Weekly Edition: October 2, 2020
‘No Mercy’ Explores the Fallout After a Small Town Loses Its Hospital
Sarah Jane Tribble
Listen to “Where It Hurts,” each episode debuting on Tuesdays, from Sept. 29 through Nov. 10. When Mercy Hospital Fort Scott shut its doors, locals lost care. Health workers lost jobs. The hole left behind is bigger than a hospital. Season One is “No Mercy.”
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?
The Mask Hypocrisy: How COVID Memos Contradict the White House’s Public Face
Lauren Weber and Katheryn Houghton
When in public, President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence join crowded rallies where many do not wear masks. Behind the scenes, the White House is recommending states adopt mask mandates and even fines — leaving it up to local officials to handle the consequences.
Analysis: We Follow Laws on Seat Belts and Smoking. Why Not on Masks?
Elisabeth Rosenthal
Americans have gotten used to all sorts of mandates, from cleaning up after dogs to stopping at intersections. There’s no reason it should be this hard to enforce ones around the coronavirus.
Evictions Damage Public Health. The CDC Aims to Curb Them ― For Now.
Bram Sable-Smith, Wisconsin Public Radio and Martha Bebinger, WBUR and Darian Benson, Side Effects Public Media
A survey of 17 cities found more than 50,000 pandemic-related eviction filings. Housing advocates worry that increased housing instability will lead to more COVID-19 and other illnesses.
Thousands of Minks Dead as COVID Outbreak Escalates on Utah Farms
JoNel Aleccia
COVID-19 is killing minks. So far, it appears infections likely spread from people to minks, not from minks to people.
Trump’s COVID Program for Uninsured People: It Exists, but Falls Short
Julie Appleby
The help is real — but access to it isn’t easy.
Post-COVID Clinics Get Jump-Start From Patients With Lingering Illness
Julie Appleby
Pop-up care facilities bring together a range of specialists to address the needs of patients who survive but continue to wrestle with COVID-19’s physical or mental effects, including lung damage, heart or neurological concerns, anxiety and depression.
Corralling the Facts on Herd Immunity
Aneri Pattani
The term “herd immunity” has found its way into politicized discussions about how to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. But what does it actually mean? And does it work?
What We Know About the Airborne Spread of the Coronavirus
Jon Greenberg, PolitiFact
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has gone back-and-forth on this issue. One thing remains clear: Though science is evolving, indications do point toward the potential for airborne transmission.
Efforts to Keep COVID-19 out of Prisons Fuel Outbreaks in County Jails
Alex Sakariassen
Montana sheriffs say the state’s decision to halt prison transfers has led to overcrowding that makes it difficult to quarantine inmates and clean facilities.
‘You’re Going to Release Him When He Was Hurting Himself?’
Brett Dahlberg, WCMU
Daniel Prude’s family knew he needed psychiatric care and tried to get it for him. Instead, his encounter with police hours after he was released from Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York, proved fatal.
Health on Wheels: Tricked-Out RVs Deliver Addiction Treatment to Rural Communities
Markian Hawryluk
Even when COVID-19 forced many addiction treatment clinics to scale back, Colorado continued to serve patients with addiction problems through an innovative program that married low-tech with high-tech. The state brought clinics on wheels to remote, underserved towns and used telehealth to connect patients with doctors.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Election Preview: What’s Next for Health?
How will health issues affect voter choices? What will happen if President Donald Trump is reelected or the White House goes to Joe Biden? In this special election preview episode, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
The First Presidential Debate: A Night of Rapid-Fire Interruptions and Inaccuracies
Tuesday night's presidential debate offered voters their first side-by-side comparison of the candidates, President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden.
Biden’s in the Ballpark on How Many People Have Preexisting Conditions
Victoria Knight
A wide range of people — from 54 million to 135 million — could be affected if the provision in the Affordable Care Act were eliminated.
Promises Kept? On Health Care, Trump’s Claims of ‘Monumental Steps’ Don’t Add Up
Julie Rovner and Phil Galewitz
The president entered office seeking to overturn the Affordable Care Act, revamp Medicaid and drive down prescription drug prices, among other things. He’s hit some stone walls.
Trump’s Executive Order on Preexisting Conditions Lacks Teeth, Experts Say
Jon Greenberg, PolitiFact
President Donald Trump’s executive order says that people with preexisting conditions can get affordable insurance. But it doesn’t explain how.
Trump Approves Final Plan to Import Drugs From Canada ‘for a Fraction of the Price’
Phil Galewitz
The announcement clears the way for Florida and other states to implement a program bringing medications across the border to save money. The effort is strongly opposed by drugmakers and the Canadian government.
Sky-High Drug Prices Driven by Pharma Profits, House Dems Charge
Michael McAuliff
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released a damning investigation Wednesday of drug company pricing tactics and profits, as two days of hearings with testimony from pharmaceutical industry CEOs begin.
Old Drug Turned ‘Cash Cow’ as Company Pumped Price to $40K a Vial, Emails Show
Michael McAuliff
The CEO of Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals defended the price hikes of Acthar gel, an orphan drug that treats infantile spasms at a House Oversight Committee hearing on Thursday.
New Laws Keep Pandemic-Weary California at Forefront of Health Policy Innovation
Samantha Young and Angela Hart
Gov. Gavin Newsom approved many consequential health care bills by his bill-signing deadline Wednesday, including a ban on the sale of menthol and other flavored tobacco products, the creation of a state generic drug label and better coverage for mental health disorders.
To Free Doctors From Computers, Far-Flung Scribes Are Now Taking Notes For Them
Sarah Kwon
Paid even less than low-wage doctors’ scribes in the United States, remote note takers in India gain a foothold in a rapidly expanding industry.
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.