Weekly Edition: December 23, 2020

Retiree Living the RV Dream Fights $12,387 Nightmare Lab Fee
By Victoria Knight Photos by Heidi de Marco A gynecologist in Carlsbad, New Mexico, tested the 60-year-old grandmother for various sexually transmitted infections without her knowledge. Her share of the lab fee was more than $3,000.

As the Terror of COVID Struck, Health Care Workers Struggled to Survive. Thousands Lost the Fight.
By Christina Jewett and Robert Lewis At least 2,900 health workers have died since the pandemic began. Many were minorities with the highest levels of patient contact.

More Than 2,900 Health Care Workers Died This Year — And the Government Barely Kept Track
By Christina Jewett and Robert Lewis and Melissa Bailey The National Academy of Sciences cites journalists’ “Lost on the Frontline” project in a push to expand federal tracking of worker fatalities.

Lost on the Frontline: Explore the Database
By The Staffs of KFF Health News and The Guardian As of Wednesday, the KHN-Guardian project counted 3,607 U.S. health worker deaths in the first year of the pandemic. Today we add 39 profiles, including a hospice chaplain, a nurse who spoke to intubated patients "like they were listening," and a home health aide who couldn't afford to stop working. This is the most comprehensive count in the nation as of April 2021, and our interactive database investigates the question: Did they have to die?

COVID Vaccines Appear Safe and Effective, but Key Questions Remain
By Bernard J. Wolfson The federal government expects vaccinations to be available to everyone who wants them by summer — though glitches are inevitable. If enough of us get vaccinated, we could wave goodbye to the pandemic in 2021.

Inside the First Chaotic Days of the Effort to Vaccinate America
By Rachana Pradhan and Lauren Weber and Jay Hancock After missteps in Washington, each state and county is left to juggle where to send vaccines first and how to get them to each nursing home, hospital local health department and even school.

With Few Takers for COVID Vaccine, DC Hospital CEO Takes ‘One for the Team’
By Phil Galewitz Howard University Hospital officials are eager to get their 1,900 employees vaccinated, but so far few are showing up.

California’s COVID Enforcement Strategy: Education Over Citations
By Angela Hart Gov. Gavin Newsom said in July that California would target businesses that flagrantly violate public health orders. But the state’s strategy of education over enforcement means that businesses that don’t comply face few — if any — consequences.

Montana’s Mask Mandate in Doubt With Incoming Governor
By Matt Volz Republican Greg Gianforte said that he will encourage people to wear masks and wear one himself when he’s sworn in as governor, but that he trusts Montana residents to make the right health decisions for themselves.

Many US Health Experts Underestimated the Coronavirus … Until It Was Too Late
By Liz Szabo Scientists learned the wrong lesson from past outbreaks, but Dr. Anthony Fauci doesn’t cast blame.

‘Nine Months Into It, the Adrenaline Is Gone and It’s Just Exhausting’
By Anna Maria Barry-Jester A UCSF emergency room physician reflects on California’s response to COVID-19 and on lessons learned — or not — as the coronavirus makes its second devastating surge.

Health Officials Fear Pandemic-Related Suicide Spike Among Native Youth
By Sara Reardon Recent deaths on a small Native American reservation in Montana have underlined the heightened risks for Indigenous youths and how suicide prevention programs are struggling to operate during the pandemic.

As Biden Gets Sworn In, White House Will Get Scrubbed Down
By Phil Galewitz Fears about lingering coronavirus at the White House are prompting a massive disinfection initiative before the Bidens move in.

At Risk of Extinction, Black-Footed Ferrets Get Experimental COVID Vaccine
By JoNel Aleccia Months before federal officials authorized experimental vaccines to ward off the coronavirus in humans, scientists tried a veterinary vaccine in endangered ferrets. Drugmakers are researching similar efforts for other animals proving vulnerable to the virus, such as farmed minks, in part to guard against virus mutations that could pose new risks to people.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: 2020 in Review — It Wasn’t All COVID
The coronavirus pandemic colored just about everything in 2020. But there was other health policy news that you either never heard or might have forgotten about: the Affordable Care Act going before the Supreme Court with its survival on the line; ditto for Medicaid work requirements. And a surprise ending to the “surprise bill” saga. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

Surprise! Congress Takes Steps to Curb Unexpected Medical Bills
By Julie Appleby A long-debated measure to stop doctors, hospitals and other health care providers from billing patients for charges not covered by their insurance will gain congressional approval as part of the sweeping government spending package.

Democrats Are Running Hard on Health Care in Georgia’s Senate Runoffs. Republicans? Not So Much.
By Sam Whitehead, WABE Democrats are treating health care as a more critical issue than their Republican counterparts in Georgia’s two U.S. Senate runoffs. It’s a strategy they hope will woo independents and motivate base voters. The results will determine which party controls the chamber during the first years of the Biden administration.