Latest KFF Health News Stories
Why Biden Has a Chance to Cut Deals With Red State Holdouts on Medicaid
The pandemic and economic crisis give states new incentives to extend health coverage to their uninsured residents.
Prominent Scientists Call on CDC to Better Protect Workers From Covid
The academics insist that more workers should get top-rated N95 masks, the best defense against airborne coronavirus particles.
Los mercados de seguros de salud reabrieron. Esto es lo que necesitas saber
En enero, el presidente Joe Biden firmó una orden ejecutiva para abrir el mercado federal de seguros de salud durante tres meses, hasta el 15 de mayo.
El discurso anti inmigrante complica la vacunación contra covid en estados del sur
Mientras el país se embarca en la abrumadora tarea de vacunar, a muchos funcionarios de salud se les dificulta la tarea de vacunar a 11 millones de indocumentados.
Family Caregivers, Routinely Left Off Vaccine Lists, Worry What Would Happen ‘If I Get Sick’
Tens of thousands of middle-aged sons and daughters — too young to qualify for a vaccine — care for older relatives with serious ailments and want to get the shots to protect their loved ones and themselves.
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.
The ACA Marketplace Is Open Again for Insurance Sign-Ups. Here’s What You Need to Know.
On Monday, the federal insurance exchange reopened for an unusual midyear special enrollment period. People who are uninsured can buy a plan, and those who want to change their marketplace coverage can do so. Here are some answers about how it works.
Vaccines Go Mobile to Keep Seniors From Slipping Through the Cracks
A strike team of nurses and others is vaccinating Contra Costa County’s hardest-hit populations right where they live.
Can Pfizer and Moderna End the Pandemic by Sharing Their Vaccine Designs? It’s Not that Simple
Industry experts say it’s highly unlikely that dozens of pharmaceutical companies that aren’t already producing covid vaccines stand ready to do so.
‘An Arm and a Leg’: Viral TikTok Video Serves Up Recipe to ‘Crush’ Medical Debt
A video on the social media platform TikTok explains how consumers can “crush” their hospital bills using charity care policies. This won’t work for all medical bills, but it might be a good place to start.
S.D. Governor Gives State High Marks in Handling the Pandemic. Are They Deserved?
While South Dakota is excelling in vaccine distribution and in keeping its economy intact, some health measures show the state is also dealing with one of the highest per capita covid death rates in the country.
Health Policy Valentines to Warm the Heart
Tweeters lit up our timeline in recent days with Health Policy Valentines about a variety of health topics. Here are some of our favorites.
Journalists Broach Topics From Vaccines and Super Bowl to True Love
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Lack of Covid Data on People With Intellectual Disabilities ‘Comes With a Body Count’
People with intellectual and developmental disabilities are more likely to have medical conditions that make covid especially dangerous. But a lack of federal tracking means no one knows how many people in disability group housing have fallen ill or died from the virus.
As Drug Prices Keep Rising, State Lawmakers Propose Tough New Bills to Curb Them
The measures would impose taxes on increases in the price of drugs that don’t reflect improved clinical value and set the rates paid by state-run and commercial health plans to a benchmark based on prices in Canada.
Counterfeit N95 Scam Widens as Senator Demands FTC Investigation
Authorities seized 1.7 million fake masks in New York and U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell called for a national probe.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: All About Budget Reconciliation
Even while the Senate is busy with Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, the House has gotten down to work on a covid relief bill using the budget reconciliation process. Meanwhile, the watchword for covid this week among the public is confusion — over masks, vaccines and just about everything else science-related. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, the panelists recommend their favorite “health policy valentines” along with their favorite health policy stories they think you should read, too.
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.
Flurry of Bills Aim to Set Limits on Transgender Kids – And Their Doctors
Lawmakers across the U.S. are pushing bills to restrict transgender kids from participating in sports and ban doctors from treating them.
Tech Companies Mobilize to Schedule Vaccine Appointments, But Often Fall Short
Techies and startups have thrown together vaccine appointment websites to address the chaotic rollout of covid shots. But software can’t replace vaccines, and for many people the sites are just another piece of the vaccination “Hunger Games.”