KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': 2023 Is a Wrap
December 21, 2023
Podcast
2023 was another busy year in health care. As the covid-19 pandemic waned, policymakers looked anew at long-standing obstacles to obtaining and paying for care in the nation’s health care system. Meanwhile, abortion has continued to be an issue in much of the nation, as states respond to the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning the constitutional right to the procedure. This week, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and wrap up the year in health. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Jordan Rau about his joint KFF Health News-New York Times series “Dying Broke.”
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.
Judge Indicates Sacklers Will Pay Another $1.2B In Opioid Settlement
March 10, 2022
Morning Briefing
The family owns OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, and during a hearing today, victims of the opioid crisis will have an opportunity to confront some family members directly. Other legal and illegal drug-related news comes from Michigan. Ohio, New York, South Dakota and Oregon.
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 3: Patchwork of Urgent Care Frays After a Rural Hospital Closes
By Sarah Jane Tribble
October 13, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Fort Scott, Kansas, went without an ER for 18 days, after the local hospital shut down. Documenting local trauma during that “dark period” helped investigative reporter Sarah Jane Tribble unravel some of the complications that come after a rural hospital closes.
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 2: Unimaginable, After a Century, That Their Hospital Would Close
By Sarah Jane Tribble
October 6, 2020
KFF Health News Original
After Mercy Hospital Fort Scott shut its doors, investigative reporter Sarah Jane Tribble traveled to Kansas and spent time with former hospital president Reta Baker and City Manager Dave Martin — to understand what their town lost.
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.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Alabama’s IVF Ruling Still Making Waves
February 29, 2024
Podcast
Lawmakers in Congress and state legislatures are scrambling to react to the ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court that frozen embryos created for in vitro fertilization are legally children. Abortion opponents are divided among themselves, with some supporting full “personhood” for fertilized eggs, while others support IVF as a moral way to have children. Rachel Cohrs of Stat, Riley Griffin of Bloomberg News, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins University schools of nursing and public health and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews University of Pittsburgh law professor Greer Donley, who explains how a 150-year-old anti-vice law that’s still on the books could be used to ban abortion nationwide. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too.
Consejos para inscribirse bien en Medicare durante la complicada inscripción abierta
By Bernard J. Wolfson
November 24, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Medicare se reduce fundamentalmente a dos alternativas: la tarifa por servicio del Medicare Tradicional o el enfoque de atención administrada de Medicare Advantage.
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.
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.
Michigan’s Outbreak Worries Scientists. Will Conservative Outposts Keep Pandemic Rolling?
By Julie Appleby
April 23, 2021
KFF Health News Original
The covid outbreak in Michigan stands out on the U.S. contagion map, but odds are it will be repeated elsewhere. How vaccine hesitancy, relaxed restrictions and a coronavirus variant combined to create the worst outbreak in the country.
‘No Mercy’ Chapter 4: So, 2 Nuns Step Off a Train in Kansas … A Hospital’s Origin Story
By Sarah Jane Tribble
October 20, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Mercy Hospital and the people of Fort Scott, Kansas, have a long, tangled history. To understand what the town lost when the hospital shut its doors, we rewind the story to 1886.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': As US Bumps Against Debt Ceiling, Medicare Becomes a Bargaining Chip
January 19, 2023
Podcast
The debt ceiling crisis facing Washington puts Medicare and other popular entitlement programs squarely on the negotiating table this year as newly empowered Republicans demand spending cuts. Meanwhile, as more Americans than ever have health insurance, the nation’s health care workforce is straining under the load. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Victoria Knight of Axios join KHN’s chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
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.
Watch: Thinking Big in Public Health, Inspired by the End of Smallpox
September 18, 2023
KFF Health News Original
A conversation about how the lessons from the victory over smallpox could be applied to public health challenges today.
Watch: Are Administration Medical Experts Muzzled?
June 18, 2020
KFF Health News Original
KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal joins a panel of health journalists on CNN to discuss the lack of public briefings on coronavirus by key medical experts in the Trump administration.
$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.
They Tested Negative for Covid. Still, They Have Long Covid Symptoms.
By Lydia Zuraw
April 9, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Despite a negative covid test, people could have been infected with the coronavirus anyway. And some of them might face lingering health issues.
How One Indie Artist Used Her Pandemic Lockdown to Create an Album With Global Collaborators
By Chaseedaw Giles
April 6, 2021
KFF Health News Original
The pandemic-induced lockdowns have only increased the demand for music-streaming services. This independent singer wrote, recorded and produced an album with musicians around the world during the pandemic’s rolling stay-at-home mandates.
Geography Is Destiny: Dentists’ Access to Covid Shots Depends on Where They Live
By Phil Galewitz
January 15, 2021
KFF Health News Original
A handful of states are making dentists a lower priority than other health professionals for inoculations, even though they have their hands in people’s mouths and are exposed to aerosols that spray germs in their faces.
