Tennessee Archives

Public Health Experts Worry About Boom-Bust Cycle of Support

Congress has poured tens of billions of dollars into public health since last year. While health officials who have juggled bare-bones budgets for years are grateful for the money, they worry it will soon dry up, just as it has after previous crises such as 9/11, SARS and Ebola. Meanwhile, they continue to cope with an exodus from the field amid political pressure and exhaustion that meant 1 in 6 Americans lost their local health department leader.

By Michelle R. Smith, The Associated Press, Lauren Weber, and Hannah Recht

April 19, 2021

Dramatic Drop in Common Viruses Raises Question: Masks Forever?

Hospitalizations are down 62% for childhood respiratory illnesses, a study shows. Masking and social distancing are keeping a variety of viruses in check this flu season.

By Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio

March 31, 2021

How Much of Trump’s Health Agenda Has Biden Undone?

In his campaign, President Joe Biden promised to undo policies, particularly health policies, implemented by former President Donald Trump. Yet, despite immense executive power, reversing four years of action takes time and resources.

By Julie Rovner

March 25, 2021

Beth Ann Wilmore checks a vaccine vial at her community health center

COVID-19

Accidentally Trashed, Thawed or Expired: Reports of Covid Vaccine Spoilage

As the speed of covid vaccinations picks up, so do the reports of doses going to waste. Health officials are trying to rein in waste without slowing down vaccinations.

By Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio

March 4, 2021

COVID-19

Anti-Immigrant Vitriol Complicates Vaccine Rollout in Southern States

Inoculating the millions of undocumented workers who produce America’s agricultural bounty will be key to achieving herd immunity against covid-19. But garnering the trust of these workers is proving complicated, particularly in the South, where the last four years have been marked by workplace raids and anti-immigrant vitriol.

By Sarah Varney

Feb. 16, 2021

COVID-19

Vaccine Equity Is ‘North Star,’ Feds Say, and Clinics Are Key to Fair Distribution

Community health clinics are key to getting more Black and Hispanic Americans vaccinated, federal officials say. In Nashville, a vaccination push at federally funded clinics is underway.

By Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio

Feb. 11, 2021

COVID-19

Black Americans Are Getting Vaccinated at Lower Rates Than White Americans

Black Americans are receiving covid vaccines at a much lower rate than their white peers due to a combination of mistrust and access issues, leaving them behind in the mission to vaccinate the nation’s population.

By Hannah Recht and Lauren Weber

Jan. 17, 2021

COVID-19

Are You Old Enough to Get Vaccinated? In Tennessee, They’re Using the Honor System

In most Tennessean counties, residents currently eligible to get the coronavirus vaccine are health care workers, long-term care residents and people 75 and older. But don't expect strict enforcement.

By Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio

Jan. 13, 2021

Trump Administration Approves First Medicaid Block Grant, in Tennessee

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.

By Phil Galewitz

Jan. 8, 2021

COVID-19

As Hospitals Fill With COVID Patients, Medical Reinforcements Are Hard to Find

More than 93,000 COVID patients are hospitalized across the country. But beds and space aren't the main concern for hospital administrators — It's the health care workforce.

By Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio and Carrie Feibel, NPR

Dec. 2, 2020

COVID-19

Lack of Antigen Test Reporting Leaves Country ‘Blind to the Pandemic’

A KHN review found more than 20 states either don’t count or have incomplete data on the use of COVID-19 antigen tests, leaving the public in the dark about the true scope of the pandemic.

By Rachana Pradhan, Lauren Weber, and Hannah Recht

Sept. 16, 2020

COVID-19

Will Labor Day Weekend Bring Another Holiday COVID Surge?

Epidemiologists are having a hard time predicting whether Labor Day will be like the Fourth of July and Memorial Day, when celebrations fanned the flames in coronavirus hot spots around the South and West.

By Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio

Sept. 4, 2020

COVID-19

Without Federal Protections, Farm Workers Risk Coronavirus Infection to Harvest Crops

Skeptics say the lack of enforceable federal safety standards geared toward the coronavirus allows these employers to prioritize the harvest over worker safety.

By Victoria Knight

Aug. 10, 2020

COVID-19

Congress Said COVID-19 Tests Should Be Free — But Who’s Paying?

Some large employers interpreted themselves as exempt from new federal laws that say tests for the coronavirus should be free to patients. Large academic medical centers are holding back from sending bills to these patients to avoid a backlash over surprise billing.

By Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio

May 22, 2020

COVID-19

Tennessee’s Secret To Plentiful Coronavirus Testing? Picking Up The Tab

Just about anyone who wants a coronavirus test in the state of Tennessee can get one. How? The state got buy-in and lots of participation from private labs by assuring them it will pay them.

By Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio

May 20, 2020

COVID-19

Before ‘Tidal Wave’ Of Illness, Nursing Home Thought It Had COVID-19 Contained

Though it already had one staff member testing positive for the coronavirus, the Gallatin Center for Rehabilitation and Healing did not tell 911 operators this fact as it called ambulances to take residents in respiratory distress to the hospital, a WPLN investigation reveals.

By Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio

April 20, 2020

COVID-19

Long-Standing Racial And Income Disparities Seen Creeping Into COVID-19 Care

Many health officials around the nation have not released data on the ethnic and racial demographics of people tested for the new coronavirus. But public health experts said the anecdotes are adding up, and they fear the response to the pandemic will result in predictable health care disparities.

By Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio

April 6, 2020

It’s Not Just Hospitals That Sue Patients Who Can’t Pay

Until very recently, the separate company that runs the emergency department at Nashville General Hospital in Tennessee was continuing to haul patients who couldn't pay medical bills into court.

By Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio

Feb. 21, 2020

Smokers Need Not Apply: Fairness Of No-Nicotine Hiring Policies Questioned

U-Haul will not hire nicotine users in 21 states where it is legal to do so. Ethicists say such policies disproportionately affect the poor and are a sign of employers becoming overly involved in workers' lifestyle choices.

By Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio

Jan. 13, 2020

One-On-One With Trump’s Medicare And Medicaid Chief: Seema Verma

Seema Verma, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, sat down for a rare interview with KHN senior correspondent Sarah Varney. They discuss her views on President Donald Trump’s plan for sustaining public health insurance programs, how the administration would respond if Obamacare is struck down by the courts in the future and her thoughts on how the latest "Medicare for All" proposals would affect innovation and access to care.

By Sarah Varney

Jan. 3, 2020

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