Massive Kaiser Permanente Strike Looms as Talks Head to the Wire
Both sides, still at loggerheads over pay and staffing, agreed to keep bargaining after unions announced a possible strike Oct. 4-7. If no deal is reached, a walkout by about 75,000 KP workers in five states could disrupt care.
Pot Boom Wakes Sleepy Dinosaur, Colorado
A small town close to the Colorado-Utah state line strikes it rich with marijuana sales.
Officials Agree: Use Settlement Funds to Curb Youth Addiction. But the ‘How’ Gets Hairy.
Parents, educators, and elected officials agree that investing in school-based prevention efforts could help curb the rising rate of youth drug overdoses. The well-known D.A.R.E. program is one likely choice, but its effectiveness is in question.
A Father Dreamed of a Home for His Family. Medical Debt Nearly Pushed Them Onto the Streets.
As cities like Denver struggle to make homes more affordable, medical debt keeps housing out of reach for millions of Americans.
A Move to Cut Drug Prices Has Patients With Rare Diseases Worried
A Colorado board has named five drugs it will review for affordability and potential cost caps. But patients with cystic fibrosis worry they will lose access to a life-changing therapy.
A Nanoengineer Teamed Up With Rihanna’s Tattoo Artist to Make Smarter Ink
Tattoos are more popular than ever. About a third of Americans have at least one. A scientist-entrepreneur, together with a celebrity tattoo artist, believes that ink could be doing a lot more.
Community With High Medical Debt Questions Its Hospitals’ Charity Spending
Pueblo, Colorado, residents have higher-than-average medical debt, while the city’s two tax-exempt hospitals provide relatively low levels of charity care.
Teens With Addiction Are Often Left to Detox Without Medication
Facilities that offer medically managed substance use treatment for patients under 18 are few and far between in the United States. A Denver hospital is trying to help fill the gap.
Home Sweet Parking Lot: Some Hospitals Welcome RV Living for Patients, Families, and Workers
Medical and RV industry professionals say hospitals that offer RV parking are easing access to health care for some patients who drive long distances for treatment, like many rural residents.
As Nonprofit Hospitals Reap Big Tax Breaks, States Scrutinize Their Required Charity Spending
Nonprofit hospitals avoid paying taxes if they provide community benefits such as charity care. More states are examining that trade-off, scrutinizing the extent of hospitals’ spending on their communities.
At Least 1.7M Americans Use Health Sharing Arrangements, Despite Lack of Protections
A new report boosts the estimated number of people enrolled in plans whose members — usually brought together by shared religious beliefs — pay one another’s health costs.
Massage Therapists Ease the Pain of Hospice Patients — But Aren’t Easy to Find
The pandemic disrupted the massage industry. Now those who specialize in hospice massage therapy are in demand and redefining their roles.
This Panel Will Decide Whose Medicine to Make Affordable. Its Choice Will Be Tricky.
Colorado’s new Prescription Drug Affordability Board could cap what health plans and consumers pay for certain medications starting next year. The process will pit patient groups against one another.
Domestic Violence Shelters Move Out of Hiding
A new domestic violence shelter in Bozeman, Montana, reflects efforts nationwide to rethink the model that keeps survivors of abuse in hiding. But there are no guidelines for bringing shelters out into the open, leaving each to make it up as they go.
As Water Levels Drop, the Risk of Arsenic Rises
As the West grapples with a megadrought, its driest spell in at least 1,200 years, rising levels of arsenic — a known carcinogen — in Colorado’s San Luis Valley offer clues to what the future may hold.
A medida que bajan los niveles de agua, suben los de arsénico
A medida que el oeste lucha contra una mega sequía que ha durado más de dos décadas y los estados corren el riesgo de recortes en el agua del menguante río Colorado, el Valle de San Luis ofrece pistas sobre lo que el futuro puede deparar.
Journalists Unpack Facility School Closures and Federal Investment in Crisis Hotlines
KFF Health News 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.
Students in Rural Colorado Are Left Without Options as Specialized Schools Close
A new state law aims to keep the doors open at schools that accept students with intensive needs. One preteen in rural Colorado shows how the current system leaves some students bouncing between institutions far from home.
Marihuana legal es más potente que nunca pero no está bien regulada
Cientos de miles de personas llegan a salas de emergencias por crisis relacionadas con la marihuana, y millones sufren trastornos psicológicos vinculados al consumo de cannabis, según investigaciones federales.
Legal Pot Is More Potent Than Ever — And Still Largely Unregulated
As marijuana has become far more mainstream, potent, and sometimes dangerous, uneven regulation at the state and federal levels leaves consumers at risk.
