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Latest KFF Health News Stories

Montana Tribes Want to Stop Jailing People for Suicide Attempts but Lack a Safer Alternative

KFF Health News Original

The Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux tribes are working with academics and policy experts on possible solutions. Their challenge is how to attract the needed mental health personnel to the remote reservation.

‘Down to My Last Diaper’: The Anxiety of Parenting in Poverty

KFF Health News Original

Diapers are a baby essential, but no federal program helps families cover their considerable cost. Jennifer Randles, a professor of sociology at Fresno State in California, spoke with KHN about her novel research exploring the outsize role “diaper math” plays in the lives of low-income moms.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Dems Agree to Agree, But Not on What to Agree On

KFF Health News Original

Negotiations on the health parts of President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda are getting serious but have yet to produce a deal every Democrat can support. Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration remains without a nominated leader but manages to take the first steps toward approving over-the-counter hearing aids. Joanne Kenen of Politico and Johns Hopkins, Tami Luhby of CNN and Rachel Cohrs of Stat 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.

Worn-Out Nurses Hit the Road for Better Pay, Stressing Hospital Budgets — And Morale

KFF Health News Original

Managers are trapped in a pricey hiring cycle, competing for critical care nurses who can monitor covid patients on life support. Some hospitals are looking abroad to replace staffers who quit to become travel nurses or leave the profession.

“Me tratan como si fuera vieja y estúpida”: adultos mayores denuncian a profesionales de salud que los discriminan por edad

KFF Health News Original

Las experiencias de Whitney revelan la discriminación por edad en los entornos de atención médica, un problema de larga data que está recibiendo nueva atención durante la pandemia de covid, que ha matado a más de medio millón de estadounidenses de 65 años y más.

Científicos buscan la causa de una misteriosa inflamación en niños relacionada con covid

KFF Health News Original

Más de 5,200 de los 6,2 millones de niños estadounidenses a los que se les ha diagnosticado covid han desarrollado MIS-C. Un 80% de los pacientes con MIS-C son tratados en unidades de cuidados intensivos, el 20% requiere ventilación mecánica y 46 han muerto.

‘They Treat Me Like I’m Old and Stupid’: Seniors Decry Health Providers’ Age Bias

KFF Health News Original

Ageism in health care settings, which can result in inappropriate or dangerous treatment, is getting new attention during the covid pandemic, which has killed more than half a million Americans age 65 and older.

Hygienists Brace for Pitched Battles With Dentists in Fights Over Practice Laws

KFF Health News Original

In a battle reflecting turf wars around the country, Illinois dentists defeated legislation that would have allowed hygienists to practice in nursing homes and prisons where dental care can be scarce.

California’s Mental Health Crisis: What Went Wrong? And Can We Fix It?

KFF Health News Original

KHN’s Angela Hart leads a lively discussion on the challenges facing California’s mental health care system and potential solutions. The panel was part of a broader symposium on mental health and addiction hosted by the Sacramento-based publication Capitol Weekly.

What Will It Take to Boost Vaccinations? The Scene From Kentucky’s Back Roads

KFF Health News Original

With Kentucky in the grip of a covid surge, public health workers are taking their vaccination campaign house to house and church to church, trying to outmaneuver the fantastical tales spread on social media and everyday hurdles of hardship and isolation.