How Mis- And Disinformation Campaigns Online Kneecap Coronavirus Response
By Shefali Luthra
June 29, 2020
KFF Health News Original
The pandemic has been marked by a significant amount of misinformation — some spread on purpose — that could prove deadly.
How Lifesaving Organs For Transplant Go Missing In Transit
By JoNel Aleccia
February 10, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Scores of organs — mostly kidneys — are trashed each year and many more become critically delayed while being shipped on commercial airliners, a new investigation finds.
Trump Highlights Health Agenda With Vow To Lower ‘Unfair’ Drug Prices
By Julie Rovner
February 6, 2019
KFF Health News Original
The president laid out a series of goals, including lowering prescription prices, pursuing an end to the HIV epidemic and boosting funding for childhood cancers.
There’s Lots Of Talk About Surprise Medical Bills In Congress, But Ambulance Costs Have Been Left Out Of Conversation
July 22, 2019
Morning Briefing
Lawmakers across the country and federally have been trying to figure out the best way to address surprise medical bills. But one of the main causes of the problem –ambulance rides — isn’t in any of the proposed legislation. “If you call 911 for an ambulance, it’s basically a coin flip whether or not that ambulance will be in or out of network,” said Christopher Garmon, a health economist at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Meanwhile, legislation in the House over the bills is unlikely to be addressed until after August recess.
Fear Of Coronavirus Propels Some Smokers To Quit
By April Dembosky, KQED
April 30, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Increasing evidence suggests people who smoke are more likely to become severely ill and die from COVID-19 than nonsmokers. Some people are using that as inspiration to quit.
The COVID-19 Bailout That’s Left Every Hospital Unhappy In Its Own Way
By Rachana Pradhan and Lauren Weber
April 16, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Despite intense lobbying for a piece of the $100 billion bailout pot, big New York hospitals and rural systems alike say they aren’t getting a fair share.
Readers And Tweeters Dive Into Debate Over ‘Medicare For All’
February 28, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Readers And Tweeters Ponder Racism, Public Health Threats And COVID’s Cost
June 23, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Racial Status And The Pandemic: A Combustible Mixture
By Anna Almendrala
May 13, 2020
KFF Health News Original
The novel coronavirus is affecting black Americans disproportionately, which some community leaders and public health experts say is not surprising. So why didn’t anyone sound an alarm?
‘Into the Covid ICU’: A New Doctor Bears Witness to the Isolation, Inequities of Pandemic
By Jenny Gold
March 1, 2021
KFF Health News Original
Dr. Paloma Marin-Nevarez graduated from medical school during the pandemic. We follow the rookie doctor for her first months working at a hospital in Fresno, California, as she grapples with isolation, anti-mask rallies and an overwhelming number of deaths.
Air Ambulances Woo Rural Consumers With Memberships That May Leave Them Hanging
By Sarah Jane Tribble
September 16, 2019
KFF Health News Original
State regulators and even one medevac company have raised doubts about prepaid subscriptions and promised benefits offered by air ambulance companies.
Hospitals, Nursing Homes Fail to Separate COVID Patients, Putting Others at Risk
By Christina Jewett
September 10, 2020
KFF Health News Original
COVID patients have been commingled with uninfected patients in California, Florida, New Jersey, Iowa, Ohio, Maryland, New York and beyond. While officials have penalized nursing homes for such failures, hospitals have seen less scrutiny.
‘An Arm And A Leg’: Can They Freaking Do That?!?
By Dan Weissmann
December 12, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Introducing a new segment on “An Arm and a Leg” podcast: “Can They Freaking Do That?!?” We take your most vexing medical bill questions and hunt down information and experts who can help.
Swab, Spit, Stay Home? College Coronavirus Testing Plans Are All Over the Map
By Michael McAuliff and Sebastián Martínez Valdivia, KBIA and Christine Herman, Side Effects Public Media and Stephanie O'Neill
August 21, 2020
KFF Health News Original
2020 will be a year like no other on college campuses, as every institution makes its own rules. Some have no plans to routinely test students for the coronavirus; others aim to test every student and staff member twice a week.
Dispatch From A Country Doctor: Seeing Patients Differently In The Time Of Coronavirus
By Julie Appleby
April 7, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Emergency rule changes by the federal government and some insurers have made telemedicine a useful tool.
Coronavirus Has Upended Our World. It’s OK To Grieve.
By Stephanie O'Neill
March 27, 2020
KFF Health News Original
To weather uncertain times, it’s important to acknowledge and grieve losses — even if they seem small in the scheme of the global pandemic, psychologists and grief experts say.
Telehealth Will Be Free, No Copays, They Said. But Angry Patients Are Getting Billed.
By Jay Hancock
April 27, 2020
KFF Health News Original
Politicians pledged to stop providers from charging for video appointments or telephone calls, but some patients are being charged $70 or $80 per virtual visit.
Addiction Is ‘A Disease Of Isolation’ — So Pandemic Puts Recovery At Risk
By Martha Bebinger, WBUR
March 30, 2020
KFF Health News Original
People in recovery from drug or alcohol addiction have to weather a new storm of depression, anxiety and isolation during the pandemic, just as the social supports of Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step programs move online.
Workers Filed More Than 4,100 Complaints About Protective Gear. Some Still Died.
By Christina Jewett and Shefali Luthra and Melissa Bailey
June 30, 2020
KFF Health News Original
As health workers were dying of COVID-19, federal work-safety officials filed just one citation against an employer and rapidly closed complaints about protective gear.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Health On The Hill
September 20, 2018
KFF Health News Original
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Joanne Kenen of Politico talk about a spate of health-related legislative action on Capitol Hill, including Senate passage of a bill to address the opioid epidemic. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week.