Journalists Weigh In on Biden’s HHS Pick
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.
All Coverage
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College Tuition Sparked a Mental Health Crisis. Then the Hefty Hospital Bill Arrived.
A student sought counseling help after feeling panicked when she had trouble paying a big tuition bill. A weeklong stay in a psychiatric hospital followed — along with a $3,413 bill. The hospital soft-pedaled its charity care policy.
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Why AstraZeneca and J&J’s Vaccines, In Use Elsewhere, Are Still on Hold in America
Covid has pressed the Food and Drug Administration into its fastest vaccine reviews ever — which are still painfully slow, critics say.
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As Covid Surged, Vaccines Came Too Late for at Least 400 Medical Workers
A Guardian/KHN analysis of deaths nationwide indicates that at least 1 in 8 health workers lost in the pandemic died after the vaccine became available, narrowly missing the protection that might have saved their lives.
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Learning to Live Again: A Lazarus Tale From the Covid Front Lines
The staff at L.A. County’s public rehabilitation hospital is helping mostly Latino, low-income patients recover the basic functions of daily life robbed from them during weeks or months of critical covid illness.
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Biden’s Straight-Talking CDC Director Has Long Used Data to Save Lives
Dr. Rochelle Walensky said scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were “muzzled” and “diminished” by the Trump team, especially during the pandemic. She aims to fix that.
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New California Law Makes It Easier to Get Care for Mental Health and Substance Abuse
The measure, which took effect Jan. 1, removes loopholes that made it easy for insurers to use arcane company guidelines to avoid paying for care. Patients now have an easier way to challenge those denials.
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First-Person Tales
In Search of the Shot
KHN readers detail their frustrations and successes as they hunt for a scarce covid-19 vaccine.
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Covid Vaccine Websites Violate Disability Laws, Create Inequity for the Blind
A KHN investigation found covid vaccine registration and information websites at the federal, state and local levels are flouting disability rights laws and limiting the ability of people who are blind or visually impaired to sign up for shots.
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With GOP Back at Helm, Montana Renews Push to Sniff Out Welfare Fraud
Montana is one of the latest states looking to aggressively check welfare eligibility to cut costs. Supporters of such steps say it’s about what’s fair — weeding out those who don’t qualify for assistance — while opponents say it will cut loose enrollees who actually need help.
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Have a Case of a Covid Variant? No One Is Going to Tell You
As experts race to get an approved test for covid variants, officials are severely restricted from sharing information about the cases. That makes it harder to protect others.
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‘It Doesn’t Feel Worth It’: Covid Is Pushing New York’s EMTs to the Brink
Struggling with low pay and high stress, New York paramedics and EMTs are reaching a breaking point.
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DeSantis Advances Questionable Link Between Lockdowns and Despair
Experts agreed there’s no definitive evidence to back up the Florida governor’s assertion.
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Lessons From California Prison Where Covid ‘Spread Like Wildfire’
One California county is home to the two worst clusters of covid in prisons in the country. Ninety-four percent of Avenal State Prison’s inmates contracted the virus. Physical distancing has proved impossible in a facility housing 50% more people than it should.
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‘It’s a Minefield’: Biden Health Pick Must Tread Carefully on Abortion and Family Planning
President Biden vowed to reverse reproductive health restrictions enacted by President Trump. His pick to run HHS, Xavier Becerra, fought the Trump efforts but must now navigate a difficult legal and political landscape.
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Covid Strikes Clergy as They Comfort Pandemic’s Sick and Dying
Spiritual leaders risk their own lives and health to tend to covid’s victims and their loved ones.
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Calling All Vaccinators: Closing the Next Gap in Covid Supply and Demand
In the herculean effort to vaccinate America, the emphasis so far has been on trying to increase the number of vaccine doses available. Soon there could be a shortfall in people to administer the shots.
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It’s Time to Get Back to Normal? Not According to Science.
With covid, and its newly emerging variants, still circulating throughout the nation and the world, experts say it is definitely not the time to abandon efforts to control the virus’s spread.
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After Billions of Dollars and Dozens of Wartime Declarations, Why Are Vaccines Still in Short Supply?
The Trump and Biden administrations both imposed wartime production requirements. But industry experts say the vast quantities of raw materials and specialty equipment needed for billions of newfangled vaccines have required herculean logistical efforts.
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The Do’s and Don’ts on Social Media for Vaccine Haves and Have-Nots
In the thick of a global pandemic, and with a vaccine rollout that has been less than optimal, it’s no surprise that selfies featuring the coveted covid shot surface on social media timelines. But is posting a vaccine selfie on your social media account a faux pas or a needed encouragement for others to get the shot?
