From Sewers to Golf Courses, Cities See Green With New Federal Covid Relief Dollars
By Phil Galewitz
October 8, 2021
KFF Health News Original
The American Rescue Plan Act, passed by Congress in March, provides $130 billion to cities, counties and tribes — with few restrictions on how the money can be spent.
A Title Fight Pits Physician Assistants Against Doctors
By Jordan Rau
December 3, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Physician assistants are pushing to be renamed “physician associates,” complaining their title is belittling and doesn’t convey what they do. “We don’t assist,” they insist. Doctors’ groups fear there’s more than just a name in play.
ARPA-H Announces First Regional Hubs, New Cancer Research Programs
September 27, 2023
Morning Briefing
The brand new biomedical research agency announced its first two hubs will be in the Dallas and Boston areas — all part of its decentralized plan. The agency also revealed $115 million in funding for three new cancer research programs, plus a nationwide network for health innovation deployment.
A Chilling Cure: Facing Killer Heat, ERs Use Body Bags to Save Lives
By JoNel Aleccia
July 22, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Doctors in Washington state used human body bags filled with ice and water to rapidly cool the sickest patients affected by record heat last month.
‘It Seems Systematic’: Doctors Cite 115 Cases of Head Injuries From Crowd Control Devices
By Jordan Culver, USA Today
September 14, 2020
KFF Health News Original
In the most comprehensive tally of such injuries to date, the Physicians for Human Rights scoured publicly available data — including social media, news accounts and lawsuits — to document and name victims of summer protests. Still, the group cautions, it’s likely an undercount.
Colorado Initiative Would Further Limit Access in Middle America’s ‘Abortion Desert’
By Priscilla Blossom
October 26, 2020
KFF Health News Original
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.
Nurses and Docs at Long Beach Center ‘Consider It an Honor’ to Care for Migrant Children
By Stephanie Stephens
June 21, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Health care workers find it easy to empathize with Central American children after their painful journeys to the U.S.
Median Launch Price For A New Drug Was $2,115 In 2008. In 2021? $180K
June 8, 2022
Morning Briefing
Boston researchers looked into the soaring cost of launching a new drug in the U.S. between 2008 and 2021: The median price jumped roughly 20% per year through this period. A separate study highlights the risk of lower price transparency when hospitals merge.
Patients Went Into the Hospital for Care. After Testing Positive There for Covid, Some Never Came Out.
By Christina Jewett
November 4, 2021
KFF Health News Original
About 21% of patients diagnosed with covid during a hospital stay died, according to data analyzed for KHN. In-hospital rates of spread varied widely and patients had no way of checking them.
How One State’s Public Health Defunding Led to Vaccination Chaos
By Lauren Weber
March 26, 2021
KFF Health News Original
The underfunding of public health and political backlash destabilized Missouri’s vaccine rollout, creating racial inequity and forcing some residents to drive hours to get shots.
As Patients Fell Ill With Covid Inside Hospitals, Government Oversight Fell Short
By Lauren Weber Christina Jewett
Photos by Heidi de Marco
December 23, 2021
KFF Health News Original
A KHN investigation finds that hospitals with high rates of covid patients who didn’t have the diagnosis when they were admitted have rarely been held accountable due to multiple gaps in government oversight.
115,000 Health Workers Died From Covid Over 18 Months, WHO Thinks
October 22, 2021
Morning Briefing
The World Health Organization estimate of 115,000 global health worker deaths covers the period from January 2020 to May 2021. News outlets cover other covid news, including the death of parents of five children, record hospitalizations in Alaska, high death rates in rural Georgia, and more.
Minneapolis Police Injured Protesters With Rubber Bullets. The City Has Taken Little Action.
By Dennis Wagner, USA TODAY
May 26, 2021
KFF Health News Original
A year after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis while in police custody, there is scant evidence the city has changed how its police officers use less-lethal weapons or strengthened its oversight. Instead, it may be a study in stymied reform, unenforced policies and a lack of transparency.
One School, Two Choices: A Study in Classroom vs. Distance Learning
By John M. Glionna
October 7, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Most students at one Marin County school attend in person, while a dozen study from home. Those on campus are constantly nagged to use hand sanitizer and submit to the thermometer. Home-schoolers yell to their parents for help, while the parents pray that Zoom doesn’t freeze.
A $10,000 Obamacare Penalty? Doubtful.
By Victoria Knight
October 29, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Experts said a penalty of $10,000 in one year would have been extremely unlikely.
The Costs Of Safely Reopening A High-End Restaurant
By John M. Glionna
June 18, 2020
KFF Health News Original
The shifting federal guidelines about how to reopen during the pandemic have perplexed many small-business owners, including the Prestifilippos, who dug deep into their wallets to provide a new kind of dining experience they hope is safe.
VA Mandates Vaccines For Its Health Workers; California, NYC Set New Rules
July 27, 2021
Morning Briefing
The Department of Veterans Affairs became the first federal agency to require employees to get vaccinated for covid-19. The order impacts 115,000 of its “patient-facing” health workers. In California and New York City, unvaccinated state workers will face weekly testing starting in August.
Medicaid Mystery: Millions of Enrollees Haven’t Materialized in California
By Rachel Bluth Angela Hart
July 23, 2020
KFF Health News Original
State officials had projected that 2 million Californians would join Medi-Cal, the state’s health insurance program for low-income people, by July because of the economic devastation wrought by COVID-19. Yet enrollment has barely budged, and why is unclear.
White House To Send 3 Million J&J Covid Shots To Brazil
June 24, 2021
Morning Briefing
Brazil on Wednesday reported a single-day record of 115,228 new covid cases, as the virus outbreak accelerates there. Separately, Reuters reports on how the Covax program to help poorer nations fight covid is falling short of its goal to deliver vaccines.
As States Reopened After First 2020 Wave, 5,300 More People Were Hospitalized Daily
June 29, 2021
Morning Briefing
A study links reopenings in spring 2020 with spikes in people hospitalized with covid. Deaths also rose, but over a month later. Separately, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has received reports of 4,115 covid-vaccinated people who were hospitalized or died.
