KHN Weekly Edition: July 30, 2021
Diabetes Drug’s New Weight Loss Formula Fuels Cost-Benefit Debate
Julie Appleby
Health plans’ coverage of the medication, branded as Wegovy — which has a $1,300-a-month price tag — is not a sure thing.
Bus Stop by Bus Stop, Denver-Area Officials Microtarget Vaccine Hesitancy
Markian Hawryluk
Using detailed maps that show vaccination rates down to the ZIP code or census tract level, health departments highlight areas of greater Denver where vaccinations lag behind state or county averages, then partner with community organizations to overcome barriers. Can this be a model for President Joe Biden's “neighborhood by neighborhood" approach?
Amid Covid Booster Debate, West Virginia to Check Immunity of Vaccinated Nursing Home Residents
Phil Galewitz
The state says it will look at the levels of disease-fighting antibodies among nursing home residents vaccinated against covid, which could help indicate whether they need a booster shot.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Hot Covid Summer
The summer that promised to let Americans resume a relatively normal life is turning into another summer of anxiety and face masks, as the delta variant drives covid caseloads up in all 50 states. Meanwhile, the Americans with Disabilities Act turns 35, and the Missouri Supreme Court orders the state to expand Medicaid after all. Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Rachana Pradhan of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHN’s Samantha Young, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about an Olympic-level athlete with an Olympic-size medical bill.
Olympic Dream Dashed After Bike Crash and Nightmare Medical Bill Over $200K
Samantha Young
A bicyclist from California competed in a Pennsylvania race that could have landed him in this month’s Tokyo Olympics. Instead, a crash on the velodrome track landed him in two hospitals where his out-of-state, out-of-network surgeries garnered huge bills.
Covid Renews Interest in Radiation, but Docs Caution Against Pilgrimages to Radon-Filled Mines
Katheryn Houghton
Each year, people in pain travel to Montana and pay to sit amid radon gas, which is pitched as therapy for a long list of health issues. While low-dose radiation therapy is getting another look amid the pandemic, experts say that treatment is different than sitting in a tunnel of radioactive gas.
Pfizer Court Fight Could Legalize Medicare Copays and Unleash ‘Gold Rush’ in Sales
Jay Hancock
Pharmaceutical companies routinely cover the cost of patient copays for expensive drugs under private insurance. A federal judge could make the practice legal for millions on Medicare as well.
Unraveling the Mysterious Mutations That Make Delta the Most Transmissible Covid Virus Yet
Liz Szabo
Scientists are trying to piece together why the delta variant so readily infects unvaccinated Americans, spewing 1,000 times more virus particles.
Women Say California Insurer Makes It Too Hard to Get Drug for Postpartum Depression
April Dembosky, KQED
Brexanolone is a promising new treatment for postpartum depression. But one insurer's requirement that women try four other drugs and electroconvulsive therapy before the infusion means it is out-of-reach for millions of women.
Sign-Up Window for Free COBRA Coverage for Many Laid-Off Workers Closes This Week
Michelle Andrews
The most recent covid relief law offered federal funding to pay insurance premiums for workers who lost their jobs and opted to keep their workplace insurance through COBRA. But the window to take advantage of the subsidized coverage is closing: Many workers would need to enroll in the program by July 31.
Bye-Bye to Health Insurance ‘Birthday Rule’? Kansas Lawmaker Floats Fix
Cara Anthony
U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kansas) introduced a bill to do away with a health insurance rule that dictates which parent’s plan becomes a new baby’s primary insurer. This could save some parents from unexpected, sometimes massive medical bills. Davids took up the issue after a KHN/NPR Bill of the Month story on one family’s unexpected $207,455 NICU bill.
How a Doctor Breaks Norms to Treat Refugees and Recent Immigrants
Markian Hawryluk
In a suburb of Denver, a doctor runs a clinic that finds creative solutions to treat a large refugee and immigrant population, sometimes to the dismay of the medical establishment.
Want Fries With That Vaccine? Even at a Fast-Food Restaurant, Pop-Up Clinics See Slow Traffic
Anna Almendrala
At a pop-up vaccine clinic in a McDonald’s parking lot in the city of San Bernardino, fewer than two dozen people agreed to get a shot, offering a snapshot of the faltering vaccination effort.
Watch: More Long-Covid Cases Seen in Kids
Sarah Varney
While covid is generally mild in children, doctors report a growing number of long-haul covid symptoms and MIS-C cases, particularly among Black and Latino children.
As Holdout Missouri Joins Nation in Monitoring Opioid Prescriptions, Experts Worry
Eric Berger
Missouri is the last state to create a monitoring program to help spot the misuse of prescription drugs. But some public health experts warn that the nation’s programs are forcing people addicted to opioids to seek deadlier street options.
The Pandemic Made Telemedicine an Instant Hit. Patients and Providers Feel the Growing Pains.
Hannah Norman
Patients seem to like remote visits, and health care providers now depend on them. But outages, freezing and other glitches cost time and money, and compromise quality of care.
Journalists Dig in on Delta Variant Risks and Opioid Overdose Deaths
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.