Latest KFF Health News Stories
Officials Struggle to Regulate Pop-Up Covid Testing Sites — And Warn Patients to Beware
High demand for covid screening and scarce supply have opened the door to bad actors, and officials in some states are sounding the alarm about dubious street testing operators that could put people’s personal data, their health or wallets at risk.
Funcionarios advierten sobre sitios de pruebas para covid de dudosa calidad
Lo sitios de pruebas de covid han proliferado en casi todas las grandes ciudades. Pero no todos ofrecen un servicio de calidad. Cómo detectarlos.
California Joins States Trying to Shorten Wait Times for Mental Health Care
In California, health insurers blame long waits for therapy appointments on workforce shortages, but state lawmakers say that’s an excuse. A new law requires insurers to reduce wait times for mental health appointments to no more than 10 business days.
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.
Analysis: A Procedure That Cost $1,775 in New York Was $350 in Maryland. Here’s Why.
The state’s unique health system controls what hospitals can charge for services.
Reluctant Localities Are Being Dragged Into Court to Fix Sidewalks for People With Disabilities
Hundreds of towns, cities and states across the U.S. have ignored part of the Americans With Disabilities Act, and now it’s costing them billions of dollars to comply.
‘An Arm and a Leg’: How One State Protects Patients From Hospital Lawsuits
In Maryland, it’s now illegal for a hospital to sue a patient who qualifies for charity care. But in many other states, that’s still a thing.
Stark Racial Disparities Persist in Vaccinations, State-Level CDC Data Shows
Black Americans’ vaccination rates still trail all other groups, while Hispanics show improvement. Native Americans show the strongest rates nationally.
How One Indie Artist Used Her Pandemic Lockdown to Create an Album With Global Collaborators
The pandemic-induced lockdowns have only increased the demand for music-streaming services. This independent singer wrote, recorded and produced an album with musicians around the world during the pandemic’s rolling stay-at-home mandates.
Black Americans Are Getting Vaccinated at Lower Rates Than White Americans
Black Americans are receiving covid vaccines at a much lower rate than their white peers due to a combination of mistrust and access issues, leaving them behind in the mission to vaccinate the nation’s population.
After a Deadly COVID Outbreak, Maryland County Takes Steps to Protect Health Workers
Prince George’s County in Maryland is taking action after a coronavirus outbreak left veteran public health worker Chantee Mack dead and several colleagues with lasting medical problems. But some staffers say more still needs to be done to keep public health workers on the front lines of the COVID fight safe.
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.
Maryland County Pledges Investigation of Health Worker’s Coronavirus Death
The disease intervention specialist at the Prince George’s County Health Department was among at least 20 department employees infected by the coronavirus, union officials say. The outbreak underscores the stark dangers facing the nation’s front-line public health army.
Essential and in Danger: Coronavirus Sickens, Even Kills Public Health Workers
As the coronavirus threatens the nation’s public health army, an outbreak in Maryland reflects the tension between serving the community and protecting workers from a deadly disease.
When A Doctor No Longer Accepts Medicare, Patients Left Holding The Bag
As doctors look for alternative ways to charge patients for care, some Medicare enrollees may lose access to their physicians.
Baltimore’s ‘Squeegee Boys’: ‘If We Don’t Go Out, We Don’t Eat’
The federal government’s relief package left behind many of America’s poorest workers struggling to make ends meet as the coronavirus ravaged and unemployment rose. Baltimore’s “squeegee boys” are among them.
Dispatch From A Country Doctor: Seeing Patients Differently In The Time Of Coronavirus
Emergency rule changes by the federal government and some insurers have made telemedicine a useful tool.
Con reportes parciales de los estados, el panorama de COVID-19 en el país es borroso
Varios estados informan solo resultados positivos de la prueba para COVID-19 de laboratorios privados, una práctica que pinta una imagen engañosa del ritmo de propagación de la enfermedad.
Some States Are Reporting Incomplete COVID-19 Results, Blurring The Full Picture
Maryland, Ohio and others are reporting only positive tests, which skews tracking and an understanding of how the virus spreads.
Listen: The Reverberations of Gun Violence In Baltimore
KHN’s Chaseedaw Giles discusses her story about the West Baltimore barber who cares for his clients in life and death on Baltimore’s news radio station, WBAL.
