House Passes $715B Bill Laying Out Opening Position On Infrastructure Talks
July 2, 2021
Morning Briefing
The public works legislation, passed in a mostly party-line vote, focuses on transportation and water safety initiatives.
Will Labor Day Weekend Bring Another Holiday COVID Surge?
By Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio
September 4, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Epidemiologists are having a hard time predicting whether Labor Day will be like the Fourth of July and Memorial Day, when celebrations fanned the flames in coronavirus hot spots around the South and West.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Who Will Pay For COVID-19 Care?
April 9, 2020
KFF Health News Original
The spread of COVID-19 is prompting changes in pricing, coverage and other health care issues that have been subjects of political debate for years. But the politics remain polarized. Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, for extra credit, the panelists suggest their favorite health policy stories of the week that they think you should read, too.
Just 10 Days: That’s How Long It Takes Cases Of UK Strain To Double In The US
February 8, 2021
Morning Briefing
Researchers predict the B.1.1.7 variant likely will become the predominant strain in the United States in just a month. Public health measures that work on other strains may not be enough to stop B.1.1.7, experts say.
When Green Means Stop: How Safety Messages Got So Muddled
By Nina Feldman, WHYY
August 4, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Philadelphia is in the “restricted green” reopening phase. What does that mean? And why does the U.S. have so many different pandemic safety rules?
‘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.
Congressional Candidates Go Head-To-Head On Health Care — Again
By Ana B. Ibarra
February 24, 2020
KFF Health News Original
The California Democratic members of Congress who flipped seven Republican seats two years ago made health care a major campaign issue, criticizing their opponents for voting to repeal the Affordable Care Act. As the Democrats defend their seats in this year’s elections, they are coming back to health care — but the issues are different.
Clots, Strokes and Rashes: Is COVID a Disease of the Blood Vessels?
By Will Stone
November 13, 2020
KFF Health News Original
COVID-19 can cause symptoms that go well beyond the lungs, from strokes to organ failure. To explain these widespread injuries, researchers are studying how the virus affects the vascular system.
As Covid Surges In South, Florida Detects Variant First Identified In Colombia
July 29, 2021
Morning Briefing
Florida’s community transmission is ranked “high” by the CDC, possibly playing a role in the local detection of cases of a new covid variant (B.1.621) first detected in Colombia. Meanwhile, Texas’ case rate tops 10,000 daily for the first time in nearly six months, and southern hospitals are strained.
‘We’re In A Race Against Time’ As Mutations On The Rise
January 19, 2021
Morning Briefing
B.1.1.7; B.1.351; P.1: While viruses commonly mutate, worried scientists rush to keep up with all of the emerging coronavirus variants — fearing one that could prove to be even deadlier.
Biden Scrapping Trump Plan To Shift 340B Discounts on Insulin, Epi-Pens
June 16, 2021
Morning Briefing
The policy would have threatened to withhold grant funds from community health centers if they charged low-income patients more than what they paid for the life-saving injections. Other news is on the increasing price of Medicare drugs, incentives at skilled nursing facilities, Florida’s Medicaid budget and a program in Connecticut that will give “baby bonds” to new parents on Medicaid.
House Panel Advances $120B HHS Budget Bill; Senate Spending Deals On Uncertain Ground
July 16, 2021
Morning Briefing
Annual funding for the Department of Health and Human Services would get a 24% boost in the package approved by the House Appropriations Committee Thursday. On the Senate side, congressional reporters track the status of intertwined infrastructure and “human infrastructure” spending measures.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: All Coronavirus All The Time
April 2, 2020
KFF Health News Original
The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing changes to the U.S. health system that were previously unthinkable. Yet some fights ― including over the Affordable Care Act and abortion — persist even in this time of national emergency. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHN’s Liz Szabo about the latest installment of KHN-NPR’s “Bill of the Month.”
‘An Arm And A Leg’: Health Care Takes A Financial Hit In The Midst Of Pandemic
By Dan Weissmann
May 11, 2020
KFF Health News Original
In the first quarter of 2020, half the country’s economic devastation happened in the health care sector. Much of the slowdown came after hospitals postponed elective surgeries and as Americans skipped routine doctor’s office visits.
Newsom Touts California’s ‘Public Option.’ Wait — What Public Option?
By Ana B. Ibarra
February 11, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Gov. Gavin Newsom says the state already has a public option: Covered California, the state health insurance exchange. While there is no single definition of a public option, some health care experts say that’s a stretch.
Listen: The Hard-Knock Health Law Turns 10 Amid Pandemic
By Julie Rovner
March 23, 2020
KFF Health News Original
On the 10th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, Kaiser Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner and Kaiser Family Foundation Executive Vice President Larry Levitt put the law in perspective.
Trump-Biden Race Could Hinge on How Florida’s Pinellas County Swings
By Phil Galewitz Margo Snipe, Tampa Bay Times
September 21, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Few places loom as large in the race for the White House as here in Pinellas County, the largest swing county in the ultimate swing state. And polls show that many people will have the pandemic and its public health and economic consequences on their minds when they cast their votes.
California’s Deadliest Spring in 20 Years Suggests COVID Undercount
By Phillip Reese
September 21, 2020
KFF Health News Original
California’s death count for the first five months of the pandemic was 13% higher than average for the same period during the prior three years. Subtract the deaths officially attributed to COVID-19 and experts say that still leaves scores of “excess” deaths among people of color that likely were mistakenly excluded from the coronavirus death tally.
Trump Again Claims He’s Bringing Down Drug Prices, But Details of How Are Skimpy
By Victoria Knight
August 26, 2020
KFF Health News Original
During his Monday speech at the Republican National Convention, President Donald Trump pointed to his two of his recent executive orders as likely to lead to big reductions in prescription drug costs.
Six Drugmakers Warned To Reinstate 340B Discounts Or Face Steep Fines
May 18, 2021
Morning Briefing
The Health Resources and Services Administration sent letters to AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi and United Therapeutics. They could face a $5,000 penalty for every violation.
