Weekly Edition: October 30, 2020

Savvy Patient Fought for the Price She Was Quoted − And Didn’t Give Up
By Anna Almendrala
A California woman thought the discount on her coinsurance before an operation sounded too good to be true. Turns out, she was right.

‘No Mercy’ Chapter 5: With Rural Hospital Gone, Cancer Care Means a Daylong Trek
By Sarah Jane Tribble
The hunt for good cancer treatment often means miles on the road, time spent waiting and exhaustion from treatment and transit. “The further you have to travel to get care, the less likely that you are going to take that effort to do that,” said Boban Mathew, an oncologist in southeastern Kansas.

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?

Despite COVID Concerns, Teams Venture Into Nursing Homes to Get Out the Vote
By Aneri Pattani
In North Carolina, staffs at nursing homes and assisted living facilities are prohibited by law from helping residents vote. So community members fill the gap, venturing into some of the places hit hardest by the coronavirus.

For People With Visual Impairments, Truly Secret Ballots Are Elusive
By Carmen Heredia Rodriguez
Voters in several states who live with visual impairments must rely on family and friends to fill out their mail-in or absentee paper ballots, compromising their privacy. More states are relying on mail-in and absentee voting to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

‘It’s Science, Stupid’: A School Subject Emerges as a Hot-Button Political Issue
By Victoria Knight
Science is becoming increasingly politicized, so how will it fare on the campaign trail — in 2020 and beyond?

If They Sweep on Election Day, Dems Still Face a Challenge Meeting Health Promises
By Emmarie Huetteman
Democrats are favored to win both chambers of Congress after years of campaign-trail promises about health care. But their margin in the Senate could be slim, making it difficult to pass major health care legislation. And they still must heal some rifts within the caucus about how far they can push overhaul efforts.

Democrats Link GOP Challengers to Trump’s COVID Record, Efforts to Undo Obamacare
By Samantha Young
Democratic congressional candidates in California and beyond are linking their Republican opponents to the COVID-19 crisis and the survival of the Affordable Care Act, betting that health care could be a decisive issue for voters, especially in toss-up districts.

App-Based Companies Pushing Prop. 22 Say Drivers Will Get Health Benefits. Will They?
By Rachel Bluth
Ride-sharing and delivery services such as Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Instacart are bankrolling California’s Proposition 22, which would keep their drivers classified as independent contractors, not employees. But health benefits? That's something of a stretch.

North Carolina Treasurer Took On the Hospitals. Now He’s Paying Political Price.
By Jordan Rau
The state hospital association has endorsed Dale Folwell’s opponent after the treasurer sought to force them to accept lower reimbursements from the state employees’ health plan.

Colorado Initiative Would Further Limit Access in Middle America’s ‘Abortion Desert’
By Priscilla Blossom
Colorado voters will decide whether to ban most abortions after 22 weeks of pregnancy, which would eliminate a haven for people seeking to end their pregnancies in the Midwest and Mountain West.

Déjà Vu for California Voters on Dialysis
By Samantha Young
Californians are again being asked to weigh in on a dialysis ballot measure. This one purports to target patient safety, and dialysis industry giants are once again spending big to defeat it.

Hospital Bills for Uninsured COVID Patients Are Covered, but No One Tells Them
By Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio
The CARES Act provides funding that pays the bills for uninsured COVID-19 patients. But the death of a young man in Nashville shows some patients don't know about the program until it’s too late.

Telemedicine or In-Person Visit? Pros and Cons
By Bernard J. Wolfson
The volume of virtual medical appointments has exploded during the pandemic as patients and doctors have sought to avoid infection through in-person visits.

COVID Spikes Exacerbate Health Worker Shortages in Rocky Mountains, Great Plains
By Katheryn Houghton
COVID-19 infections and quarantines are pulling health professionals off the front lines, exacerbating staffing woes that existed in large, rural states well before the pandemic.

