KHN Weekly Edition: 121721

Covid Shots for Kids Are Scarce — And Demand Is Mixed — In Rural Montana
By Aaron Bolton, MTPR Although covid vaccines have been available to children as young as 5 for more than a month, they’re not being offered in some rural Montana counties, and parents don’t know where to find them in others.

How LA, Calling the Shots on School Vaccine Mandates, Can Lead the Way on Covid Rules
By Arthur Allen In the middle of a measles outbreak in 1977, the Los Angeles school system required students to be inoculated or stay out of class. Other school systems followed the practice. Will it work again now that the county is insisting that teens have their shots against covid?

As Hospitals Fill Up, Paramedics Spend More Time Moving Patients, Less on Emergencies
By Helen Santoro Gunnison paramedics cover the largest response zone in Colorado. Because of covid and the lack of nearby hospital beds, patients increasingly are transported long distances, leaving few ambulances to respond to emergencies.

Colorado Hospitals in ‘Critical Condition’ as State Weathers Another Surge
By John Daley, Colorado Public Radio Patients with other ailments are frustrated, and nurses and doctors are stressed and burned out, as unvaccinated covid-19 patients fill ICU and acute care beds.

Nurses in Crisis Over Covid Dig In for Better Work Conditions
By Christine Spolar and Mark Kreidler and Rae Ellen Bichell In tough labor negotiations across the nation, here's what nurses don’t want: “appreciation that is lip service,” “marketing campaigns” and “shiny new buildings.” And this year might well prove to be a turning point in efforts to organize health care’s essential workers.

After ‘Truly Appalling’ Death Toll in Nursing Homes, California Rethinks Their Funding
By Samantha Young California wants to hold nursing homes accountable for the quality of care they provide by tying Medicaid funding more directly to performance. But the nursing home industry, an influential player in the Capitol, is gearing up for a fight.

Wartime Trauma Hits Close to Home for Scholar of Dementia
By Grace Galletti The federal government is putting up $7.2 million for a study into the correlation between war trauma and dementia in Vietnamese immigrants. Oahn Meyer, an associate professor at the University of California-Davis who is leading the study, wonders whether her mother’s dementia is linked to trauma she suffered during the Vietnam War.

Mattresses and Mold Removal: Medi-Cal to Offer Unconventional Treatments to Asthma Patients
By Angela Hart In January, California’s Medicaid program will begin offering nontraditional services —such as ridding homes of roaches, replacing mattresses and installing air purifiers — to some low-income asthma patients. But the rollout could be chaotic, with insurance companies struggling to identify groups that can deliver the services.

‘The Charges Seem Crazy’: Hospitals Impose a ‘Facility Fee’ — For a Video Visit
By Michelle Andrews Facility fees, designed to help hospitals cover the high cost of staying open 24/7, have long rankled consumers. Now, some patients are assessed the fees while sitting at home for a telehealth appointment.

Abortion Rights Advocates Try to Change Opinions With Deeply Personal Conversations
By Patty Wight, Maine Public Radio Even in states where abortion rights are likely to be preserved, Planned Parenthood turns to “deep canvassing” to fortify support.

Seeking Refills: Aging Pharmacists Leave Drugstores Vacant in Rural America
By Markian Hawryluk Independent pharmacists who want to retire often have trouble attracting new pharmacists to take over their practices, particularly in rural areas. That can cause smaller towns to lose their pharmacies. With many pharmacists near retirement, the problem may only get worse.

With Overdose Deaths Surging, Advocates on the Ground Push for Over-the-Counter Naloxone
By Aneri Pattani Harm-reduction groups say that requiring a doctor to sign off on their orders of the overdose reversal drug is one of the biggest barriers they face in obtaining the lifesaving medication.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Oh, Oh, Omicron
Even before the omicron variant of covid starts to spread widely in the U.S., hospitals are filling up with post-holiday delta cases. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court signals — loudly — that 2022 will be the year it rolls back abortion rights in a big way. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

‘An Arm and a Leg’: She Fights Health Insurers for Fun — And Wins
By Dan Weissmann Law professor Jackie Fox looks at health insurance policies like any other contract, and she has spent 30 years making sound legal arguments to help patients get the care they need.

Journalists Discuss Omicron, Public Health, Culturally Competent Care
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.