KHN Weekly Edition: 091721

Biden Releases a New Plan to Combat Covid, but Experts Say There’s Still a Ways to Go
By Victoria Knight and Julie Appleby There’s agreement that the plan includes important action items but also elements that will trigger political opposition.

ICUs Are Filled With Covid — And Regret
By Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio Unvaccinated people are filling intensive care beds and dying of covid in record numbers in Tennessee and other Southern states. Many tell their nurses and doctors they regret the decision not to get the vaccine when they could.

Covid-Overwhelmed Hospitals Postpone Cancer Care and Other Treatment
By Erik Neumann, Jefferson Public Radio Patients with advanced cancer and heart disease are among those who have had to have surgeries and other treatments delayed and rescheduled as a high number of critically ill, unvaccinated covid patients strain the medical system.

Under Pressure, Montana Hospital Considers Adding Psych Beds Amid a Shortage
By Katheryn Houghton A hospital in Bozeman, Montana, is considering whether to add inpatient psychiatric care after a concerted push from mental health advocates. But even if it adds beds, hospitals across Montana provide a cautionary tale: finding enough workers to staff such beds is its own challenge, and some behavioral health units routinely reach capacity.

When Covid Deaths Are Dismissed or Stigmatized, Grief Is Mixed With Shame and Anger
By Brett Sholtis, WITF After their brother died, two sisters faced a barrage of misinformation, pandemic denialism and blaming questions. Grief experts say that makes covid-19 the newest kind of "disenfranchising death."

Why At-Home Rapid Covid Tests Cost So Much, Even After Biden’s Push for Lower Prices
By Hannah Norman Germans pay less than $1 per test. Brits get them free. Why do Americans pay so much more? Because companies can still demand it.

Scientists Examine Kids’ Unique Immune Systems as More Fall Victim to Covid
By Liz Szabo Doctors are trying to figure out why some kids become much sicker than others and, in rare cases, don’t survive.

How Fauci and the NIH Got Ahead of the FDA and CDC in Backing Boosters
By Sarah Jane Tribble and Arthur Allen With real-time data streaming in from highly specialized researchers in the U.S. and abroad, NIH scientists became convinced that boosting the covid-19 vaccine was needed to save lives, prompting the president to announce a plan with a Sept. 20 start date. Scientists at the regulatory agencies weren’t yet convinced. A meeting Friday will determine what happens next. Here’s the story from behind the scenes.

Leader of California’s Muscular Obamacare Exchange to Step Down
By Bernard J. Wolfson and Angela Hart Peter Lee helped create Covered California, which has been lauded as a national example among the Affordable Care Act’s insurance marketplaces, and he fiercely opposed Republican efforts to repeal the federal health reform law.

Census: Insured Population Holds Steady, With a Slight Shift From Private to Public Coverage
By Victoria Knight and Julie Appleby The Census Bureau on Tuesday released its 2020 findings regarding Americans’ income, poverty and health insurance coverage.

Dentists Chip Away at Uninsured Problem by Offering Patients Membership Plans
By Phil Galewitz The plans are designed for people who don’t get dental coverage through their jobs and can’t afford an individual plan. For about $300 to $400 a year, patients receive certain preventive services at no charge and other procedures at a discount.

Over Half of States Have Rolled Back Public Health Powers in Pandemic
By Lauren Weber and Anna Maria Barry-Jester At least 26 states have passed laws to permanently limit public health powers, a KHN investigation has found, weakening the country’s ability to fight not only the current resurgence of the pandemic but other health crises to come.

No Papers, No Care: Disabled Migrants Seek Help Through Lawsuit, Activism
By Heidi de Marco A class action lawsuit seeks better care for immigrants with physical disabilities or mental illness who were detained after trying to enter the country. Other disabled immigrants without legal status are also finding it difficult to get care.

Justice Department Targets Data Mining in Medicare Advantage Fraud Case
By Fred Schulte The feds’ civil suit links exaggerated patient bills to “tens of millions” in overcharges.

Georgia Eyes New Medicaid Contract. But How Is the State Managing Managed Care?
By Rebecca Grapevine and Andy Miller More than 40 states have turned to managed-care companies to control costs in their Medicaid programs, which cover low-income residents and people with disabilities. As Georgia prepares to open bidding on a new contract, the question looms: Has this model paid off?

Health Care Unions Defending Newsom From Recall Will Want Single-Payer Payback
By Angela Hart If Gov. Gavin Newsom survives Tuesday’s recall election, the health care unions that have campaigned on his behalf intend to pressure him to follow through on his promise to establish a government-run health system in California.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Much Ado About Drug Prices
Democrats have hit a snag in their effort to compile a $3.5 trillion social-spending bill this fall — moderates are resisting support for Medicare drug price negotiation provisions that would pay for many of the measure’s health benefit improvements. Meanwhile, the new abortion restrictions in Texas have moved the divisive issue back to the political front burner. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interview’s KHN’s Phil Galewitz about the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” installment, about two similar jaw surgeries with very different price tags.