KHN Weekly Edition: Oct. 8, 2021

Organ Centers to Transplant Patients: Get a Covid Shot or Move Down on Waitlist
By JoNel Aleccia At issue is whether transplant patients who refuse the shots are not only putting themselves at greater risk for serious illness and death from covid-19, but also squandering scarce organs that could benefit others.

Covid Immunity Through Infection or Vaccination: Are They Equal?
By Arthur Allen As scientists argue whether a previous bout of covid offers the same amount of protection as vaccinations, people turn to the courts to decide.

NY Reaches Agreement With DOJ Over Vaccine Access for Blind People
By Lauren Weber and Hannah Recht Following a February KHN investigation into covid vaccine accessibility, the Department of Justice reached an agreement with five New York government agencies to make their websites accessible to people who are visually impaired.

From Sewers to Golf Courses, Cities See Green With New Federal Covid Relief Dollars
By Phil Galewitz The American Rescue Plan Act, passed by Congress in March, provides $130 billion to cities, counties and tribes — with few restrictions on how the money can be spent.

Our Covid Cocoon: The Parents Aren’t Alright (But Help May Be Coming)
By Matt Volz After experiencing multiple quarantines and school closures in less than two months, covid vaccine approvals for 5- to 11-year-olds can’t come soon enough for a KHN editor in Montana.

Collins’ Skillful Piloting Helped NIH Steer Clear of Political Minefields
By Julie Rovner Dr. Francis Collins, who announced he is stepping down as chief of the National Institutes of Health, used his communication skills and political insights to help protect the highly acclaimed federal research institutes through difficult times.

Needle Exchanges Are Targeted by Eco-Rooted Lawsuits. A New California Law Will Stop That.
By Rachel Bluth Opponents of free needle programs in California are using environmental regulations to shut them down. On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that will end that strategy.

Major Insurers Running Billions of Dollars Behind on Payments to Hospitals and Doctors
By Jay Hancock Patients are caught in the middle as insurers clamp down on paying for treatments or force prior authorizations for care.

California Vaccine Mandate Extends to Aides for People With Disabilities
By Jackie Fortiér, LAist Even though they perform the same intimate tasks as nursing home and hospital workers, in-home health aides initially were left out of California’s vaccine mandate. They must be fully vaccinated by Nov. 30.

The Pandemic Forced My Transgender Wife to Fight Our Insurer Over Hormones
By Helen Santoro The covid pandemic has caused millions of people, particularly LGBTQ adults, to lose their jobs and enroll in Medicaid or insurance through the Affordable Care Act. Yet these plans often don’t fully cover the basics needed by many transgender Americans, such as injectable estrogen, a hormone therapy commonly used by trans women.

Racism a Strong Factor in Black Women’s High Rate of Premature Births, Study Finds
By Anna Maria Barry-Jester Dr. Paula Braveman, director of UCSF’s Center on Social Disparities in Health, shares her insights on a provocative new study that identifies racism as a decisive factor in the gap in preterm birth rates between Black and white women.

Student Nurses Who Refuse Vaccination Struggle to Complete Degrees
By Michelle Andrews The Biden administration is requiring workers at health care facilities that accept Medicare and Medicaid payments to be vaccinated. For the minority of nursing students who have refused a shot, the new policy could mean they can’t get the training they need in a hospital or other health care venue.

Solitary Confinement Condemns Many Prisoners to Long-Term Health Issues
By Katja Ridderbusch An estimated 300,000 people were held in solitary confinement in U.S. jails and prisons at the height of the pandemic. An international movement is pushing to limit the form of incarceration due to its damaging physical and psychological effects.

Youthful Advisers Help Shape a Mental Health Program for Their Peers
By Mark Kreidler Officials are enthusiastic about the Allcove initiative, modeled on an Australian program. But it will need to show effectiveness and find funding.

Santa Cruz Health Officials Honored for Persevering in Covid Battle Against Tide of ‘Denialism’
By Anna Maria Barry-Jester Mimi Hall and Dr. Gail Newel, health director and health officer for Santa Cruz County, California, will receive PEN America’s 2021 PEN/Benenson Courage Award for soldiering forward in their work amid death threats and personal attacks.

What the Stalemate on Capitol Hill Means for Your Drug Prices
By Sarah Jane Tribble Despite big 2020 campaign promises to deliver lower costs on prescription drugs, Democrats have failed to unite around a legislative plan.

‘An Arm and a Leg’: How One State Protects Patients From Hospital Lawsuits
By Dan Weissmann In Maryland, it's now illegal for a hospital to sue a patient who qualifies for charity care. But in many other states, that's still a thing.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The Health Agenda Still on Hold
Negotiations continue on Capitol Hill over President Joe Biden’s health agenda — along with a long list of other items. With Republicans on the sidelines, liberal Democrats delayed a House vote on a Senate-passed infrastructure bill to extract moderates’ support for a social-spending bill that includes expansions of benefits for Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, the Biden administration’s new rules to prevent “surprise” medical bills pleases some health stakeholders and angers others. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN and Kimberly Leonard of Insider join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews Anna Flagg of the Marshall Project about how a century-old report on medical education contributed to racial inequities that persist today.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Abortion Politics Front and Center
The polarizing abortion issue threatens to tie up Congress, the Supreme Court and the states for the coming year. Meanwhile, Congress kicks the can down the road to December on settling its spending priorities. Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Yasmeen Abutaleb of The Washington Post and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Aneri Pattani, who delivered the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about a covid test that cost as much as a luxury car.

Listen: California Banks on a Bold Treatment: Pay Drug Users to Stop Using
By April Dembosky, KQED As the pandemic has raged so has the country’s drug epidemic. California is looking to a controversial solution for certain drug users, but despite its effectiveness, critics have scoffed at the idea calling it unethical or a bribe.

Journalists Drill Down on Covid Vaccine Boosters, Misinformation Online
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.