KHN Weekly Edition: Feb. 4, 2022
‘American Diagnosis’ Episode 2: Reclaiming Native Food Traditions to Nourish Indigenous People
Native foodways of hunting, fishing, gathering, and farming have been under threat since the arrival of Europeans. In this episode, hear how Indigenous people are reclaiming their food traditions to improve community health.
A Disabled Activist Speaks Out About Feeling ‘Disposable’
Rachel Scheier
Alice Wong, a writer and organizer in San Francisco, says the isolation and loss of the pandemic have shown society what it’s like to be disabled.
Pandemic-Fueled Shortages of Home Health Workers Strand Patients Without Necessary Care
Judith Graham
Home health and hospice agencies are experiencing extreme worker shortages, which means they can’t provide services to all the patients seeking care.
The Advice to Vaccinate and Test Isn’t Much Help to Parents With Kids Under 5
Bram Sable-Smith
Many parents of children too young for vaccines are exhausted. Some feel isolated and even forgotten by those who just want to move on even as omicron continues to sweep through parts of the country.
It’s Day 6 of Covid, and a Rapid Antigen Test Comes Back Positive. Stay Home, Say Virologists.
Rae Ellen Bichell
Say you’re on Day 6 — or 8 or 10 — of a symptomatic covid infection, and a rapid antigen test comes back positive. Could the test just be detecting bits and pieces of dead virus? If you’re a petri dish, sure. But if you’re a human, chances are you’re still infectious. Virologists weigh in.
States Were Sharing Covid Test Kits. Then Omicron Hit.
Katheryn Houghton
The omicron variant upended a system in which states shared rapid covid tests with those that needed them more. Cooperation has turned into competition as states run out of supplies, limit which organizations get them, or hold on to expired kits as a last resort.
At Nursing Homes, Long Waits for Results Render Covid Tests ‘Useless’
Rachana Pradhan
As omicron surges, more nursing homes are facing a double whammy: Lab tests are taking too long, and fast antigen tests are in short supply.
In California Nursing Homes, Omicron Is Bad, but So Is the Isolation
Linda Marsa
Omicron infections are surging in residential care facilities, causing massive sickouts among staff members and an uptick in hospitalizations and deaths. The latest visitor restrictions and testing requirements are also compounding the isolation that residents have suffered for almost two years.
Faxes and Snail Mail: Will Pandemic-Era Flaws Unleash Improved Health Technology?
Bram Sable-Smith
The covid-19 pandemic exposed how state and local governments’ severely outdated technology can hinder unemployment benefits, food stamps, Medicaid, vaccine registrations, and the flow of other critical information. Now, with hefty federal pandemic relief and unexpected tax windfalls, states may finally have the chance to revamp their information technology for health care and social services. But can they?
California Inks Sweetheart Deal With Kaiser Permanente, Jeopardizing Medicaid Reforms
Bernard J. Wolfson and Angela Hart and Samantha Young
The backroom deal with politically connected Kaiser Permanente, which infuriated other Medi-Cal health plans, allows the health care giant to continue selecting the enrollees it wants.
Mental Health Therapists Seek Exemption From Part of Law to Ban Surprise Billing
Julie Appleby
Some practitioners object to the way upfront cost estimates are designed, saying they could affect access to care and are burdensome. Other experts disagree.
Colleges Struggle to Recruit Therapists for Students in Crisis
Mark Kreidler
The need for mental health services on campus, which was already rising, has skyrocketed during the pandemic, with many students undergoing grave psychological crises. Colleges say they often lack the means to offer competitive salaries to therapists.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Paging the HHS Secretary
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is drawing criticism for his hands-off handling of the covid crisis even though the heads of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, and FDA report to him. Meanwhile, the Department of Labor looks to enforce mental health “parity laws” that have failed to achieve their goals. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Noam N. Levey, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about a large emergency room bill for a small amount of medical care.
‘An Arm and a Leg’: Know Your ‘No Surprises’ Rights
Dan Weissmann
The No Surprises Act protects patients from surprise out-of-network bills. But there are caveats. For instance, these protections apply only to care in a hospital. This episode breaks it all down.