Weekly Edition: May 8, 2020
Looking For A Path To Reopen, Employers Weigh COVID Testing Of Workers
Phil Galewitz
As some states begin the delicate task of lifting stay-at-home orders and allowing businesses to reopen, many employers are considering whether their strategy should include wide testing of workers.
Trying Out LA’s New Coronavirus Testing Regime
Bernard J. Wolfson
Los Angeles is the first big U.S. city to offer COVID-19 testing to anyone who wants it. Will it help restore normal life to the 10 million residents of the city and surrounding county?
Testing In California Still A Frustrating Patchwork Of Haves And Have-Nots
Anna Maria Barry-Jester and Angela Hart and Rachel Bluth
It’s hard to overstate how uneven access to critical coronavirus test kits remains in the nation’s largest state. Even as some Southern California counties are opening drive-thru sites to make testing available to any resident who wants it, a rural northern county is testing raw sewage to determine whether the coronavirus has infiltrated its communities.
As COVID-19 Lurks, Families Are Locked Out Of Nursing Homes. Is It Safe Inside?
Judith Graham
“The awful truth is families have no control over what’s happening,” one advocate says.
COVID-Plagued California Nursing Homes Often Had Problems In Past
Jordan Rau and Anna Almendrala
Nursing homes with COVID-19 infections tend to violate health rules more often and have more complaints and fines, records show. But infections also plague highly rated facilities — while sparing some low-ranked ones.
Reopening In The COVID Era: How To Adapt To A New Normal
Julie Appleby
States and the federal government are experimenting with steps that will allow people to start working again and returning to more typical lifestyles. But public health experts offer their thoughts on the related risk-benefit calculations.
Economic Blow Of The Coronavirus Hits America’s Already Stressed Farmers
Sandy West
At the start of the spring planting season, farmers across the U.S. heartland were already trying to recover from last year’s flooding amid worsening economic conditions when the pandemic struck. Farm bankruptcies and suicides continue to climb. A lack of mental health resources in rural America makes finding help more complicated.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Blowing The Whistle On Trump Team’s COVID Policies
Frustration from inside the Trump administration over the management of the COVID-19 pandemic is starting to become public, as whistleblowers ― some anonymous, some named — tell how the effort is being undermined by favoritism, incompetence and a disdain for science. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court heard a case that could threaten the Affordable Care Act’s birth control benefit. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Rachana Pradhan of Kaiser Health News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, for “extra credit,” the panelists recommend their favorite stories of the week they think you should read, too.
Eerie Emptiness Of ERs Worries Doctors As Heart Attack And Stroke Patients Delay Care
Will Stone and Elly Yu, KPCC
Emergency department volumes are down 40 to 50 percent across the country. Doctors worry a new wave of cardiac patients is headed their way — people who have delayed care and will be sicker and more injured when they finally seek care.
How The Pandemic And An Anti-Vax Health Official Are Roiling A Montana Community
Kathleen McLaughlin
In one conservative pocket of Montana, a local health board member who opposes vaccinations helped fight the state’s stay-at-home rules. But now, as the state slowly reopens, she faces a backlash of her own.
When Prisons Are ‘Petri Dishes,’ Inmates Can’t Guard Against COVID-19, They Say
Jake Harper, Side Effects Public Media
Indiana prisoners said they can't protect themselves from the virus, as the governor resists calls to reduce overcrowding. "Scared for our lives," said an inmate.
Viral Post Alleging Obama-Era Device Tax Caused Current PPE Shortage Is Way Off
Victoria Knight
Nothing in this viral meme is accurate. And there are other places to place blame.
Palliative Care Helped Family Face ‘The Awful, Awful Truth’
Will Stone
Elizabeth and Robert Mar would have celebrated 50 years of marriage in August. Instead, they died within a day of each other. Their two very different deaths illustrate how palliative care is changing to help patients and families cope with the coronavirus pandemic.
Always The Bridesmaid, Public Health Rarely Spotlighted Until It’s Too Late
Julie Rovner
Because the public health system mostly operates in the background, it rarely gets the attention or funding it deserves ― until there’s a crisis.
As Lawmakers Reconvene, Not Everyone Agrees On COVID-Only Agenda
Samantha Young
California legislators resume their work Monday after more than a month off. While the coronavirus pandemic has shifted the state’s priorities, many lawmakers say they still intend to push non-COVID health care bills to tax soda, ban vape flavors and more.