Meet Mary Wakefield, the Nurse Administrator Tasked With Revamping the CDC
By Sam Whitehead
September 6, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has tapped Mary Wakefield to help “reset” the agency after its public failures handling the covid pandemic. Those who know Wakefield say her high standards and problem-solving skills make her a good fit for the job.
Public Health Agencies Adapt Covid Lessons to Curb Overdoses, STDs, and Gun Violence
By Katheryn Houghton
August 17, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Know-how gained through the covid pandemic is seeping into other public health areas. But in a nation that has chronically underfunded its public health system, it’s hard to know which changes will stick.
Many Preventive Medical Services Cost Patients Nothing. Will a Texas Court Decision Change That?
By Julie Appleby
September 9, 2022
KFF Health News Original
A federal judge in Texas issued a decision this week that affects the Affordable Care Act. It says one way that preventive services are selected for no-cost coverage is unconstitutional.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: We May Be Done With Covid, But Covid’s Not Done With Us
March 17, 2022
KFF Health News Original
The White House makes a move as a new wave of covid threatens. President Joe Biden brings in Dr. Ashish Jha to take over the executive branch effort. Meanwhile, it remains unclear if and when Congress can come up with the funds to continue much of the federal anti-covid effort. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
The Horrors of TMJ: Chronic Pain, Metal Jaws, and Futile Treatments
By Brett Kelman Anna Werner, CBS News
April 4, 2024
KFF Health News Original
TMJ disorders affect as many as 1 in 10 Americans and yet remain poorly understood and ineffectively treated. Many common treatments used by dentists lack scientific evidence.
Why Long-Term Care Insurance Falls Short for So Many
By Jordan Rau JoNel Aleccia
November 22, 2023
KFF Health News Original
The private insurance market has proved wildly inadequate in providing financial security for millions of older Americans, in part by underestimating how many policyholders would use their coverage.
When Covid Deaths Are Dismissed or Stigmatized, Grief Is Mixed With Shame and Anger
By Brett Sholtis, WITF
September 16, 2021
KFF Health News Original
After their brother died, two sisters faced a barrage of misinformation, pandemic denialism and blaming questions. Grief experts say that makes covid-19 the newest kind of “disenfranchising death.”
Un arma secreta para prevenir la próxima pandemia: los murciélagos frugívoros
By Jim Robbins
February 7, 2023
KFF Health News Original
En Montana, investigarán cómo los murciélagos de la fruta, albergan virus que, bajo determinadas condiciones del medio ambiente, pueden pasar a los seres humanos.
Getting a Covid Vaccine During Pregnancy Even More Urgent as ICU Beds Fill Up
By Ashley Lopez, KUT
August 12, 2021
KFF Health News Original
The CDC recommends that pregnant people be vaccinated against covid-19, based on new safety and effectiveness evidence on the covid vaccines.
As Giant Hospitals Get Bigger, an Independent Doctor Feels the Pinch
By Fred Clasen-Kelly
October 13, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Independent medical practices keep closing as doctors join behemoth hospital groups or leave the field. Research suggests that’s bad news for patients. Studies repeatedly conclude that consolidation in the health care industry is driving up costs while showing no clear evidence of improved care.
One Year In: How Covid’s Toll Compares With Other Causes of Death
By Louis Jacobson, PolitiFact
March 11, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Covid-19 has become the country’s third-leading cause of death, and isn’t far behind cancer.
Black and Hispanic Americans Suffer Most in Biggest US Decline in Life Expectancy Since WWII
By Liz Szabo
June 24, 2021
KFF Health News Original
The pandemic will undermine Americans’ health for years. Even those not infected by the coronavirus could suffer health problems related to poverty, job loss, eviction — or all of the above.
Lie of the Year: The Downplay and Denial of the Coronavirus
By Daniel Funke, PolitiFact Katie Sanders, PolitiFact
December 16, 2020
KFF Health News Original
It’s no worse than the flu, and other deadly disinformation about the coronavirus
To the Bat Cave: In Search of Covid’s Origins, Scientists Reignite Polarizing Debate on Wuhan ‘Lab Leak’
By Arthur Allen
May 19, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Leading virologists, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, are demanding a deeper probe into China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology as they try to identify the source of the deadly coronavirus.
These Schools Use Weekly Testing to Keep Kids in Class — And Covid Out
By Christine Herman, WILL / Illinois Public Media
September 27, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Coronavirus outbreaks have shuttered K-12 classrooms across the U.S., affecting tens of thousands of K-12 students. To avoid the same fate, some school districts are tapping federal dollars to set up testing programs and step up their vigilance against the virus.
With Federal Covid Sick Leave Gone, Workers Feel Pressure to Show Up at Work
By Rae Ellen Bichell
November 30, 2021
KFF Health News Original
National paid sick leave provisions for covid expired, and an uncertain covid winter is around the corner. Colorado, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh are among the places trying to fill the gap, but many employees still face financial pressure to go to work while sick.
Is Covid ‘Under Control’ in the US? Experts Say Yes
By Louis Jacobson, PolitiFact Jeff Cercone, PolitiFact
September 26, 2022
KFF Health News Original
PolitiFact has been tracking this campaign promise since 2020. Experts are now saying it’s fair to describe the covid pandemic as “under control.”
I Got a ‘Mild’ Breakthrough Case. Here’s What I Wish I’d Known.
By Will Stone
September 20, 2021
KFF Health News Original
I was miserable for five days, am fully recovered a month later and have learned even more about what we do and don’t know about covid now.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Congress Shelves Covid Funding for Now
March 10, 2022
KFF Health News Original
The Biden administration’s request for billions more in funding to fight covid-19 hit a snag on Capitol Hill this week, as Democrats objected to Republican demands that money allocated to states but not yet spent be reclaimed. Meanwhile, the big annual spending bill about to cross the finish line addresses other health policy changes, such as giving the FDA authority to regulate “synthetic” nicotine. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Jessie Hellmann of Modern Healthcare 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.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: A Health-Heavy State of the Union
March 3, 2022
KFF Health News Original
President Joe Biden spent a large portion of his first State of the Union address talking about foreign affairs, but he also spent time on an array of health topics, including mental health, nursing home regulation, and toxic burn pits. Also this week, the administration unveiled a strategy to address the covid pandemic going forward. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Amy Goldstein of The Washington Post, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet 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.
