KFF Health News Weekly Edition: Sept. 13, 2024

No One Wants To Talk About Racial Trauma. Why My Family Broke Our Silence.
By Cara Anthony Every family has secrets. I spent the past few years reporting about racial violence in Sikeston, Missouri. Interviewing Black families there helped me uncover my family's traumatic past, too.

‘What Happens Three Months From Now?’ Mental Health After Georgia High School Shooting
By Sam Whitehead and Renuka Rayasam and Andy Miller The recent shooting at Apalachee High School outside of Atlanta caused more than physical wounds. Medical experts worry a lack of mental health resources in the community — and in Georgia as a whole — means few options for those trying to cope with trauma from the shooting.

The First Year of Georgia’s Medicaid Work Requirement Is Mired in Red Tape
By Renuka Rayasam and Sam Whitehead Georgia must decide soon whether to try to extend a limited Medicaid expansion that requires participants to work. Enrollment fell far short of goals in the first year, and the state isn’t yet able to verify participants are working.

At Catholic Hospitals, a Mission of Charity Runs Up Against High Care Costs for Patients
By Rachana Pradhan Many Catholic health systems, which are tax-exempt, pay their executives millions and can charge some of the highest prices around — while critics say they scrimp on commitments to their communities.

In Montana, 911 Calls Reveal Impact of Heat Waves on Rural Seniors
By Aaron Bolton, MTPR State and local governments are struggling to keep up with the increasing burden of heat-related illness as summers get hotter because of climate change. In Missoula County, Montana, officials are working with researchers to understand trends in heat-related 911 calls.

Trump, Harris Spar Over Abortion Rights and Obamacare in Their First Face-Off
By KFF Health News and PolitiFact staffs The generally combative face-off was marked by a series of false and sometimes bizarre statements from former President Donald Trump.

Longtime Head of L.A. Care To Retire After Navigating Major Medi-Cal Changes
By Bernard J. Wolfson John Baackes, who steered Medi-Cal’s largest health plan following the Affordable Care Act expansion, and later prepared it for a state overhaul of Medi-Cal, will retire after this year. Baackes believes low payments to doctors and other providers, along with an acute labor shortage, hamper Medi-Cal’s success.

Fearing the Worst, Schools Deploy Armed Police To Thwart Gun Violence
By Christine Spolar Officials reason that vigilance and familiarity with campuses would speed responses to shootings. But there is scant research about armed police in schools — and some studies suggest that racial bias in policing offers cause for caution.

US Uninsured Rate Was Stable in 2023, Even as States’ Medicaid Purge Began
By Phil Galewitz About 8% of Americans lacked health insurance in 2023, the Census Bureau announced. But its report doesn’t capture the effect of states winnowing their Medicaid rolls by millions of people since the pandemic emergency ended.

Listen to the Latest ‘KFF Health News Minute’
“Health Minute” brings original health care and health policy reporting from the KFF Health News newsroom to the airwaves each week.

ACA Enrollment Platforms Suspended Over Alleged Foreign Access to Consumer Data
By Julie Appleby Federal regulators provided more specifics about why they suspended two private sector Affordable Care Act enrollment sites, including concerns about potential overseas accessing of consumer data and suspicions of involvement in Obamacare enrollment and switching schemes. The companies reject the assertions.

Silence in Sikeston: Racism Can Make You Sick
By Cara Anthony The "Silence in Sikeston" podcast explores what it means to live with racism and violence, then charts the toll on health — from hives and high blood pressure to struggles with mental health. The deaths of two Black men killed nearly 80 years apart in the same Missouri community anchor a conversation about the public health consequences of systemic bias.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Live from Austin, Examining Health Equity
The term “health equity” means different things to different people. Beyond guaranteeing all Americans access to adequate, affordable medical care, the pursuit of equity can include addressing social determinants of health, such as housing, education, and environment. Systemic and historical racism — manifested in over-policing or contaminated drinking water, for instance — can negatively affect health. In a live taping at the Texas Tribune Festival, special guests Carol Alvarado, the Texas state Senate’s Democratic leader, and Ann Barnes, president and CEO of the Episcopal Health Foundation, along with KFF Health News’ Sabriya Rice and Cara Anthony, join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss addressing health inequities.

With TV Drug Ads, What You See Is Not Necessarily What You Get
By Elisabeth Rosenthal The pharmaceutical industry has invented a new art form: finding ways to make their wares seem like joyous must-have treatments, while often minimizing lackluster efficacy and risks.

Health Secretary Becerra Touts Extreme Heat Protections. Farmworkers Want More.
By Vanessa G. Sánchez Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra has a plan to protect farmworkers from extreme heat and wildfire smoke, but farmworkers who pick California grapes say they need more, as climate change brings more extreme weather.

Journalists Give Rundown on Bird Flu Risks, HIV Rates, and the Fate of Shuttered Hospitals
KFF Health News and California Healthline staff made the rounds on state and local media in recent weeks to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.