KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Washington’s Slow Churn

Stemming gun violence is back on the legislative agenda following three mass shootings in less than a month, but it’s hard to predict success when so many previous efforts have failed. Meanwhile, lawmakers must soon decide if they will extend current premium subsidies for those buying health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, and the Biden administration acts, belatedly, on Medicare premiums. Margot Sanger-Katz of the New York Times, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Michelle Andrews, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about a too-common problem: denial of no-cost preventive care for a colonoscopy under the Affordable Care Act.

¿Eres mayor y tienes síntomas de covid persistente? Esto es lo que deberías hacer

Pero hay que tener en cuenta que muchos médicos de atención primaria no saben cómo identificar y tratar covid persistente. Si tu médico no puede ayudarte, considera que te remita a un especialista que atienda a pacientes con covid a largo plazo. Además, ármate de paciencia: las esperas para las citas son largas.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: A(nother) Very Sad Week

Two mass shootings in two weeks — one at a Texas elementary school that killed 19 fourth graders and two teachers — have reignited the “guns-as-public-health-problem” debate. But political consensus seems as far away as ever. Meanwhile, the FDA is in the congressional hot seat over its handling of the infant formula shortage. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Rachana Pradhan of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Dr. Richard Baron, head of the American Board of Internal Medicine, about how doctors should discipline colleagues who spread medical misinformation.

California Schools Try to Outrace Covid Outbreaks

A covid outbreak on a field trip. Another at prom. Yet administrators are reluctant to expose their schools to legal challenges by again requiring masks for students and staffers. That leaves parents fretful and confused.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Waking Up to Baby Formula Shortage

The nationwide shortage of baby formula, which has been simmering for months, finally burst into public consciousness as more parents become less able to find food for their babies, prompting a belated federal response. Meanwhile, covid-19 cases rise but prevention activities don’t, and abortion-rights backers ready their legal arsenal for a post-Roe world. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists suggest their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.

This Rural, Red Southern County Was a Vaccine Success Story. Not Anymore.

Meigs County in Tennessee reported one of the highest covid-19 vaccination rates in the South for much of the past year. But those reports were wrong because of a data error that has surfaced in other states, such as West Virginia and Montana, as well.

‘That’s Just Part of Aging’: Long Covid Symptoms Are Often Overlooked in Seniors

Millions of older adults are grappling with long covid, yet the impact on them has received little attention even though research suggests seniors are more likely to develop the poorly understood condition than younger or middle-aged adults.

States Have Yet to Spend Hundreds of Millions of Federal Dollars to Tackle Covid Health Disparities

A year ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded states and local health departments $2.25 billion to help people of color and other populations at higher risk from covid. But a KHN review shows public health agencies across the country have been slow to spend it.

After the Pandemic Hit Nursing Homes Hard, California Lawmakers Push to Tighten Licensing Rules

Legislators are proposing an overhaul of California’s licensing system for nursing homes that would make it the most stringent in the country. They argue that disreputable and unlicensed owners and operators have harmed residents. The industry describes the proposed requirements as excessive.