Latest KFF Health News Stories
S.D. Governor Gives State High Marks in Handling the Pandemic. Are They Deserved?
While South Dakota is excelling in vaccine distribution and in keeping its economy intact, some health measures show the state is also dealing with one of the highest per capita covid death rates in the country.
‘Last Responders’ Brace for Surge in Covid Deaths Across US
In some parts of the country, the surge in covid cases is overwhelming coroners, morgues, funeral homes and religious leaders. It has required ingenuity and even changed the rituals of honoring the dead.
As More Red States Legalize Marijuana, Some Officials Try to Nip It in the Bud
Recreational marijuana may face resistance from GOP-dominated state governments despite being voted into law in Montana, South Dakota and Arizona.
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.
Altered Mindsets: Marijuana Is Making Its Mark on Ballots in Red States
Voters in Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and several other conservative-leaning states will decide in November whether to legalize medical or recreational marijuana.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: How Will We Reopen The Economy?
The politics of COVID-19 are pretty polarized, but health experts across the ideological spectrum agree: The U.S. will need more robust testing before it’s safe to relax social-distancing requirements. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump, Congress and the nation’s governors continue to spar over who should be responsible for what. Kimberly Leonard of Business Insider, Tami Luhby of CNN and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News 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 they think you should read, too.
How The Eastern Cherokee Took Control Of Their Health Care
An innovative hospital run by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina showcases an alternative model of health care that could have lessons for other tribal communities and beyond.
Health Care’s Hard Realities On The Reservation: A Photo Essay
For American Indians on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation in South Dakota, getting health care can be a weeks-long proposition, and it has some moving away from their homes and families seeking better access.
States Simplify Medicaid Sign-Ups
Forty-nine states now take Medicaid applications by phone and 49 also accept online applications, reports the Kaiser Family Foundation.
