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Debate and speculation are heating up over whether Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign will factor into the outcome of the 2024 election. But one thing is clear: Kennedy’s political following is built on a movement that seeks to legitimize conspiracy theories.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering fuzzy guidelines on infection control in hospitals, critics say, leaving employers free to cut corners on N95 masks and other protective measures.
The two governors exchanged heated verbal barbs when they faced off in a wide-ranging debate that covered various health-related topics, from abortion to gun violence.
Candidates see former President Donald Trump’s embrace of his administration’s covid-19 vaccine policies as an opportunity to gain ground. So far, their efforts haven’t found traction.
Ron DeSantis’ record as Florida governor provides some clues to how he would change the health care landscape if elected president. In his five years as governor, DeSantis has promoted stricter abortion rules and emphasized individual freedom over the benefits of public health.
People with special medical considerations are hoping the Novavax shot will bring fewer headaches, fevers, and less fatigue than have been reported by those taking mRNA vaccines.
State legislatures and politicians are pressuring public health officials to keep quiet about covid vaccines.
In Los Angeles and elsewhere, some parents are having trouble finding the new pediatric covid shot, especially for young children. Not all pediatricians or pharmacies have it and can administer it, even if vaccines.gov says they can.
Monica Bertagnolli, the president’s choice to head the National Institutes of Health, appeared before a Senate committee this week. Her confirmation has been held up by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who has demanded President Joe Biden work more aggressively to lower prescription drug prices.
Flu, covid, and respiratory viruses kill thousands of Americans each year, but the latest batch of vaccines could save lives.
A bitterly divided Congress managed to keep the federal government running for several more weeks, while House Republicans struggle — again — to choose a leader. Meanwhile, many people removed from state Medicaid rolls are not finding their way to Affordable Care Act insurance, and a major investigation by The Washington Post attributes the decline in U.S. life expectancy to more than covid-19 and opioids. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Victoria Knight of Axios, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews physician-author-playwright Samuel Shem about “Our Hospital,” his new novel about the health workforce in the age of covid.
Teresa Johnson has been in extreme pain for more than a year after what she believes was a severe allergic reaction to iodine. Her Medi-Cal plan approved her referral to a specialist, but it took her numerous phone calls, multiple complaints, and several months to book an appointment.
In this special encore episode, KFF Health News’ “What the Health?” asks three people who have served as the nation’s top health official: What does a day in the life of the U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services look like? And how much of their agenda is set by the White House? Taped in June before a live audience at Aspen Ideas: Health, part of the Aspen Ideas Festival, in Aspen, Colorado, host and chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner leads a rare conversation with the current and two former HHS secretaries. Secretary Xavier Becerra and former secretaries Kathleen Sebelius and Alex Azar talk candidly about what it takes to run a department with more than 80,000 employees and a budget larger than those of many countries.
At least 30 states are reinstating coverage for children wrongly removed from the rolls under Medicaid redetermination, the federal government reported. It’s just the latest hiccup in the massive effort to review the eligibility of Medicaid beneficiaries now that the program’s pandemic-era expansion has expired. And federal oversight of the so-called unwinding would be further complicated by an impending government shutdown. Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Samantha Liss, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature, about a hospital bill that followed a deceased patient’s family for more than a year.
“People want covid-19 to be in the rearview mirror,” one nursing home official says. Faced with a slow rollout of the updated covid vaccines, and without state mandates for workers to get vaccinated, most skilled nursing facilities are relying on persuasion to boost vaccination rates among staff and residents.
Losing ground in the Republican primary, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and his top medical advisers dismissed the recent federal recommendation that almost everyone get an updated covid shot.
Clinicians, researchers, and workplace safety officers worry new guidelines on face masks from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention might reduce protection against the coronavirus and other airborne pathogens in hospitals.
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