Latest KFF Health News Stories
Listen: Outbreak of Trench Fever Grips Coloradans
KHN senior Colorado correspondent Markian Hawryluk joined KUNC’s Henry Zimmerman on “Colorado Edition” to discuss his recent story on an outbreak of trench fever around Denver.
COVID Runs Amok in 3 Detroit-Area Jails, Killing At Least 2 Doctors
Amid overcrowding and a shortage of personal protective equipment, at least 208 workers and 83 inmates in the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office jail system have been infected with the coronavirus.
As Long Waits for Results Render COVID Tests ‘Useless,’ States Seek Workarounds
With COVID-19 tests bogged down in backlogs, some states that relied on private laboratories, such as Quest Diagnostics, are trying to adapt as caseloads rise.
Medicaid Mystery: Millions of Enrollees Haven’t Materialized in California
State officials had projected that 2 million Californians would join Medi-Cal, the state’s health insurance program for low-income people, by July because of the economic devastation wrought by COVID-19. Yet enrollment has barely budged, and why is unclear.
Adjunct Professors: Jobs Are Low on Pay and Health Benefits With High COVID Risk
As colleges and universities develop plans for the fall semester amid the coronavirus pandemic, these non-tenured, often part-time instructors find themselves in an especially precarious position.
Listen: How the Pandemic Further Politicized Public Health
KHN Midwest correspondent Lauren Weber joined Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies on “The Source” show to talk about the politicization of public health during the COVID pandemic.
Ever Heard of a Surgical Assistant? Meet a New Boost to Your Medical Bills
A college student’s bill for outpatient knee surgery is a whopper — $96K — but the most mysterious part is a $1,167 charge from a health care provider she didn’t even know was in the operating room.
Bingeing on Doom: Expert on the ‘Black Death’ Attracts Cult Following
A 2016 series on the 14th-century plague became must-see TV during spring’s COVID-19 outbreak — and flooded Purdue medievalist Dorsey Armstrong with questions about parallels between that pandemic and the current crisis.
Essential and in Danger: Coronavirus Sickens, Even Kills Public Health Workers
As the coronavirus threatens the nation’s public health army, an outbreak in Maryland reflects the tension between serving the community and protecting workers from a deadly disease.
Scientists Want to Know More About Using UV Light to Fight COVID-19 Spread
‘Germicidal’ ultraviolet light technology has a proven track record against indoor transmission of tuberculosis and other airborne microbes. It’s now being used in some restaurants and on subways.
Another Problem on the Health Horizon: Medicare Is Running Out of Money
With millions out of work because of the coronavirus pandemic, fewer payroll taxes are coming in to help keep Medicare’s trust fund intact.
Alarma por nuevas etiquetas nutricionales y alergias, en medio de COVID
Ante la escasez de suministros por la pandemia de COVID-19, la FDA elaboró directrices que permiten a los fabricantes sustituir ingredientes sin cambiar las etiquetas de los alimentos.
Estudio federal analiza COVID-19 y las disparidades raciales en Estados Unidos
Investigadores del NIH tratan de establecer la relación entre factores socioeconómicos como el ingreso, la estructura familiar, la dieta, el acceso a la atención médica y las infecciones por COVID y sus resultados.
Behind The Byline: ‘Reporting From a Distance’
Check out KHN’s video series — Behind The Byline: How the Story Got Made. Come along as journalists and producers offer an insider’s view of health care coverage that does not quit.
NIH Project Homes In on COVID Racial Disparities
The pandemic has given the National Institutes of Health an opportunity to show the value of its $1.5 billion “All of Us” research program. A major effort to make the platform’s database representative of America resulted in minorities making up more than half of its more than 270,000 volunteers.
Pandemic-Inspired Food Labeling Raises Alarms for Those With Food Allergies
The Food and Drug Administration released new “temporary guidance” for manufacturers facing supply chain shortages that allows them to make some ingredient substitutions without changing food labels. The pandemic had already made finding trusted foods difficult for some people with allergies. Now they’re worrying about what’s actually in their go-to products.
Watch: COVID Patients and Families Battle to Get Benefits
KHN senior correspondent Christina Jewett describes the obstacles facing workers and their families trying to secure death benefits or workers’ compensation after COVID-19 struck.
Administration Eases Rules to Give Laid-Off Workers More Time to Sign Up for COBRA
Under the federal COBRA law, people who lose health coverage because of a layoff or a reduction in their hours generally have 60 days to decide whether to pay to maintain that coverage. But under new regulations, the clock won’t start ticking until the government says the coronavirus national emergency is over, and then consumers will have 120 days to act.
For COVID Tests, the Question of Who Pays Comes Down to Interpretation
Additional guidance issued late last month by the Trump administration added to the confusion. Some consumers may find themselves unexpectedly on the hook for the cost of a test.
An Ickier Outbreak: Trench Fever Spread by Lice Is Found in Denver
Three people around Denver have confirmed cases of trench fever, and another person is suspected of having the rare disease, carried by body lice. A scourge during World War I, the illness is the latest problem to emerge as everyone’s attention is diverted to COVID-19.