Latest KFF Health News Stories
Firefighters — ‘Health Care Providers on a Truck’ — Signal Pandemic Burnout
Grappling with stagnant pay and a lack of personal protective equipment, firefighters are even more frustrated to find they are lower down the vaccine priority list than health care workers despite serving on the front lines of the medical system.
Lack of Covid Data on People With Intellectual Disabilities ‘Comes With a Body Count’
People with intellectual and developmental disabilities are more likely to have medical conditions that make covid especially dangerous. But a lack of federal tracking means no one knows how many people in disability group housing have fallen ill or died from the virus.
An Urban Hospital on the Brink Vs. the Officials Sworn to Save It
The wealthy corporation that owns Chicago’s Mercy Hospital says it must close the hospital because it’s losing money. A government board says no. The corporation still has the upper hand.
Illinois, primer estado en ofrecer cobertura médica a adultos mayores indocumentados
Se espera que la normativa cubra inicialmente de 4,200 a 4,600 inmigrantes mayores. Defensores esperan que Illinois inspire a otros estados.
Illinois Is First in the Nation to Extend Health Coverage to Undocumented Seniors
As the pandemic hits Latino communities especially hard, Illinois is expanding public health insurance to all low-income noncitizen seniors. Advocates hope other states follow its lead.
Homeless Shelters Grapple With COVID Safety as Cold Creeps In
During the pandemic, shelters are having to change the way they do things to prevent the virus from spreading among the vulnerable homeless population. Now, as winter weather moves in, there’s less room at the shelters for those in need — threatening to leave many, literally, out in the cold.
Urban Hospitals of Last Resort Cling to Life in Time of COVID
Rural hospitals have been closing at a quickening pace in recent years, but a number of inner-city hospitals now face a similar fate. Experts fear that the economic damage inflicted by the COVID pandemic is helping push some of these urban hospitals over the edge at the very time their services are most needed.
Lack of Antigen Test Reporting Leaves Country ‘Blind to the Pandemic’
A KHN review found more than 20 states either don’t count or have incomplete data on the use of COVID-19 antigen tests, leaving the public in the dark about the true scope of the pandemic.
Swab, Spit, Stay Home? College Coronavirus Testing Plans Are All Over the Map
2020 will be a year like no other on college campuses, as every institution makes its own rules. Some have no plans to routinely test students for the coronavirus; others aim to test every student and staff member twice a week.
Coronavirus Crisis Disrupts Treatment For Another Epidemic: Addiction
The coronavirus has forced drug rehabilitation centers to scale back operations or temporarily close, leaving people who have another potentially deadly disease — addiction — with fewer opportunities for help.
Elevadores en tiempos de COVID-19, un desafío de la vuelta al trabajo
La mayoría de los ascensores son espacios estrechos y cerrados donde apenas caben dos personas si se quiere mantener una distancia de 6 pies para prevenir la propagación del coronavirus.
The Elevator Arises As The Latest Logjam In Getting Back To Work
As more and more people drift back into their workplaces, they face a very small space that can create a large logjam: the elevator.
As COVID-19 Lurks, Families Are Locked Out Of Nursing Homes. Is It Safe Inside?
“The awful truth is families have no control over what’s happening,” one advocate says.
A Switch To Medicaid Managed Care Worries Some Illinois Foster Families
Illinois is moving thousands of children into its Medicaid managed-care program. Proponents say the approach can cut costs while increasing access to care. But after a phase-one rollout of the new health plans caused thousands to temporarily lose coverage, some question whether it’s the right move.
Comic Relief From COVID-19: Leaders Really Meme It When They Say Stay Home
State and city officials are using a dose of humor to urge residents to stay home in the serious mission of controlling COVID-19.
Ink Rx? Welcome To The Camouflaged World Of Paramedical Tattoos
Doctors specialize in the science of healing, but tattoo artist Eric Catalano specializes in the art of it. The single father of three does up to eight reconstructive medical tattoos for free each “Wellness Wednesday” in his small Illinois shop, drawing in nails on finger amputees, mocking up belly buttons after tummy tucks and fleshing out lips on a woman mauled by a dog.
Drug Deals And Food Gone Bad Plague Corner Stores. How Neighbors Are Fighting Back.
Corner stores that provide groceries for those using the federal food stamp program have become magnets for violence just outside St. Louis. Gunshots ring out under the cover of darkness, windows are postered over, and the quality of food doesn’t make a trip to the corner store worth the risk. Now local residents are putting their feet down.
Listen: Neighbors Take On Corner Stores Plagued By Violence, Spoiled Food
KHN Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony appeared on America’s Heroes Group radio show, Illinois Public Media’s “The 21st” and St. Louis Public Radio’s news magazine “St. Louis on the Air” to discuss how people in low-income neighborhoods are fighting back against crime and spoiled food at their local corner stores.
Brechas profundas: fronteras estatales resaltan la enorme disparidad en Medicaid
Las fronteras estatales se han convertido en líneas divisorias arbitrarias entre los que tienen Medicaid y los que no, y los pacientes con problemas financieros similares enfrentan destinos de salud muy diferentes.
The Deep Divide: State Borders Create Medicaid Haves And Have-Nots
State borders can highlight Medicaid’s arbitrary coverage. On the Missouri side of the Mississippi River, low-income people struggle with untreated health issues. But on the Illinois side, people in similar straits can get health care because their state expanded its Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act.
