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Baby Blues: First-Time Parents Blindsided by ‘the Birthday Rule’ and a $207,455 NICU Bill
By Cara Anthony Charlie Kjelshus needed neonatal intensive care for the first seven days of her life. The episode generated huge bills, and left her parents in a tangle of red tape that involved two insurers, two hospitals and two states.

As Vaccine Rollout Expands, Black Americans Still Left Behind
By Hannah Recht and Lauren Weber Covid vaccines are reaching more Americans, but Black residents are being vaccinated at dramatically lower rates in the 23 states where data is publicly available. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to release national data next week.

Door to Door in Miami’s Little Havana to Build Trust in Testing, Vaccination
By Verónica Zaragovia, WLRN It's time-consuming but worthwhile: Residents respond to messages about Covid testing and vaccines when outreach teams speak their language and make a personal connection.

Food Guidelines Change but Fail to Take Cultures Into Account
By Chaseedaw Giles For decades, the federal government has tried to guide our eating habits. They once again revised recommendations, but they didn’t incorporate ethnic and cultural differences of the American diet. Here’s why.

In Austin, Some Try to Address Vaccine Inequity, but a Broad Plan Is Elusive
By Ashley Lopez, KUT The east side of Austin has few of the chain stores key to the Texas vaccination plan. But local officials have done pop-up vaccination events in the community to get more shots to Blacks and Latinos.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The Long Road to Unwinding Trump Health Policies
President Joe Biden signed a pair of health-related executive orders this week that would, among other things, reopen enrollment under the Affordable Care Act and start to reverse former President Donald Trump’s anti-abortion policies. Meanwhile, Congress remains bogged down with taking up the next round of covid-19 relief. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.

‘An Arm and a Leg’: Tips for Fighting Medical Bills From a Former ‘Bad Guy’ Lawyer
By Dan Weissmann Jeff Bloom, a lawyer who used to represent medical-bill collectors in court, is sharing what he knows. “I was a bad guy, for sure,” he said. Then, a few years ago, he switched sides.

Health Issues Carried Weight on the Campaign Trail. What Could Biden Do in His First 100 Days?
By Victoria Knight KHN has teamed up with PolitiFact to track what becomes of President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign promises over the next four years. As he moves into the West Wing, what are his chances of making progress on health care?

‘An Arm And a Leg’: How a Former Health Care Executive Became a Health Care Whistleblower
By Dan Weissmann Former health care executive Wendell Potter said, “What I used to do for a living was mislead people into thinking that we had the best health care system in the world.” Now, Potter is a health care whistleblower and spent part of 2020 publishing high-profile apologies for the work he used to do.

Readers and Tweeters Fight Stigma and Salute Front-Line Workers
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

Aunque controlen el Senado, demócratas necesitarán apoyo republicano en temas clave de salud
By Emmarie Huetteman Con el control del Senado y la Cámara de Representantes, tendrán el poder de elegir qué propuestas de salud se votarán en el Congreso. Pero no será tan fácil.

California Budget Reflects ‘Pandemic-Induced Reality,’ Governor Says
By Angela Hart California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2021-22 budget blueprint would direct billions in state covid assistance to schools, businesses and the state’s vaccination effort. But he didn’t propose more funding for the state's 61 local health agencies, which have taken on increased responsibility for testing, contact tracing and enforcement of health orders.

Even With Senate Control, Democrats Will Need Buy-In From GOP on Key Health Priorities
By Emmarie Huetteman With a majority too small to eliminate the filibuster, Democrats will not have enough votes in the Senate to pass many of their plans without Republicans and will also have only a razor-thin majority in the House. This combination could doom many Democratic health care proposals, like offering Americans a government-sponsored public insurance option, and complicate efforts to pass further pandemic relief.

‘An Arm and a Leg’: Host Dan Weissmann Talks Price Transparency on ‘Axios Today’
By Dan Weissmann Host Dan Weissmann talked about a new federal rule — a requirement for hospitals to make public the prices they negotiate with insurers — with Niala Boodhoo for the daily-news podcast “Axios Today.”

Patients Fend for Themselves to Access Highly Touted Covid Antibody Treatments
By JoNel Aleccia Months after President Donald Trump credited monoclonal antibody therapy for his quick recovery from covid-19, only a trickle of the product has found its way into regular people. While hundreds of thousands of vials sit unused, sick patients who might benefit from early treatment have been left on their own to vie for access.

After a Decade of Lobbying, ALS Patients Gain Faster Access to Disability Payments
By Michelle Andrews In late December, then-President Donald Trump signed a law that eliminates — only for people with Lou Gehrig’s disease — the required five-month waiting period before benefits begin under the Social Security Disability Insurance program. Gaining SSDI also gives these patients immediate Medicare health coverage.