KFF Health News Weekly Edition: Aug. 25, 2023
Timing and Cost of New Vaccines Vary by Virus and Health Insurance Status
By Julie Appleby
Flu. Covid. RSV. When and how to get vaccinated against them can be confusing. Here are some of the most important things to know.
The Painful Pandemic Lessons Mandy Cohen Carries to the CDC
By Fred Clasen-Kelly and Rachana Pradhan and Holly K. Hacker
Mandy Cohen, the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, earned praise for her leadership and communication as the face of North Carolina’s response to covid-19. People in the state’s most vulnerable communities tell a more complicated story.
Dangers and Deaths Around Black Pregnancies Seen as a ‘Completely Preventable’ Health Crisis
By Sandy West
Studies show that high rates of Black fetal and infant deaths are largely preventable — and part of systemic failures that contribute to disproportionately high Black maternal mortality rates.
After Backlash, Feds Cancel Plan That Risked Limiting Breast Reconstruction Options
By Rachana Pradhan and Anna Werner, CBS News and Leigh Ann Winick, CBS News
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services backed off from a plan that could have curtailed access to a type of reconstructive surgery known as DIEP flap. Breast cancer patient advocates are relieved.
Doctors and Patients Try to Shame Insurers Online to Reverse Prior Authorization Denials
By Lauren Sausser
Prior authorization is a common tool used by health insurers for many tests, procedures, and prescriptions. Frustrated by the process, patients and doctors have turned to social media to publicly shame insurance companies and elevate their denials for further review.
Few Firm Beliefs and Low Trust: Americans Not Sure What’s True in Age of Health Misinformation
By Darius Tahir
A new poll from KFF shows many Americans aren’t willing to embrace misinformation — but aren’t willing to reject it either. And they don’t know whom to trust.
Naming Suicide in Obits Was Once Taboo. Changing That Can Help Loved Ones Grieve.
By Debby Waldman
Mental health is being talked about more openly than ever, but the word “suicide” has remained largely taboo when describing how someone died. See why that’s slowly changing, what it means for people who grieve those deaths, and how candor can help prevent additional suicides.
Republican Debate Highlights Candidates’ Views on Abortion
By KFF Health News and PolitiFact staffs
Though health policies in general got little airtime, the discussion of whether candidates support a federal abortion ban underscored how Republicans, in a post-Roe environment, face political challenges on the issue.
The CDC Works to Overhaul Lab Operations After Covid Test Flop
By Sam Whitehead
In early 2020, U.S. public health labs received covid-19 tests from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that were flawed, as a result of poor design and contamination. Now the CDC is overhauling its lab operations, but efforts to be better prepared for future threats won’t be easy, observers say.
A Not-So-Health-y GOP Debate
The first Republican presidential debate of the 2024 cycle took place without front-runner Donald Trump — and with hardly a mention of health issues save for abortion. Meanwhile, in Florida, patients dropped from the Medicaid program are suing the state for not giving them enough notice or a way to contest their being dropped from the program. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Victoria Knight of Axios join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
Illustrated Report: How Gun Violence Goes Viral
By Liz Szabo and Oona Zenda
As chatter and images about guns and violence slip into the social media feeds of more teens, viral messages fueled by “likes” can lead to real-world conflict and loss.
Tribal Health Workers Aren’t Paid Like Their Peers. See Why Nevada Changed That.
By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez
Community health workers, who often help patients get to their appointments and pick up prescriptions for them, have increasingly been recognized as an integral part of treating chronic illnesses. But state-run Medicaid programs don’t always reimburse them equally, usually excluding those who work on tribal lands.
Life in a Rural ‘Ambulance Desert’ Means Sometimes Help Isn’t on the Way
By Taylor Sisk
No local hospital and anemic ambulance services mean residents in rural Pickens County, Alabama, are thrown into perilous situations when they have medical emergencies. It’s a kind of medical care roulette that has become a fact of life for rural Americans who live in ambulance deserts.
Doctors Advocate Fresh Efforts to Combat Chagas Disease, a Silent Killer
By Paula Andalo
Chagas disease, caused by a parasite, affects people primarily in rural Latin America. But an estimated 300,000 residents of the U.S. have the disease, which can cause serious heart problems. Patient advocates call for much more aggressive efforts to fight it.
‘All We Want Is Revenge’: How Social Media Fuels Gun Violence Among Teens
By Liz Szabo
Teens share photos or videos of themselves with guns and stacks of cash, sometimes calling out rivals, on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, or TikTok. When posts go viral, fueled by “likes” and comments, the danger is hard to contain.
California Offers Lifeline to 17 Troubled Hospitals
By Bernard J. Wolfson
California’s new lending program for distressed hospitals will provide Madera Community Hospital with interest-free loans of up to $52 million if it can agree on a viable reopening plan with Adventist Health. The state will offer an additional $240.5 million in interest-free loans to 16 other troubled hospitals.
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California’s Medical Board Can’t Pay Its Bills, but Doctors Resist Proposed Fixes
By Annie Sciacca
Patient advocates have long alleged the Medical Board of California is ineffective at policing doctors. But a proposal to beef up its budget and overhaul procedures faces stiff resistance from the doctors’ lobby.