Claims That CDC’s PCR Test Can’t Tell Covid From Flu Are Wrong
By Victoria Knight
July 30, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Posts circulating on Facebook and Instagram incorrectly claim that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is withdrawing its covid test because it can’t differentiate between that virus and flu viruses. These statements could be an attempt to blur the high cumulative numbers of covid cases.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Senators Have Mental Health Crises, Too
February 23, 2023
Podcast
When U.S. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania checked himself into the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment of depression this month, he got an unusual reaction from his colleagues in Congress: compassion. It’s a far cry from how politicians once kept their mental health issues under wraps at all costs. Meanwhile, GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley is stirring up controversy by proposing that all politicians over age 75 be required to pass a mental competency test to hold office. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too.
Many Health Plans Now Must Cover Full Cost of Expensive HIV Prevention Drugs
By Michelle Andrews
January 5, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Most private insurance will be required to cover drugs, like Truvada, that offer protection against HIV infection, without making plan members share the cost.
The WHO Didn’t Reverse Its Position on Kids and Covid Vaccines
By Victoria Knight
June 25, 2021
KFF Health News Original
The World Health Organization this week updated its guidance on children and covid vaccinations — but in a different way than alleged in a viral social media post.
‘An Arm and a Leg’: She Tangled With Health Insurers for 25 Years — And Loved It
By Dan Weissmann
September 8, 2020
KFF Health News Original
When people had a health insurance headache, these two words were a relief: “Call Barbara.” No problem was too big, or too small, she’d fix it.
Readers and Tweeters Give Tips on Treating Diabetes and Long Covid
April 12, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Seed Money: Black Entrepreneurs Hope Pandemic Gardening Boom Will Grow Healthier Eating
By Chandra Thomas Whitfield
May 20, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Rapper DJ Cavem Moetavation is pushing beats and beets. A vegan, he’s selling seeds to encourage more people to eat healthier by growing their own food. His efforts are part of a national movement of Black-owned seed companies that merges pandemic-inspired gardening with efforts to expand healthier food options.
California Counties ‘Flying the Plane as We Build It’ in a Plodding Vaccine Rollout
By Anna Maria Barry-Jester
January 14, 2021
KFF Health News Original
In California, the largest vaccination campaign in U.S. history is run largely by the same overworked and underfunded local health departments tasked with covid-19 testing and contact tracing. It’s a daunting undertaking as the pandemic continues to surge.
Pediatricians Want Kids to Be Part of COVID Vaccine Trials
By Arthur Allen
December 15, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Some years from now, infants and school-aged children will probably be the mainstay of a universal vaccination program against COVID-19 in the United States. But first, doctors want to be sure that newfangled vaccines won’t harm them.
Morning Briefing for Thursday, November 4, 2021
November 4, 2021
Morning Briefing
Thursday’s roundup covers kid covid vaccinations, life expectancy, vaccine mandates, Medicaid, hepatitis B, nurse shortages and more.
When False Information Goes Viral, COVID-19 Patient Groups Fight Back
By Alex Smith, KCUR
November 12, 2020
KFF Health News Original
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.
Readers and Tweeters Ponder Vaccines and Points of Fairness
August 23, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
America’s Obesity Epidemic Threatens Effectiveness of Any COVID Vaccine
By Sarah Varney
August 6, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Vaccines engineered to protect the public from influenza, hepatitis B, tetanus and rabies are less effective for obese people, leaving them more vulnerable to serious illness. As scientists race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, experts say obesity could prove an impediment — a sobering prospect for a nation in which nearly half of all adults are obese.
$8B Of Covid Aid Was Fraud, But Aid Boosted Pay Of 740k Frontline Workers
March 11, 2022
Morning Briefing
Media outlets cover the impact of the massive national covid aid program, including DOJ findings of $8 billion in fraud, discussions over whether it was worthwhile, and how it bumped the pay of around 740,000 workers. Separately, a report says one in five U.S. workers quit their job last year.
How to Pull Off a COVID-Era Music Festival
By Chaseedaw Giles
December 16, 2020
KFF Health News Original
One woman’s attempt to create a festival celebrating diverse music ran up against the reality of the pandemic this year. But it also yielded lessons in how to reimagine events in the COVID era.
As Pandemic Eases, Many Seniors Have Lost Strength, May Need Rehabilitative Services
By Judith Graham
May 21, 2021
KFF Health News Original
A little-discussed, long-term toll of the pandemic is that large numbers of older adults have become physically and cognitively debilitated and less able to care for themselves after sheltering in place.
‘An Arm and a Leg’: David vs. Goliath: How to Beat a Big Hospital in Small Claims Court
By Dan Weissmann
November 2, 2020
KFF Health News Original
In a classic — and hilarious — David vs. Goliath story, Jeffrey Fox takes on a huge hospital over an outrageous bill, and wins.
In Austin, Some Try to Address Vaccine Inequity, but a Broad Plan Is Elusive
By Ashley Lopez, KUT
February 3, 2021
KFF Health News Original
The east side of Austin has few of the chain stores key to the Texas vaccination plan. But local officials have done pop-up vaccination events in the community to get more shots to Blacks and Latinos.
Hospital Executive Charged In $1.4B Rural Hospital Billing Scheme
By Lauren Weber Barbara Feder Ostrov
June 30, 2020
KFF Health News Original
In an investigation last year, KHN detailed the rise and fall of Miami businessman Jorge A. Perez’s rural hospital empire, which spanned eight states and encompassed half of the rural hospital bankruptcies in 2019.
Device Makers Have Funneled Billions to Orthopedic Surgeons Who Use Their Products
By Fred Schulte Elizabeth Lucas
June 17, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Federal officials say that some of the money changing hands has corrupted doctors and endangered patients.
