KHN Weekly Edition: June 17, 2022

100 Million People in America Are Saddled With Health Care Debt
By Noam N. Levey The U.S. health system now produces debt on a mass scale, a new investigation shows. Patients face gut-wrenching sacrifices.

Upended: How Medical Debt Changed Their Lives
By Noam N. Levey and Aneri Pattani and Yuki Noguchi, NPR News and Bram Sable-Smith People talk about the sacrifices they made when health care forced them into debt.

Tell Us About Your Medical Debt
Have you been forced into debt because of a medical or dental bill? Have you had to make any changes in your life because of such debt? Have you been pursued by debt collectors for a medical bill? We want to hear about it.

It’s Hot Outside — And That’s Bad News for Children’s Health
By Colleen DeGuzman An article in the New England Journal of Medicine takes a sweeping look at how heat — which can be a byproduct of air pollution and climate change — adversely affects people’s health, especially that of kids.

Two Tennessee Abortion Clinics, Awaiting High-Court Ruling, Grapple With Uncertainty
By Victoria Knight The landmark Roe v. Wade decision could soon be overturned. Two Knoxville-based providers of reproductive health care wonder how — and if — they will continue to serve their patients.

Will the US Overcome Its Covid Complacency Even as the Threat Returns?
By Elisabeth Rosenthal One million Americans have died from covid-19 — far more per capita than in any other developed country. A new variant is doubling case rates in some states, and more than 300 people are dying a day. But our nation’s pandemic response has become mild-mannered and performative, backed by neither money, urgency, nor enforcement.

At a Bay Area ‘Test-to-Treat’ Site, Few Takers for Free Antivirals
By Rachel Scheier In carrying out the federal covid-19 “test-to-treat” initiative, California is targeting the uninsured by outfitting 138 testing sites with screenings for free antiviral drugs. But as of mid-June, fewer than 800 people had been prescribed the medicines. And two-thirds of those undergoing screenings are insured.

Covid Funding Pries Open a Door to Improving Air Quality in Schools
By Liz Szabo Researchers say the billions in pandemic funding available for ventilation upgrades in U.S. schools provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to combat covid-19, as well as making air more breathable for students living with allergies, asthma, and chronic wildfire smoke.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Closing In on Covid Vaccines for ‘The Littles’
The wait is nearly over for parents of kids under 5 as a key advisory committee to the FDA recommends authorizing a covid-19 vaccine for the youngest children. Meanwhile, Congress is struggling to fill in the details of its gun control compromise, and, as the Supreme Court prepares to throw the question of abortion legality back to the states, the number of abortions has been rising. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.

States Extend Medicaid for New Mothers — Even as They Reject Broader Expansion
By Sam Whitehead Most of the dozen states that haven’t fully expanded eligibility for Medicaid have extended or plan to extend the postpartum coverage window for new mothers. That could mean improved maternal health, but it’s only part of the puzzle when it comes to reducing the number of preventable maternal deaths in the U.S.

Preventive Care May Be Free, but Follow-Up Diagnostic Tests Can Bring Big Bills
By Michelle Andrews Under the Affordable Care Act, insurers cannot charge consumers for various preventive services that have been recommended by experts. But if those screenings indicate more testing is needed to determine whether something is wrong, patients may be on the hook for hundreds or even thousands of dollars for diagnostic services.

As Biden Fights Overdoses, Harm Reduction Groups Face Local Opposition
By Renuka Rayasam The Biden administration’s latest plan to address opioid overdose deaths includes $30 million for harm reduction measures, but many conservative states don’t allow them.

Buy and Bust: When Private Equity Comes for Rural Hospitals
By Sarah Jane Tribble Noble Health swept into two small Missouri towns promising to save their hospitals. Instead, workers and vendors say it stopped paying bills and government inspectors found it put patients at risk. Within two years — after taking millions in federal covid relief and big administrative fees — it locked the doors.

Race Is Often Used as Medical Shorthand for How Bodies Work. Some Doctors Want to Change That.
By Rae Ellen Bichell and Cara Anthony Physicians have long believed it’s good medicine to consider race in health care. But recently, rather than perpetuate the myth that race governs how bodies function, a more nuanced approach has emerged: acknowledging that racial health disparities often reflect the effects of generations of systemic racism, such as lack of access to stable housing or nutritious food.

States Fight Student Mental Health Crisis With Days Off
By Giles Bruce In early 2022, Illinois joined a growing number of states where lawmakers and school leaders are trying to combat the ongoing student mental health crisis by granting days off for mental health needs.

A Proposal to Import Drugs from Other Countries Creates an Unusual Alliance in the Senate
By Victoria Knight As a Senate committee considered legislation to reauthorize the FDA’s user fee program, Sens. Bernie Sanders and Rand Paul agreed on a proposed amendment related to importing drugs from Canada, the U.K., and other nations.

Journalists Delve Into Vaccine Mandates and Surprise Billing
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.