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Latest KFF Health News Stories

Young Doctor Succumbs to COVID, One of the South’s Many Health Workers Lost

KFF Health News Original

A 28-year-old Texas doctor tested positive in early July and died in September — one of a dozen young health workers nationwide whose deaths from the coronavirus have been profiled by KHN and The Guardian as part of the “Lost on the Frontline” project.

Moved by Plight of Young Heart Patient, Stranger Pays His Hospital Bill

KFF Health News Original

A retired college professor in Las Vegas saw Matthew Fentress’ story and felt called to help. So she paid off $5,000 of his medical bill. “When you help other people, it gives you joy,” the Good Samaritan said.

Hard Lives Made Harder by COVID: Homeless Endure a ‘Slow-Moving Train Wreck’

KFF Health News Original

This was supposed to be the year California finally did something about its homelessness epidemic. COVID-19 upended that promise, along with the cobbled-together services many homeless people rely on for survival. Interviews across the state reveal a new magnitude of hardship and indignity for tens of thousands of people living on the streets.

Fighting for Patient Protections While Attacking ACA — Hard to Have It Both Ways

KFF Health News Original

Montana’s Matt Rosendale and many other Republican congressional candidates face the challenge of convincing voters they support safeguards on preexisting conditions even as they oppose the Affordable Care Act, which codifies those safeguards.

One School, Two Choices: A Study in Classroom vs. Distance Learning

KFF Health News Original

Most students at one Marin County school attend in person, while a dozen study from home. Those on campus are constantly nagged to use hand sanitizer and submit to the thermometer. Home-schoolers yell to their parents for help, while the parents pray that Zoom doesn’t freeze.

‘No Mercy’ Chapter 2: Unimaginable, After a Century, That Their Hospital Would Close

KFF Health News Original

After Mercy Hospital Fort Scott shut its doors, investigative reporter Sarah Jane Tribble traveled to Kansas and spent time with former hospital president Reta Baker and City Manager Dave Martin — to understand what their town lost.

Easier-to-Use Coronavirus Saliva Tests Start to Catch On

KFF Health News Original

Regulators and scientists have been leery of introducing the tests, preferring to rely on tried-and-true methods, but evidence is mounting that the spit and swab tests may be more convenient and just as accurate.

Not Pandemic-Proof: Insulin Copay Caps Fall Short, Fueling Underground Exchanges

KFF Health News Original

Although sharing prescription medicines is illegal, many people with diabetes are turning to underground donation networks when they cannot afford their insulin. Caps on insulin copays enacted in Colorado and 11 other states were designed to help. But the gaps between insulin costs and many patients’ financial realities are only widening amid the economic crisis of the COVID pandemic.