Congressman Off-Base in Ad Claiming Fauci Shipped Covid to Montana Before the Pandemic
By Katheryn Houghton
February 5, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Facts don’t support claims by a likely Republican Senate candidate that a federal research laboratory in Montana infected bats with a coronavirus from China before the covid-19 outbreak.
Public Health Departments Face a Post-Covid Funding Crash
By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez
October 16, 2024
KFF Health News Original
During the coronavirus pandemic, states received a rush of funding from the federal government to bolster their fight against the disease. In many cases, that cash flowed into state and local health departments, fueling a staffing surge to handle, among other things, contact tracing and vaccination efforts. But public health leaders quickly identified a familiar […]
Watch: Anthony Fauci Defends Feds’ Covid Response, Calling Lawmakers’ Accusations ‘Preposterous’
By Hannah Norman
June 4, 2024
KFF Health News Original
At a June 3 congressional hearing that underscored the nation’s deep political divide over the coronavirus pandemic response, the longtime National Institutes of Health official addressed the agency’s controversies head-on.
Paid Sick Leave Is Up for a Vote in Three States
By Samantha Liss
November 1, 2024
KFF Health News Original
The coronavirus pandemic underscored the importance of paid sick leave, a benefit to help workers and their families when they fall ill. Now voters in Missouri, Nebraska, and Alaska are deciding whether employers must provide it.
After Grilling an NIH Scientist Over Covid Emails, Congress Turns to Anthony Fauci
By David Hilzenrath
May 31, 2024
KFF Health News Original
In a trove of emails brought to light through a congressional probe, a former close adviser to longtime National Institutes of Health official Anthony Fauci spoke of hiding messages from public disclosure.
As California Taps Pandemic Stockpile for Bird Flu, Officials Keep Close Eye on Spending
By Don Thompson
November 14, 2024
KFF Health News Original
California health officials began providing protective clothing to farmworkers months before the state’s first bird flu transmission to humans was announced in October. It’s a reminder of the state’s struggle to remain prepared for health threats amid multibillion-dollar deficits.
Tribal Health Leaders Say Feds Haven’t Treated Syphilis Outbreak as a Public Health Emergency
By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez
November 7, 2024
KFF Health News Original
The National Indian Health Board has urged the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to declare a public health emergency as an alarming syphilis outbreak, which disproportionately affects Native Americans, continues. This is the latest plea for more resources from tribal leaders after previous requests went unanswered.
Health Workers Warn Loosening Mask Advice in Hospitals Would Harm Patients and Providers
By Amy Maxmen
September 18, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Clinicians, researchers, and workplace safety officers worry new guidelines on face masks from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention might reduce protection against the coronavirus and other airborne pathogens in hospitals.
Trump Administration’s Halt of CDC’s Weekly Scientific Report Stalls Bird Flu Studies
By Amy Maxmen
January 30, 2025
KFF Health News Original
An unprecedented freeze on the agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report sparks new concerns about political meddling in science.
How the Mixed Messaging of Vaccine Skeptics Sows Seeds of Doubt
By Darius Tahir
June 8, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Some GOP members of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic have two-stepped around vaccine skepticism, proclaiming themselves to be pro-vaccine while also validating the beliefs of people who oppose vaccine mandates. The result could have serious public health consequences.
Voters in These Red States Okay Paid Sick Leave
By Samantha Liss
November 8, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Voters in Missouri and Nebraska approved ballot measures Tuesday that guarantee paid leave for sick workers. Alaska voters seem poised to pass a similar measure that has a wide lead. These two Republican-led states join 15 others and D.C. — largely Democratic-controlled places — in requiring some employers to provide workers with paid sick leave. Proponents cheered […]
As Rural America Grows More Diverse, Language Access Is Slow To Take Hold
By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez
December 12, 2024
KFF Health News Original
The share of people who are Hispanic or Latino has grown to a little more than a quarter of the population in Elko, Nevada, a small city in the remote northeastern corner of the state. That growth in diversity has also led to an increasing number of people who speak a language other than English […]
Is Novavax, the Latecomer Covid Vaccine, Worth the Wait?
By Amy Maxmen
November 20, 2023
KFF Health News Original
People with special medical considerations are hoping the Novavax shot will bring fewer headaches, fevers, and less fatigue than have been reported by those taking mRNA vaccines.
Nikki Haley (And Her Opponents) Struggle With a Vaccine Message
By Darius Tahir
November 21, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley portrays herself as a voice of reason in the Republican Party. “Let’s find consensus,” she said about abortion during the first GOP primary debate. “Let’s treat this like a respectful issue.” It’s talk like that — and strong polling in a hypothetical matchup against President Biden — that has […]
Forget Repeal and Replace. The Next Big ACA Fight Will Be Over Subsidies.
By Julie Appleby
September 12, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Forget repeal and replace. Critics of the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare, have a new target: key parts of the law that they say are too costly and provide incentive for fraud. Topping that list are the ACA’s enhanced subsidies, put in place during the coronavirus pandemic as part of economic recovery legislation and set to […]
California Dabbles With Reining in Health Spending
By Bernard J. Wolfson
June 12, 2024
KFF Health News Original
California is now among the states trying to keep health-care costs down by setting spending caps — a task that pits public officials against a deeply entrenched and heavily lawyered set of players. It’s uncertain whether the state can get insurers, hospitals and medical groups to collaborate on containing costs even as they jockey for […]
Federal Budget Constraints May Hurt Older Americans With HIV
By Sam Whitehead
June 26, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Researchers say that by the end of the decade, 70 percent of people in the United States living with HIV will be older than 50. Thanks to advances in medicine, the diagnosis is no longer a death sentence. “I’ve been fortunate to take care of some people with HIV for over 30 years,” said Melanie Thompson, a physician […]
Relieving the Growing Burden of Medical Debt
By Molly Castle Work
July 11, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Medical debt is a growing burden for millions of people around the country, from parents in Illinois to immigrants in Colorado to residents of the “Diabetes Belt” across the South, and it’s now being recognized as a health-care problem. People often forgo care or prescriptions if they have debt, according to a KFF Health News […]
A Little-Recognized Public Health Crisis
By Vanessa G. Sánchez
July 17, 2024
KFF Health News Original
About every 12 minutes, someone is killed on America’s roads and countless others are injured. More than 42,500 people died in car crashes in 2022, a death toll that rivals or surpasses those of other major public health threats, such as the flu and gun violence. “We have not recognized that traffic violence is a […]
Health Workers Fear It’s Profits Before Protection as CDC Revisits Airborne Transmission
By Amy Maxmen
March 19, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Four years since the covid pandemic emerged, health care workers want rules that protect them during outbreaks. They worry the CDC is repeating past mistakes as it develops a crucial set of guidelines for hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, and other facilities that provide health care.
