Listen: Why It Takes So Long To Get COVID-19 Test Results
April 1, 2020
KFF Health News Original
KHN’s Julie Appleby talks about the behind-the-scenes steps that can add time to the process of testing for the coronavirus.
Trump Administration Approves First Medicaid Block Grant, in Tennessee
By Phil Galewitz
January 8, 2021
KFF Health News Original
The plan, long endorsed by conservatives, would give the state broad authority in running the health insurance program for the poor in exchange for capping its annual federal funding.
‘All You Want Is to Be Believed’: The Impacts of Unconscious Bias in Health Care
By April Dembosky, KQED
October 21, 2020
KFF Health News Original
One woman shares her experience trying to get care in a Bay Area hospital for COVID symptoms. At nearly every turn, a doctor dismissed her complaints. Is bias part of why people of color are disproportionately affected by the coronavirus?
‘An Arm and a Leg’: Financial Self-Defense School Is Now in Session
By Dan Weissmann
August 10, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Starting in August 2020, a new episode every other week. No time like a pandemic to learn more about how to fight the high cost of health care.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: A Little Good News and Some Bad on COVID-19
October 22, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Glimmers of hope are beginning to appear in the fight against the coronavirus, such as a decreasing death rate. But there’s not-so-good news, too, including a push for “herd immunity,” which could result in millions more deaths. Meanwhile, the Trump administration doubles down on work requirements for Medicaid. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
Becerra Tells Medicare To Review Premiums After Aduhelm Price Drop
January 11, 2022
Morning Briefing
The demand from Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is “highly unusual,” Stat reports. Becerra’s actions could lead to lower Medicare Part B costs — after standard premiums jumped 15% for 2022.
$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.
As Drug Prices Keep Rising, State Lawmakers Propose Tough New Bills to Curb Them
By Harris Meyer
February 12, 2021
KFF Health News Original
The measures would impose taxes on increases in the price of drugs that don’t reflect improved clinical value and set the rates paid by state-run and commercial health plans to a benchmark based on prices in Canada.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Democrats May Lose on SCOTUS, But Hope to Win on ACA
October 15, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Barring something unexpected, Democrats in the Senate appear to lack the votes to block the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. So, instead they used the high-profile confirmation hearings to hammer on Republicans for again putting the Affordable Care Act in peril. Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call, Shefali Luthra of The 19th and Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, Rovner interviews Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, about public health challenges in dealing with COVID-19.
The Pandemic Is Hurting Pediatric Hospitals, Too
By Bernard J. Wolfson
May 19, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Children’s hospitals were generally in good shape before COVID-19, but now their revenues are plunging as beds they reserved to assist in the pandemic effort remain empty.
In Search of the Shot
February 25, 2021
KFF Health News Original
KHN readers detail their frustrations and successes as they hunt for a scarce covid-19 vaccine.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Nursing Home Staffing Rules Prompt Pushback
June 6, 2024
Podcast
The nursing home industry — as well as a healthy number of Congress members — are all pushing back on the Biden administration’s new rules on nursing home staffing. Industry officials say that there are not enough workers to meet the requirements and that the costs would be prohibitive. Meanwhile, Democrats on Capitol Hill are trying to force Republicans to explain their exact positions on assuring access to contraceptives and in vitro fertilization. Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Bram Sable-Smith, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about a free cruise that turned out to be anything but.
Essential Worker Shoulders $1,840 Pandemic Debt Due To COVID Cost Loophole
By Sarah Varney
June 30, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Carmen Quintero had symptoms of COVID-19, couldn’t get tested and ended up with a huge bill. She also was told to self-isolate and assume she had the coronavirus — which is hard when you live with elders.
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.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The ACA Turns 14
March 21, 2024
Podcast
Saturday marks the 14th anniversary of the still somewhat embattled Affordable Care Act. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra joins host Julie Rovner to discuss the accomplishments of the health law — and the challenges it still faces. Also this week, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Mary Agnes Carey of KFF Health News join Rovner to discuss what should be the final funding bill for HHS for fiscal 2024, next week’s Supreme Court oral arguments in a case challenging abortion medication, and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Trump vs. COVID
October 8, 2020
KFF Health News Original
President Donald Trump is one of at least two dozen people tied to the White House who have tested positive for COVID-19. Negotiations on the next round of COVID relief are off again — maybe. And the FDA and CDC continue to fight for scientific credibility. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Kimberly Leonard of Business Insider and Erin Mershon of Stat News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, Rovner interviews Amy Howe of SCOTUSblog about what the Supreme Court might do with the latest case challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.
Missourians to Vote on Medicaid Expansion as Crisis Leaves Millions Without Insurance
By Cara Anthony
July 30, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Around the country, Medicaid enrollment is up as people who have lost jobs during the pandemic seek health insurance. Expanding eligibility for Missouri’s program, which could help thousands of recently unemployed residents, will be on the ballot Tuesday.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: It’s Scandal Week
September 17, 2020
KFF Health News Original
President Donald Trump this week issued a prescription drug pricing order unlikely to lower drug prices, and he contradicted comments by his director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the need for mask-wearing and predictions for vaccine availability. Meanwhile, scandals erupted at the CDC, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Food and Drug Administration. And the number of people without health insurance grew in 2019, reported the Census Bureau, even while the economy soared. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
Stop Blaming Tuskegee, Critics Say. It’s Not an ‘Excuse’ for Current Medical Racism.
By April Dembosky, KQED
March 25, 2021
KFF Health News Original
The Tuskegee syphilis study is often cited as a reason Black Americans might hesitate to take the covid-19 vaccine. But many people say that current racism in health care and lack of access deserve more attention to move more Black Americans toward vaccine protection.