Despite All the Talk, Covid Vaccination Does Not Infect People With Shingles
By Julie Appleby
April 30, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Covid-19 vaccinations do not infect recipients with shingles or any form of herpes virus, despite some misleading headlines.
You Don’t Have to Suffer to Benefit From Covid Vaccination — But Some Prefer It
By Arthur Allen
April 28, 2021
KFF Health News Original
In the times of smallpox, vaccination was accompanied by blood, sweat, fire and brimstone. Nowadays, a slight fever may make you feel as if you’ve earned the reward of immunity from covid. But you’re protected even without a nasty reaction to the vaccine.
Readers and Tweeters Diagnose Greed and Chronic Pain Within US Health Care System
January 19, 2023
KFF Health News Original
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Dancing Under the Debt Ceiling
April 27, 2023
Podcast
House Republicans passed their plan to raise the nation’s debt ceiling, along with major cuts to health (and other domestic) programs. Unlikely to become law, it calls for new work requirements for adults on Medicaid. Meanwhile, state efforts targeting trans people bear a striking resemblance to the fight against abortion rights. Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Renuka Rayasam, who reported the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature, about a specialist’s demand to be paid as much as $15,000 before treating a woman’s serious pregnancy complication.
In His Continued Sparring With Fauci, Sen. Rand Paul Oversimplified the Science
By Julie Appleby
March 29, 2021
KFF Health News Original
The Kentucky lawmaker was right that a recent study offered evidence that vaccination and previous infection appear to neutralize covid-19. But experts say that doesn’t mean people should be complacent.
¿Por qué Medicare no paga por las pruebas caseras para covid?
By Michelle Andrews
January 24, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Las mismas leyes del programa para los adultos mayores previenen que puedan comprar medicamentos de venta libre y obtener este tipo de pruebas sin una orden médica.
Do You Have Health Care and Health Policy Questions? We Want to Hear From You!
March 8, 2021
Page
Whether it’s health coverage, surprise medical bills, or navigating the ins and outs of the coronavirus, it’s no secret that the American health system can be confusing. KFF Health News wants to hear the health care and health policy questions you would like answered by health reporters from our newsroom.
An Arm and a Leg: Attack of the Medicare Machines
By Dan Weissmann
April 10, 2024
Podcast
In this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” host Dan Weissmann tells a horror story. Instead of monsters and aliens, it’s about private health insurance companies and algorithms that call the shots on patient care.
Covid no discrimina por edad: dramático aumento de casos en adultos jóvenes
By Will Stone
May 4, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Es tanto una señal del éxito del país en la protección de los adultos mayores con la vacunación como un recordatorio urgente de que las generaciones más jóvenes pagarán un alto precio si se permite que siga habiendo brotes en todo el país.
West Virginia Sen. Manchin Takes the Teeth Out of Democrats’ Plan for Seniors’ Dental Care
By Phil Galewitz
December 10, 2021
KFF Health News Original
In West Virginia, older residents often go without dental care, and a quarter of people 65 and older have no natural teeth, the highest rate of any state in the country. But a powerful senator from West Virginia, Joe Manchin, has rebuffed efforts to add a dental benefit to Medicare.
White House Asks For $10B More To Battle Covid
November 16, 2022
Morning Briefing
The money is sought by the end of the year to go to new vaccines and treatments. But on Tuesday Senate lawmakers voted to end the federal covid emergency declaration. NBC News’ data analysis finds covid hospitalizations and deaths are falling in the U.S.
Next Year’s Medicare Part B Premiums Will Drop 3%
September 28, 2022
Morning Briefing
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced that 2023 Medicare Part B premiums would drop 3% — the first time in a decade that has happened. The Biden administration says the decrease is primarily due to expected savings on prescription drugs with Medicare now able to negotiate some costs and limited coverage of Aduhelm.
CDC To Award Over $3B To Reinforce Public Health System
November 30, 2022
Morning Briefing
The money is aimed at strengthening the public health work force and infrastructure after the stresses of the pandemic, Reuters reports. In other news, a study found that covid screenings at hospital entries weren’t very helpful despite the considerable cost.
Covid Vaccine Makers Decline To Refund Covax $1.4B For Canceled Orders
February 1, 2023
Morning Briefing
The New York Times reports that Gavi, the global foundation that tried to increase access to covid vaccines to the world’s poor via its Covax program, is trying to negotiate with companies to get back some of the prepayments for vaccine orders that were ultimately canceled. The manufacturers involved made $13.8 billion on the vaccines distributed through Covax.
Schools, Pediatricians Look to Make Up Lost Ground on Non-Covid Vaccinations
By Kate Ruder
November 18, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Health officials hope the rollout of covid shots for young children and other initiatives will boost routine vaccine rates that dropped during the pandemic and narrow socioeconomic disparities.
Old TB Vaccine Doesn’t Work On Covid, But It May Have Other Benefits
April 27, 2023
Morning Briefing
The tuberculosis vaccine, known as B.C.G., was being tested on health care workers in 2020. But the rapid development of mRNA covid vaccines made it impossible to complete the trial because health care workers were first in line to get the newly available mRNA shots, The New York Times says.
Research Finds Catching Covid Offers Protection Like Vaccines Do
February 17, 2023
Morning Briefing
“Natural immunity” from a covid infection provides strong, lasting protection against severe outcomes, new research says — on a par with two doses of an mRNA vaccine. Separately, a study showed that for adults hospitalized with omicron, the death rate is 1.5 times that of influenza A or B.
Grupos de base lideran el camino para cerrar la brecha de mortalidad infantil en Colorado
By Rae Ellen Bichell
June 10, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Aunque Colorado se encuentra entre los estados más saludables del país, las disparidades en salud entre distintos grupos raciales y étnicos son visibles. Y un indicador clave es la mortalidad infantil.
New FDA-Approved Hemophilia Gene Therapy Is World’s Priciest Medicine
November 23, 2022
Morning Briefing
Drugmaker CSL Bering says the $3.5 million price tag for its Hemgenix treatment is justified because it would ultimately reduce long-term health care costs associated with treating patients living with hemophilia B.
Study: Millennials Using More Health Services Than Other Generations
March 10, 2023
Morning Briefing
A new study found that Millennials are seeking more help for health matters than ever. In other startling news, Newsweek says data show murder-suicides have reached a record high in the country. Hepatitis B, Havana Syndrome, treating obesity in children, and more are among other subjects in the news.
