Journalists Discuss Enduring Effects of Long Covid and Handling of Opioid Settlement Funds
April 29, 2023
KFF Health News Original
KFF Health News and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Early Detection May Help Kentucky Tamp Down Its Lung Cancer Crisis
By Charlotte Huff
February 15, 2024
KFF Health News Original
After a decade of work, a Kentucky program launched to diagnose lung cancer earlier is beginning to change the prognosis for residents by catching tumors when they’re more treatable.
Journalists Explore Affordability of Mental Health Care and Abortion Laws’ Effect on Miscarriages
May 21, 2022
KFF Health News Original
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Para pacientes de cáncer sin seguro, conseguir atención médica es una lotería
By Charlotte Huff
April 10, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Los estudios demuestran que, a veces, los adultos sin seguro retrasan la atención, lo que puede perjudicar las probabilidades de supervivencia. Pero que los pacientes obtengan un seguro para cubrir el tratamiento se parece un poco al juego de la ruleta, es decir, depende de dónde vivan y del tipo de cáncer que padezcan.
For Uninsured People With Cancer, Securing Care Can Be Like Spinning a Roulette Wheel
By Charlotte Huff
April 10, 2023
KFF Health News Original
When uninsured people are diagnosed with cancer, accessing resources and paying for treatment can be daunting. The safety nets meant to help often fall short, say cancer physicians and health policy experts who study access to care. Some patients find it easier to play the odds.
New Abortion Laws Jeopardize Cancer Treatment for Pregnant Patients
By Charlotte Huff
September 16, 2022
KFF Health News Original
As abortion restrictions take effect across the South in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, cancer doctors are trying to decipher the laws. They’re grappling with how to discuss options with pregnant patients, who may be forced to choose whether to proceed or forgo lifesaving cancer treatments that can prove toxic for the fetus.
Journalists Explore Health Care Disparities and Policy Pitfalls
December 4, 2021
KFF Health News Original
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Ripple Effects of Abortion Restrictions Confuse Care for Miscarriages
By Charlotte Huff
May 11, 2022
KFF Health News Original
In Texas, where anyone can face a hefty fine of at least $10,000 if they abet an abortion, medical professionals on the front lines face tough quandaries when treating patients who have a miscarriage, a scenario that could soon play out around the country if abortion restrictions tighten.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The Invisible Pandemic
May 12, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Covid cases are again climbing, but you wouldn’t know it from the behavior of public health and elected officials, much less the general public, all of whom seem to want to put the pandemic in the rearview mirror. Meanwhile, the fallout over the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion on abortion continues even as the Senate fails — again — to muster the votes to write abortion rights into law. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists suggest their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
How Low Can They Go? Rural Hospitals Weigh Keeping Obstetric Units When Births Decline
By Charlotte Huff
November 12, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Many small hospitals have shuttered their labor and delivery units as births decline. For those who resist the trend, some studies suggest that hospitals with low deliveries are more likely to see complications for patients. Doctors and public health experts say there is no magic number to determine when it is best to close an obstetrics unit.
12,000 Square Miles Without Obstetrics? It’s a Possibility in West Texas
By Charlotte Huff
August 2, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Big Bend Regional Medical Center, the only hospital in a sparsely populated region of West Texas, announced that because of a nursing shortage its labor and delivery unit must close for days at a time and patients must go instead to a hospital an hour away.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Delta Blues
August 5, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Covid is back with a vengeance, with some people clamoring for booster shots while others harden their resistance to getting vaccinated at all. Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration is pushing hard on drugmaker Pfizer’s request to upgrade the emergency authorization for its vaccine and give it final approval. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The Confusing Fate of the Abortion Pill
April 13, 2023
Podcast
The legality and availability of the abortion pill mifepristone is in question after a federal judge in Texas canceled the FDA’s approval of the first drug used in the two-drug medication abortion regimen. A 5th Circuit Court of Appeals panel overruled that decision in part, saying the pill should remain available, but only under the onerous restrictions in place before 2016. Meanwhile, another federal judge in Washington state issued a ruling in a separate case that conflicts with the Texas decision, ordering the FDA not to roll back any of its restrictions on the drug. Victoria Knight of Axios, 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.
For Nurses Feeling the Strain of the Pandemic, Virus Resurgence Is ‘Paralyzing’
By Charlotte Huff
November 24, 2020
KFF Health News Original
COVID-19’s toll weighs heavily on nurses, who can suffer stress and other psychological problems if they don’t believe they are able to help their patients sufficiently.
For Each Critically Ill COVID Patient, a Family Is Suffering, Too
By Charlotte Huff
October 28, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Because loved ones are often kept apart from critically ill COVID-19 patients, the families may be especially vulnerable to symptoms including anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder that can be debilitating.
Pruebas para el VPH y el cáncer cervical podrían hacerse en casa
By Charlotte Huff
July 1, 2020
KFF Health News Original
El Instituto Nacional del Cáncer lanzará un estudio que involucrará a unas 5,000 mujeres para evaluar si la autoprueba casera puede equivaler a la que realiza el médico en un consultorio.
NIH Spearheads Study To Test At-Home Screening For HPV And Cervical Cancer
By Charlotte Huff
July 1, 2020
KFF Health News Original
The National Cancer Institute plans to launch a multisite study next year involving roughly 5,000 women to assess whether self-sampling at home for the human papillomavirus that causes cervical cancer is comparable to screening in a doctor’s office.
Texas Law Highlights Dilemma Over Care For Patients With No Hope Of Survival
By Charlotte Huff
December 23, 2019
KFF Health News Original
The Texas Advance Directives Act gives hospitals the authority to stop life-sustaining support if another hospital won’t accept the patient. The family of Tinslee Lewis, a 10-month-old with serious medical problems, is fighting to keep her in hospital care.
Por qué el cáncer es más peligroso para los inmigrantes en el sur de Texas
By Charlotte Huff
April 23, 2019
KFF Health News Original
En el condado Hidalgo, que incluye a la ciudad de McAllen, y en el de Cameron, ambos sobre el Valle del Río Grande, no hay hospitales públicos. Y el estado no expandió Medicaid.
Cancer Is Especially Dangerous For Immigrants In South Texas. Here’s Why.
By Charlotte Huff
April 23, 2019
KFF Health News Original
When an undocumented immigrant in a Texas border county gets a cancer diagnosis, it can be a death sentence because of a lack of public hospitals.