Latest KFF Health News Stories
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Oh, Oh, Omicron
Even before the omicron variant of covid starts to spread widely in the U.S., hospitals are filling up with post-holiday delta cases. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court signals — loudly — that 2022 will be the year it rolls back abortion rights in a big way. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Roe v. Wade on the Rocks
A Supreme Court majority appears ready to overturn nearly 50 years of abortion rights, at least judging by the latest round of oral arguments before the justices. And a new covid variant, omicron, gains attention as it spreads around the world. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Blake Farmer of Nashville Public Radio about the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode.
Conservative Justices Seem Poised to Overturn Roe’s Abortion Rights
A majority of the members of the Supreme Court seemed sympathetic Wednesday during arguments to Mississippi’s assertion that the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized the procedure throughout the country, was wrongly decided.
Uninsured in South Would Win Big in Democrats’ Plan, but Hospitals Fear Funding Loss
The latest iteration of President Joe Biden’s social-spending package would close the health insurance gap for at least 2.2 million people, making a huge difference especially in the South, where political opposition has blocked Medicaid expansion.
Community Clinics Shouldered Much of the Vaccine Rollout. Many Haven’t Been Paid.
Federally qualified health centers from California to Michigan are mired in a bureaucratic mess over how they should be paid under Medicaid for each dose of covid vaccine given. In California alone, clinics await reimbursement for at least 1 million shots, causing a “massive cash flow problem.”
The Pandemic Almost Killed Allie. Her Community’s Vaccination Rate Is 45%.
As the delta variant overtakes Mississippi and other undervaccinated parts of the country, one 13-year-old girl’s experience with covid and MIS-C shows a community’s reluctance to embrace public health precautions and continued vulnerability to the pandemic.
These Governors Push Experimental Antibody Therapy — But Shun Vaccine and Mask Mandates
Governors in Southern states, amid a surge of delta-variant infections, are rushing to provide an experimental antibody cocktail therapy, even as they oppose measures like mask mandates and vaccine passports that health officials say can prevent infection in the first place.
‘An Arm and a Leg’: Meet the Mississippi Lawyer Who Helped Start the Fight for Charity Care
The man famous for taking on Big Tobacco in the ’90s, and winning, launched a series of ill-fated national lawsuits against nonprofit hospitals. This episode is the first in a series looking at the origins of charity care.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Hot Covid Summer
The summer that promised to let Americans resume a relatively normal life is turning into another summer of anxiety and face masks, as the delta variant drives covid caseloads up in all 50 states. Meanwhile, the Americans with Disabilities Act turns 35, and the Missouri Supreme Court orders the state to expand Medicaid after all. Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Rachana Pradhan of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHN’s Samantha Young, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about an Olympic-level athlete with an Olympic-size medical bill.
With Roots in Civil Rights, Community Health Centers Push for Equity in the Pandemic
Community health centers were born in the 1960s to reach low-income communities. But some rural health experts say federally qualified health centers were a missing piece in achieving early equity in the vaccine rollout.
The ‘Grief Pandemic’ Will Torment Americans for Years
More than 5 million Americans lost a loved one to covid, and the ripple effects could lead to serious illness down the road.
Readers and Tweeters React to Racism, Inequities in Health Care
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Mississippi’s Black Communities Turned Around Their Covid Rates. Next Up: Make Strides on Vaccines.
Covid-19 tore through Mississippi’s Black population in the pandemic’s early days, but community efforts slowed the rate. Now health officials and community leaders aim to replicate the success as they dole out vaccines.
KHN Journalists Comment on Abortion Case, Wasted Covid Doses
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Only One Vaccine Is OK’d for Older Teens. It’s Also the Hardest to Manage in Rural America.
Of the three covid vaccines the U.S. government has authorized, only one is available to 16- and 17-year-olds: the Pfizer shot. It’s also the most complicated to manage in rural settings, with their small, dispersed populations. That forces some teens and their families to travel long distances for a dose — or go without.
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.
Coming Abortion Fight Could Threaten Birth Control, Too
In discussions of the impact Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett could have on abortion rights, many overlook related issues, including the right to birth control that the court recognized in 1965. During her confirmation hearings, Barrett refused to say whether she felt that case was correctly decided.
La batalla por el aborto también puede amenazar al control de la natalidad
Una nueva jurisprudencia sobre el aborto podría afectar muchas más cosas, como borrar el derecho al control de la natalidad y el matrimonio entre personas de un mismo sexo.
Free Clinics Try To Fill Gaps As COVID Sweeps Away Job-Based Insurance
The volunteer medical providers at the Tree of Life Free Clinic in Tupelo, Mississippi, give crucial health care to the uninsured in the best of times, drawing crowds who line up for hours. Amid the current COVID pandemic, clinic staffers were advised to close. Instead, they chose to adapt — even without critical N95 masks to protect themselves — as the economic crisis intensifies the need for free care.
California Shies Away From Calls To Eliminate Restrictions On Nurse Practitioners
Many states are dramatically loosening regulations on nurse practitioners as the coronavirus pandemic increases demand for health care workers. But not California.
