KHN Weekly Edition: Oct. 1, 2021

Covid Is Killing Rural Americans at Twice the Rate of Urbanites
By Lauren Weber The pandemic is devastating rural America, where lower vaccination rates are compounding the already limited medical care.

Who Qualifies for a Covid Booster? The List Is Growing Longer
KHN’s Sarah Jane Tribble and Arthur Allen join Science Friday host Ira Flatow to recap the evolving news in the run-up to offering booster shots for the covid vaccine.

A Covid Test Costing More Than a Tesla? It Happened in Texas.
By Aneri Pattani A patient from Dallas got a PCR test in a free-standing suburban emergency room. The out-of-network charge: $54,000.

These Schools Use Weekly Testing to Keep Kids in Class — And Covid Out
By Christine Herman, WILL / Illinois Public Media Coronavirus outbreaks have shuttered K-12 classrooms across the U.S., affecting tens of thousands of K-12 students. To avoid the same fate, some school districts are tapping federal dollars to set up testing programs and step up their vigilance against the virus.

A Colorado Town Is About as Vaccinated as It Can Get. Covid Still Isn’t Over There.
By Rae Ellen Bichell San Juan County, Colorado, is one of the most vaccinated counties in the U.S. Leaders across the country continue to expound on the vaccine as the path forward in the pandemic. But San Juan’s experience the past few weeks with its first covid hospitalizations shows that, even with an extremely vaccinated population, masks are still necessary.

As Democrats Bicker Over Massive Spending Plan, Here’s What’s at Stake for Medicaid
By Phil Galewitz More than 2 million low-income adults are uninsured because their states have not accepted Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. Congressional Democrats want to offer them coverage in the massive spending bill being debated, but competition to get into that package is fierce.

An Ad’s Charge That Price Haggling Would ‘Swipe $500 Billion From Medicare’ Is Incorrect
By Victoria Knight The ad, advanced by a right-leaning seniors advocacy organization, mischaracterizes proposals to bargain on drug prices, regarding both the effects on the Medicare program and on beneficiaries.

Alzheimer’s Drug Targets People With Mild Cognitive Impairment. What Does That Mean?
By Judith Graham The condition can be an early signal of Alzheimer’s disease, but not always. Other health concerns could be causing thinking or memory problems, and the new drug, Aduhelm, would not be appropriate for those patients.

The Part of the ‘Free Britney’ Saga That Could Happen to Anyone
By Christopher Magoon Britney Spears was forced into psychiatric care — and compelled to pay for it. That can happen to any patient who has an episode of serious mental illness, piling financial woes onto their stress and vulnerability.

Wildfire Smoke Is Here to Stay. Here’s How to Clean the Air Inside Your Home.
By Bernard J. Wolfson There are many ways to cleanse indoor air of dangerous smoke particles, which are particularly harmful to people with chronic respiratory and cardiac conditions. Some are expensive, but cheap alternatives exist.

The ‘Burn Scars’ of Wildfires Threaten the West’s Drinking Water
By Sara Reardon Sediment from massive blazes chokes rivers and reservoirs, contaminating water supplies. The problem is only getting worse as climate change intensifies wildfires and lengthens the fire season.

Firefighters on Front Lines, No Strangers to Risk, Push Back Against Covid Vaccine Mandates
By Sandy West Among the people still reluctant to get vaccinated — and pushing against mandates — are firefighters, many of whom also respond to medical calls as paramedics and EMTs and have witnessed the ravages of the pandemic firsthand.

Hospitals Confront Climate Change as Patients Sick From Floods and Fires Crowd ERs
By Miranda Green Patients sickened in heat waves, flooding and wildfire have raised awareness of climate change’s impact on health. Now, some hospitals are building solar panels and cutting waste to reduce their own carbon footprints, with support from a new office at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. But the industry is moving slowly.

Death in Dallas: One Family’s Experience in the Medicaid Gap
By Ashley Lopez, KUT Efforts to give 2.2 million Americans health insurance hang in the balance as Congress debates a massive spending bill. The so-called Medicaid gap is felt most acutely in Texas, where about half of those who stand to gain coverage live.

From the FDA’s Empty Seat to Chock-Full ICUs, Journalists Recap the Week’s Stories
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.

Readers and Tweeters Feel Americans’ Pain
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.