The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
Xavier Becerra has made battling health care consolidation a priority since he became attorney general. Now that COVID-19 threatens vulnerable health care practices, he’s pushing to expand his authority to slow health care mergers.
“An Arm and a Leg” wraps an all-COVID podcast season with three different perspectives on what the pandemic is costing us — and what might come next.
Safety-net health care programs that keep low-income Californians out of nursing homes are on the chopping block as Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers attempt to plug a massive budget deficit caused by the COVID-19 emergency.
This is a tactic that we’ve seen before.
Last month, the Internal Revenue Service announced it would let employees add, drop or change some of their benefits for the remainder of 2020. The catch: Your employer has to allow the changes. KHN explains how it could work.
KHN executive editor Damon Darlin wades through mounds of health care policy stories — so you don’t have to.
Since the start of the pandemic, prisoners and their families have contradicted state officials about the conditions inside Indiana prisons. Many inmates report they’ve had no way to protect themselves from close contact with other inmates and staff members. They believe contracting the coronavirus is inevitable.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has received almost $100,000 from drug companies in the current election cycle, a KHN analysis shows, one of the largest cash hauls in Congress. And it’s only her first term.
As a journalist, she wrote during the winter about the hostility shown toward Asian Americans for wearing masks. In May, she got cursed at for not wearing a mask herself.
Democrats were not impressed with the Trump administration’s COVID-19 national testing strategy document submitted to Congress this week. They say the pandemic requires more direction from the federal government, while the administration wants to give nearly all the responsibility to the states. Meanwhile, in an effort to shore up his base of senior voters, President Donald Trump has unveiled a plan to limit what those on Medicare must pay out-of-pocket for insulin. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Erin Mershon of STAT News and Joanne Kenen of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHN’s Phil Galewitz, who wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” installment about a patient who thought he might have COVID-19, did everything right and got a big bill, anyway.
The overall crime rate has dropped during the pandemic, but unfortunately gun violence has not. In St. Louis, at least 11 children have been killed by gunfire so far this year. Living in neighborhoods with frequent violence has forced some families to improvise ways to keep their children safe, even in the place they are supposed to be most secure: their home. The stress of growing up in these conditions could lead to chronic health problems into adulthood.
As reopening decisions approach for the fall semester, colleges and universities are casting about for strategies to keep students safe without bankrupting their institutions. A few have natural advantages.
The guidance to stay sheltered as society slowly reopens wears on older Americans, who have a growing sense of isolation and depression.
Some communities considered community antibody testing as a way out of lockdown. But they’ve pulled back as they realized antibody testing is the Wild West in an oversight vacuum.
Transit ridership has plummeted because of COVID-19, but millions of Americans still rely on buses and trains to get around, often because they have no other choice.
Not having an accurate, honest, nationwide way to tally COVID-19 cases will only add to the current tragedy.
Of those who went without seeing a doctor or other medical provider, 11% experienced a worsened medical condition, according to the poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation. In addition, nearly 40% said stress related to the coronavirus crisis has negatively impacted their mental health.
After being sick with COVID-19, missing weeks of work and pay, this podcast listener has a great story and some advice for us all.
One family took up the challenge of taking their mother, who had serious medical problems and the coronavirus, from the hospital to die at home. But because of the risk of infection, home hospice can be a daunting experience.
The pandemic has forced millions of families to weigh the risks of vulnerable grandparents getting too close to their beloved grandchildren — against the heartache of staying away.
