Doctor Says Of Her Emergency Room
Lack of protective gear and fears about all the unknown aspects of COVID-19 are parts of the mosaic of stress facing doctors and nurses on the front lines of the pandemic.
‘Baby, I Can’t Breathe’: America’s First ER Doctor To Die In The Heat Of COVID-19 Battle
Frank Gabrin knew the stakes of his job. What he found unsettling was having to reuse personal protective gear while caring for coronavirus patients.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Who Will Pay For COVID-19 Care?
The spread of COVID-19 is prompting changes in pricing, coverage and other health care issues that have been subjects of political debate for years. But the politics remain polarized. Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, for extra credit, the panelists suggest their favorite health policy stories of the week that they think you should read, too.
Primer médico de ER en EE.UU. que muere en el frente de batalla contra COVID-19
The Guardian y Kaiser Health News están lanzando un nuevo proyecto, “Lost on the Frontline” (Perdidos en el Frente), para monitorear estos casos, y contar sus historias.
‘When It Starts Getting Into Your Local Hospital, It Becomes Real’
Located about 45 minutes from New Orleans in one of the hardest-hit counties nationally, the 25-bed rural St. James Parish Hospital has hunkered down as staffers became infected, patient intake numbers have doubled, and intubations have skyrocketed. This is what it looks like inside a rural hospital when COVID-19 hits.
Pacientes de cáncer enfrentan retrasos en cirugías mientras COVID-19 paraliza hospitales
Son más vulnerables a la infección por el nuevo coronavirus. Y pueden estar enfrentando desafíos imprevistos para obtener atención, quimioterapia, e incluso cirugías para remover tumores.
Nursing Homes Have Thousands Of Ventilators That Hospitals Desperately Need
The prospect raises a grim dilemma: Should doctors take people off life support in order to save COVID-19 patients who might recover?
Cancer Patients Face Treatment Delays And Uncertainty As Coronavirus Cripples Hospitals
As hospitals across the country are forced to delay or cancel certain medical procedures in response to the surge in patients with COVID-19, those hard choices are disrupting care for some people with serious illnesses.
‘You’ve Been Served’: Wisconsin Hospitals Sued Patients Even During Pandemic
Wisconsin hospitals had filed at least 104 lawsuits in small claims court since the state declared a public health emergency March 12. Most now say they are suspending the cases; one hospital has dismissed them after a reporter’s calls.
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.
Pandemic-Stricken Cities Have Empty Hospitals, But Reopening Them Is Difficult
In Philadelphia, New Orleans and Los Angeles, former safety-net hospitals sit empty in the middle of the city. But reopening a closed hospital, even in the midst of a pandemic when health resources are scarce, is not easy or cheap.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: All Coronavirus All The Time
The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing changes to the U.S. health system that were previously unthinkable. Yet some fights ― including over the Affordable Care Act and abortion — persist even in this time of national emergency. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHN’s Liz Szabo about the latest installment of KHN-NPR’s “Bill of the Month.”
California Hospitals Face Surge With Proven Fixes And Some Hail Marys
California is entering the most critical period in its battle against COVID-19, and may need thousands of hospital beds and ventilators to accommodate a surge of critically ill patients. Hospitals are taking extreme measures, such as using 3D printers to make ventilator parts and turning cafeterias into wards.
Listen: COVID-19 Stresses Rural Hospitals Even Before They Have A Single Case
KHN Midwest correspondent Lauren Weber appeared on WOSU’s “All Sides with Ann Fisher” to talk about the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on rural hospitals.
California y COVID-19: hospitales se alistan para la crisis con acciones probadas y desesperadas
A medida que California ingresa al período más crítico contra COVID-19, los 416 hospitales, grandes y pequeños, públicos y privados, se esfuerzan por tener la capacidad necesaria para una avalancha de pacientes críticos.
More Than 5,000 Surgery Centers Can Now Serve As Makeshift Hospitals During COVID-19 Crisis
Under pressure, the federal government announced it will let surgery centers, hotels and even college dorms serve as hospitals to treat an overflow of patients.
Already Taxed Health Care Workers Not ‘Immune’ From Layoffs And Less Pay
Revenue is way down for primary care, specialty physicians and some hospitals as patients avoid non-urgent visits. Practices small and large are doling out layoffs and furloughs to staff.
A pesar de la pandemia, profesionales de salud no son inmunes a los despidos
Consultorios y grupos médicos en todo el país están dando licencia forzada a personal no médico. Y también recortando salarios luego que se suspendieran procedimientos electivos y se comenzaran a cancelar citas no urgentes.
Más de 5,000 centros de cirugía serán hospitales improvisados durante la crisis de COVID-19
Esto le dará al país miles de camas hospitalarias y salas quirúrgicas adicionales, algunas de las cuales cuentan con respiradores o máquinas de anestesia que podrían ser reconvertidas en respiradores.