Why State Mask Stockpiling Orders Are Hurting Nursing Homes, Small Providers
By Lauren Weber
More than eight months into the pandemic, stockpiling of masks and other protective equipment by wealthy hospital systems is straining nursing homes and smaller providers who also need precious protective gear to keep front-line workers safe from COVID-19.

For Each Critically Ill COVID Patient, a Family Is Suffering, Too
By Charlotte Huff
Because loved ones are often kept apart from critically ill COVID-19 patients, the families may be especially vulnerable to symptoms including anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder that can be debilitating.

Scientists Warn Americans Are Expecting Too Much From a Vaccine
By Liz Szabo and JoNel Aleccia
Some argue that vaccines capable of preventing any COVID-19 symptoms should qualify for widespread use, but others want much larger trials to prove the vaccines can reduce hospitalizations or deaths.

As Anxieties Rise, Californians Buy Hundreds of Thousands More Guns
By Phillip Reese
Gun sales are surging in California, where handgun-related FBI background checks this spring and summer were up 83% over 2019. Whether pro or con on gun control, experts agree the trend has been fueled by pandemic-related unrest.

Verily’s COVID Testing Program Halted in San Francisco and Oakland
By Jenny Gold and Rachana Pradhan
Health officials in San Francisco and Alameda counties have cut ties with Verily’s state-funded COVID testing sites amid concerns about data collection and privacy.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: As Cases Spike, White House Declares Pandemic Over
Former President Barack Obama says President Donald Trump is “jealous of COVID’s media coverage.” Indeed, Trump has complained at his rallies, attended by mostly maskless supporters, about how the media covers the pandemic — at a time when cases are rising rapidly across the nation. Meanwhile, open enrollment is about to begin for the Affordable Care Act in a year when many people need coverage, but the law’s future is not secure. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, Rovner interviews KHN’s Anna Almendrala about the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” installment.

A $200 Debit Card Won’t Do Much for Seniors’ Drug Costs
By Harris Meyer
President Donald Trump wants to send seniors $200 apiece. Beyond the legal and logistical problems, health care experts point out it does little to help someone with even typical prescription costs.

A $10,000 Obamacare Penalty? Doubtful.
By Victoria Knight
Experts said a penalty of $10,000 in one year would have been extremely unlikely.

Sen. Graham Complains That 3 Blue States Get a Third of ACA Funding
By Phil Galewitz
Sen. Lindsey Graham insinuates that the law is sending a disproportionate amount of money to New York, California and Massachusetts, all represented by Democrats.

The Trump Medicaid Record: Big Goals, Yet Few Successes
By Phil Galewitz
The Trump administration sought to shrink the federal-state health program for low-income Americans and give states more flexibility. But Democrats and the courts thwarted most of those efforts.

If Trump Wins, Don’t Hold Your Breath Waiting for That ACA Replacement Plan
By Julie Rovner
The administration seeks to have the Supreme Court overturn the federal health law but has not explained how it would ensure Americans’ health care coverage.

Arguing to Undo the ACA. Harming Medicare. Do They Go Hand in Hand?
By Stephanie Stapleton
A Biden campaign ad out this month attacks President Donald Trump for pushing to slash Medicare benefits. A campaign spokesperson said the claim comes from the administration’s support for a legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act that seeks to nullify the entire law.

Florida Fails to Attract Bidders for Canada Drug Importation Program
By Phil Galewitz
No private firms bid on the $30 million contract to set up and operate the state’s plan to bring in cheaper drugs. The setback is likely to delay by at least several months Florida’s effort to become the first state to import drugs under new federal regulations.

Haiku Winner Unmasked! Read If You Dare
Entries for our second annual Halloween Haiku Contest were downright spooky. And, based on a review by our panel of judges, here’s the winner and a sampling of finalists.

Readers and Tweeters Shed Light on Vaccine Trials and Bias in Health Care
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

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.