Latest KFF Health News Stories
Even With Senate Control, Democrats Will Need Buy-In From GOP on Key Health Priorities
With a majority too small to eliminate the filibuster, Democrats will not have enough votes in the Senate to pass many of their plans without Republicans and will also have only a razor-thin majority in the House. This combination could doom many Democratic health care proposals, like offering Americans a government-sponsored public insurance option, and complicate efforts to pass further pandemic relief.
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.
Mientras los vulnerables esperan, cónyuges de políticos reciben la vacuna contra covid
Los políticos que recibieron la vacuna junto con sus cónyuges dijeron que querían dar el ejemplo y generar confianza. Pero algunos cuestionan esta razón.
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media in recent weeks to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Biden’s First Order of Business May Be to Undo Trump’s Policies, but It Won’t Be Easy
President Donald Trump made substantial changes to the nation’s health care system using executive branch authority. But reversing policies that Democrats oppose would take time and personnel resources, competing with other priorities of the new administration.
Do-It-Yourself Contact Tracing Is a ‘Last Resort’ in Communities Besieged by Covid
Covid-19 cases are spreading so fast that they’re outpacing the contact-tracing capacities of some local health departments. Faced with mounting caseloads, those departments are asking people who test positive for the coronavirus to do their own contact tracing.
As the Vulnerable Wait, Some Political Leaders’ Spouses Get Covid Vaccines
Spouses of governors and federal leaders are getting early access to scarce doses of covid-19 vaccines. Some officials have argued their inoculation sets an example for the public and shows the vaccines to be safe and effective. But critics say those doses should go to more vulnerable people first.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Georgia Turns the Senate Blue
Democratic victories in two runoff elections in Georgia will give Democrats control of the Senate starting Jan. 20, which means they will be in charge of both houses of Congress and the White House for the first time since 2010. Meanwhile, covid continues to run rampant while vaccine distribution lags. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call 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.
Illinois, primer estado en ofrecer cobertura médica a adultos mayores indocumentados
Se espera que la normativa cubra inicialmente de 4,200 a 4,600 inmigrantes mayores. Defensores esperan que Illinois inspire a otros estados.
Illinois Is First in the Nation to Extend Health Coverage to Undocumented Seniors
As the pandemic hits Latino communities especially hard, Illinois is expanding public health insurance to all low-income noncitizen seniors. Advocates hope other states follow its lead.
San Francisco Wrestles With Drug Approach as Death and Chaos Engulf Tenderloin
Covid-19, distrust of police and cheap narcotics have turned parts of the wealthy city into cesspools of filth and drug overdose. City officials and residents profoundly disagree on what needs to be done.
In Los Angeles and Beyond, Oxygen Is the Latest Covid Bottleneck
The oxygen delivery infrastructure is crumbling under pressure in Los Angeles and other covid hot spots, jeopardizing patients’ access to precious air and limiting hospital turnover.
Listen: How Operation Warp Speed Became a Slow Walk
KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal discusses the bottlenecks in distributing covid vaccines on NPR’s “On My Mind” podcast with host Diane Rehm.
Black Women Find Healing (But Sometimes Racism, Too) in the Outdoors
A Colorado woman formed an adventure group to encourage other Black women to enjoy the outdoors, and now it has chapters across the U.S. and Canada. Yet many Black adventure seekers say they often face racism when partaking in healthy outdoor activities.
‘An Arm and a Leg’: A Look Back at 2020 — What We Learned and Where We’re Headed
T.K. Dutes — a former nurse who is now a radio host and podcast-maker — interviewed ‘An Arm and a Leg’ host Dan Weissmann about what he learned in 2020, and what’s ahead for the show.
Children’s Hospitals Grapple With Wave of Mental Illness
The disruption to daily life caused by the pandemic has increased the number of children seeking mental health care, further straining a system that already struggled to meet the need.
La pandemia de covid-19 está devastando a los profesionales de salud de color
Las personas de color representan aproximadamente el 65% de las muertes en los casos en los que hay datos registrados de raza y etnia.
Many Health Plans Now Must Cover Full Cost of Expensive HIV Prevention Drugs
Most private insurance will be required to cover drugs, like Truvada, that offer protection against HIV infection, without making plan members share the cost.
Hospital Prices Just Got a Lot More Transparent. What Does This Mean for You?
Under a rule that kicked in Jan. 1, hospitals are required to make public the prices they negotiate with insurers. That’s a lot more information than was previously required, which was only the posting of “chargemasters” — the hospital-generated list prices that few consumers or health plans actually pay.
Eureka! Two Vaccines Work — But What About the Also-Rans in the Pharma Arms Race?
How two effective vaccines on the market make it so much harder to quickly test any competing vaccines.