KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': On Abortion Rights, Ohio Is the New Kansas
August 10, 2023
Podcast
Nearly a year to the day after Kansas voters surprised the nation by defeating an anti-abortion ballot question, Ohio voters defeated a similar, if cagier, effort to limit access in that state. This week, they rejected an effort to raise the threshold for approval of future ballot measures from a simple majority, which would have made it harder to protect abortion access with yet another ballot question come November. Meanwhile, the number of Americans without health insurance has dropped to an all-time low, though few noticed. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, and Emmarie Huetteman of KFF Health News join KFF Health News’ chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Kate McEvoy, executive director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors, about how the “Medicaid unwinding” is going, as millions have their eligibility for coverage rechecked.
¿Qué sabemos realmente sobre la eficacia de las vacunas contra covid?
By Julie Appleby
November 2, 2021
KFF Health News Original
¿Lo esencial? Vacunarse con cualquiera de las tres vacunas disponibles en los Estados Unidos disminuye la posibilidad de infectarse en primer lugar y reduce de manera significativa el riesgo de hospitalización o muerte si se contrae el coronavirus y se desarrolla covid-19.
More Drugmakers Avoid 340B Program
December 2, 2021
Morning Briefing
Among the top health industry news: Amgen curtails discounts through the federal 340B program, Duke, Mayo Clinic and the University of Michigan seek artificial intelligence software that works and barriers to prescription drugs created by insurance companies.
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.
Free At-Home Covid Tests Now Available For People On Medicare
April 5, 2022
Morning Briefing
Millions of Medicare “Part B” enrollees will be able to get up to eight free at-home tests per month at participating drug stores — a workaround to Medicare rules that previously didn’t allow coverage of over-the-counter tests.
Newly-Approved Diabetes Drug Found To Also Boost Weight Loss
June 7, 2022
Morning Briefing
Tirzepatide, sold as Mounjaro, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat type 2 diabetes but a study shows it can also help with weight loss, quite dramatically. Dramatic remissions of some B-cell lymphomas are also reported in an early study of Adicet Bio’s CAR-T treatment.
Senate Democrats Try Again With Plan To Let Medicare Negotiate Drug Prices
July 1, 2022
Morning Briefing
The proposal builds on a plan negotiated by moderate Democrats in November, which would have required the Department of Health and Human Services to negotiate prices within certain limits for up to 20 of the highest-cost drugs — plus insulin — in the Part B outpatient program and the Part D drug program, Roll Call reported.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The Struggle Over Who Gets the Last Word
February 1, 2024
Podcast
As science skepticism pervades politics, the Supreme Court will soon consider two cases that seek to define the power of “experts.” Meanwhile, abortion opponents are laying out plans for how Donald Trump, if reelected as president, could effectively curtail abortion even in states where it remains legal. Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Samantha Liss, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about a husband and wife who got billed for preventive care that should have been fully covered.
‘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.
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.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': All About the (Government) Funding
January 11, 2024
Podcast
With days to go until a large chunk of the federal government runs out of money needed to keep it operating, Congress is still struggling to find a compromise spending plan. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court agreed to hear — this year — a case that pits federal requirements for emergency treatment against state abortion bans. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Tami Luhby of CNN join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews American Medical Association President Jesse Ehrenfeld about the choppy waters facing the nation’s physicians in 2024.
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.
A pesar de sus límites, el plan demócrata sobre el precio de los medicamentos podría ayudar a los consumidores
By Michael McAuliff
November 5, 2021
KFF Health News Original
La nueva legislación bajaría dramáticamente el precio de la insulina, y lograría que el impacto de los precios astronómicos no recaigan en el consumidor.
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.
