Covid Archives - Page 4 of 85

Nursing Home Staffing Rules Prompt Pushback

Episode 350

June 6, 2024

The nursing home industry — as well as a healthy number of Congress members — are all pushing back on the Biden administration’s new rules on nursing home staffing. Industry officials say that there are not enough workers to meet the requirements and that the costs would be prohibitive. Meanwhile, Democrats on Capitol Hill are trying to force Republicans to explain their exact positions on assuring access to contraceptives and in vitro fertilization. Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Bram Sable-Smith, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about a free cruise that turned out to be anything but.

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A still from a video showing Anthony Fauci sitting at a table before a House of Representatives committee.

COVID-19

Watch: Anthony Fauci Defends Feds’ Covid Response, Calling Lawmakers’ Accusations ‘Preposterous’

At a June 3 congressional hearing that underscored the nation's deep political divide over the coronavirus pandemic response, the longtime National Institutes of Health official addressed the agency’s controversies head-on.

By Hannah Norman

June 4, 2024

A photo of Anthony Fauci walking inside the U.S. Capitol.

COVID-19

After Grilling an NIH Scientist Over Covid Emails, Congress Turns to Anthony Fauci

In a trove of emails brought to light through a congressional probe, a former close adviser to longtime National Institutes of Health official Anthony Fauci spoke of hiding messages from public disclosure.

By David Hilzenrath

May 31, 2024

A photo from 2020 of medical workers loading a dead body into an ambulance while wearing masks and personal protective equipment at Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation Center in New Jersey.

Nursing Homes Wield Pandemic Immunity Laws To Duck Wrongful Death Suits

More than 172,000 nursing home residents died of covid. In lawsuits, some families who lost loved ones say they were misled about safety measures or told that covid wasn’t a danger in their facilities.

By Fred Schulte

May 14, 2024

A photo of a woman at a press conference with the WHO logos seen behind her.

WHO Overturns Dogma on Airborne Disease Spread. The CDC Might Not Act on It.

After grave missteps in the covid pandemic, the World Health Organization revisited the science and now confirms that many respiratory viruses are inhaled as airborne particles. The new framework implies that stopping transmission relies on costly measures like ventilation and masking.

By Amy Maxmen

May 1, 2024

End of Internet Subsidies for Low-Income Households Threatens Telehealth Access

A federal program that helped pay for more than 23 million low-income households’ internet access runs out of money soon. The end of the subsidy launched earlier in the pandemic could have profound impacts on health care access.

By Sarah Jane Tribble

April 4, 2024

Three vials of different covid-19 vaccines, from left to right: Moderna, AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech.

Four Years After Shelter-in-Place, Covid-19 Misinformation Persists

False claims that covid vaccines cause deaths and other diseases are still prevalent despite multiple studies showing the vaccines are safe and saved lives.

By Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu, PolitiFact

April 1, 2024

Public health workers, doctors, and nurses protest outside a New York City hospital, holding signs. A doctor, wearing a face mask and white coat, is photographed in the center of a crowd. He holds a sign that reads, "If we works ick, you get sick. #PPENOW"

Health Workers Fear It’s Profits Before Protection as CDC Revisits Airborne Transmission

Four years since the covid pandemic emerged, health care workers want rules that protect them during outbreaks. They worry the CDC is repeating past mistakes as it develops a crucial set of guidelines for hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, and other facilities that provide health care.

By Amy Maxmen

March 19, 2024

A man seated on his coach at home measures his blood pressure.

Covid and Medicare Payments Spark Remote Patient Monitoring Boom

Demand for help monitoring patients’ vital signs remotely has taken off since a Medicare change in 2019. Dozens of companies now push the service to help overburdened primary care doctors — and as a revenue stream. But some policy experts say its growth has outpaced oversight and evidence of effectiveness.

By Phil Galewitz and Holly K. Hacker

March 18, 2024

A box of Paxlovid is photographed from above.

Why Covid Patients Who Could Most Benefit From Paxlovid Still Aren’t Getting It

Price worries, bureaucratic obstacles, and “I’m-over-covid-itis” slow uptake of a drug that’s complicated to take but often effective.

By Arthur Allen

March 11, 2024

What the Health? From KFF Health News

The State of the Union Is … Busy

Episode 337

March 7, 2024

At last, Congress is getting half of its annual spending bills across the finish line, albeit five months after the start of the fiscal year. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden delivers his annual State of the Union address, an over-the-counter birth control pill is (finally) available, and controversy erupts over new public health guidelines for covid-19 isolation. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Neera Tanden, the White House domestic policy adviser, about Biden’s health agenda. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too.

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What the Health? From KFF Health News

Biden Wins Early Court Test for Medicare Drug Negotiations

Episode 334

Feb. 15, 2024

A federal district court judge dismissed a lawsuit attempting to invalidate the Biden administration’s Medicare prescription-drug price negotiation program. But the suit turned on a technicality, and several more court challenges are in the pipeline. Meanwhile, health policy pops up in Super Bowl ads, as Congress approaches yet another funding deadline. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.

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A screenshot from a video of Celine Gounder on CBS News. Text on the screen reads, "Covid guidelines changing? Report: CDC considers removing five-day isolation for positive tests."

Watch: The Feds Reexamine Covid Protocols. Here’s Why You Should Care.

KFF Health News' Céline Gounder explains the "five-day rule" on covid safety, how guidelines and testing have evolved, and how best to protect yourself and others.

Feb. 15, 2024

A digital illustration shows a black-and-white pencil drawing of the face of an older woman. Some areas of her face are warped and look like ghostly, swirling mist. Surrounding the older woman are various young people who, as they party, exercise, or socialize, look at her with demeaning and dismissive expressions. Gray static expands out from behind the woman’s head and fades into a bright yellow background where the younger people are. Covid-19 virus particles cover the image like polka dots.

Navigating Aging

Do We Simply Not Care About Old People?

Recently, thousands of older Americans have been dying weekly of covid. But most Americans aren’t wearing masks in public, a move that could prevent infections. Many at-risk seniors aren’t getting antiviral therapies, and older adults in nursing homes aren’t getting vaccines. Why?

By Judith Graham

Feb. 9, 2024

KFF Health News & PolitiFact HealthCheck

Congressman Off-Base in Ad Claiming Fauci Shipped Covid to Montana Before the Pandemic

Facts don’t support claims by a likely Republican Senate candidate that a federal research laboratory in Montana infected bats with a coronavirus from China before the covid-19 outbreak.

By Katheryn Houghton

Feb. 5, 2024

A photo of protesters holding signs that read, "End all vaccine mandates," and "Don't experiment on our kids."

How Fringe Anti-Science Views Infiltrated Mainstream Politics — And What It Means in 2024

Opposition to vaccines and other public health measures backed by science has become politically charged. That makes dangerous misinformation much harder to fight.

By Amy Maxmen

Jan. 29, 2024

COVID-19

‘Emergency’ or Not, Covid Is Still Killing People. Here’s What Doctors Advise to Stay Safe.

Thousands of people are still dying of covid, but government has mostly handed over responsibility to the people to weather the seasonal surges with their own strategies.

By Amy Maxmen

Jan. 18, 2024

A photo of Former President Donald Trump standing at a microphone with an American flag in the background behind him.

What Would a Second Trump Presidency Look Like for Health Care?

Health policy during Donald Trump’s tenure was dominated by covid-19 and a failed effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. His appointments to the Supreme Court led to the end of national abortion rights, and he took steps to increase hospital price transparency and improve care for veterans.

By Julie Rovner

Jan. 16, 2024