Weekly Edition: November 13, 2020
Workers Who Lost Jobs Due to COVID May Need Help Getting Coverage This Fall
Steven Findlay
Millions of people have lost their jobs and health insurance since March, and experts say many of those looking for a plan on the ACA marketplace may not be able to get the assistance they need.
California Stands to Lose Big if US Supreme Court Cancels Obamacare
Angela Hart
California has more at stake than any other state should the U.S. Supreme Court strike down the Affordable Care Act. Millions of people could lose their health coverage and the state could lose billions in federal money each year.
Listen: The ACA in Court Again
KHN’s Julie Rovner joins public radio station KQED in California to discuss the stakes in the latest case challenging whether the Affordable Care Act is constitutional.
Justices Bound to See ACA as ‘Indispensable,’ Says Californian Leading Defense
Samantha Young
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday in a case that could overturn the Affordable Care Act. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who is defending the law with the backing of more than 20 other states, told California Healthline that he predicts the justices will uphold it.
What to Know as ACA Heads to Supreme Court — Again
Julie Rovner
Republican state officials and the Trump administration argue that the justices should overturn the entire law. At issue in the case is Congress’ decision to reduce to zero the penalty for not having health coverage.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Transition Interrupted
Former Vice President Joe Biden is now the president-elect nearly everywhere but inside the Trump administration, where the president refuses to concede and has ordered officials not to begin a formal transition. That is a particular problem for health care as the COVID-19 pandemic surges. Meanwhile, there’s good news on the vaccine front, but it’s unlikely one will arrive by winter. And the ACA was back before the Supreme Court — again. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal and Shefali Luthra of the 19th News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health stories of the week they think you should read, too.
Biden Wins, but His Health Agenda Dims With GOP Likely to Hold Senate
Julie Rovner
Democrats had hoped not only to defeat President Donald Trump but also to capture the Senate so they could make major policy changes, such as bolstering the Affordable Care Act and reducing the number of uninsured.
As Nation Awaits Vaccine, Biden Is Under Pressure to Name New FDA Chief ASAP
Rachana Pradhan
It typically takes months to install new leadership, but with COVID deaths set to surge through the winter, many Democrats say Biden doesn’t have that sort of time.
Biden Plan to Lower Medicare Eligibility Age to 60 Faces Hostility From Hospitals
Phil Galewitz
Hospitals, a potent political force, fear lowering the eligibility age will cost them billions of dollars in revenue because federal reimbursements are lower than private insurers’.
Trump’s Anti-Abortion Zeal Shook Fragile Health Systems Around the World
Sarah Varney
President-elect Joe Biden inherits a global health landscape changed by the Trump administration more than under any Republican president since Ronald Reagan.
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 7: After a Rural Town Loses Hospital, Is a Health Clinic Enough?
Sarah Jane Tribble
In Fort Scott, Kansas, the Community Health Center’s big green-and-white sign replaced Mercy Hospital’s name on the front of the town’s massive medical building. In the final chapter of Season One: “No Mercy,” we have an appointment to see what’s inside.
Crooked Media and KHN’s ‘No Mercy’ Dissect Fallout After Rural Hospital Shuts
Crooked Media’s “America Dissected” explores the rural health crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. Podcast guest KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal said: “I expect we’ll see a lot more rural hospital failures.”
Lost on the Frontline: Explore the Database
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?
Five Important Questions About Pfizer’s COVID-19 Vaccine
Arthur Allen
The drugmaker says its mRNA vaccine worked in 90% of patients in its trial, but some observers question how long immunity will last and who will benefit.
Time to Discuss Potentially Unpleasant Side Effects of COVID Shots? Scientists Say Yes.
JoNel Aleccia and Liz Szabo
From the likelihood of achy, flu-like side effects to the need for two doses, weeks apart, consumers need to know now what to expect when vaccines to prevent COVID-19 roll out.
‘Breakthrough Finding’ Reveals Why Certain COVID Patients Die
Liz Szabo
Scientists have found that some people have antibodies against parts of their own immune system, allowing viruses to multiply rapidly.
Clots, Strokes and Rashes: Is COVID a Disease of the Blood Vessels?
Will Stone
COVID-19 can cause symptoms that go well beyond the lungs, from strokes to organ failure. To explain these widespread injuries, researchers are studying how the virus affects the vascular system.
Prayers and Grief Counseling After COVID: Trying to Aid Healing in Long-Term Care
Judith Graham
With employees emotionally drained and residents suffering from loss, many nursing homes and assisted living centers are working with chaplains, social workers and mental health professionals to help people deal with the effects of the coronavirus.
Nursing Homes Still See Dangerously Long Waits for COVID Test Results
Jordan Rau and Lauren Weber and Rachana Pradhan
The Trump administration hailed rapid tests as the way to halt COVID’s spread in nursing homes. A KHN analysis of federal data shows they’re not being used, as questions linger about accuracy and best practices.
Search for a Snakebite Drug Might Lead to a COVID Treatment, Too
Jim Robbins
Human clinical trials are scheduled for a drug that could prevent some of the 100,000-plus deaths from snakebites worldwide each year. The same drug may also help people suffering from COVID-related acute respiratory distress.
Orange County Struggles With Health Equity — And Battles State Restrictions
Anna Almendrala
Disneyland can’t reopen until Orange County’s coronavirus infection rates improve — especially among its poorest and most vulnerable residents. Local officials are protesting the requirements, saying the economy will suffer, and residents’ health along with it.
Stanford vs. Harvard: Two Famous Biz Schools’ Opposing Tactics on COVID
Mark Kreidler
While the Harvard Business School gently chided returnees to be on their best behavior, Stanford deployed green-vested enforcers and campus police who sometimes threatened students if they violated the rules. Both, apparently, succeeded.
When False Information Goes Viral, COVID-19 Patient Groups Fight Back
Alex Smith, KCUR
Fear and uncertainty about the coronavirus have made online patient support groups fertile ground for the spread of misinformation. But some in these groups make fact-checking a part of the mission to support fellow COVID sufferers.
Black Hair Matters: How Going Natural Made Me Visible
Cara Anthony
How do we as Black people protect ourselves from racism? In our household, my decision to let my hair go natural forced my father and me to have a conversation about personal safety, the police and my desire to feel free. He viewed my permed hair and weave as a protective shield that increased my chances of making it home safely. But, in reality, my haircut — long or short — can’t protect me from racism.
KHN on the Air This Week
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.