A Child’s Death in the Heartland Changes Community Views About COVID

As America enters a dark winter with no national directives against COVID-19, Washington, Missouri, faced the same dilemma numerous other communities are grappling with: enact restrictions to curb the pandemic or leave people to their own will? Then a local 13-year-old died.

Fear and Loathing as Colleges Face Another Season of Red Ink

When campuses stay open, COVID infections spread widely, and sometimes kill. But by closing dorms and dining halls, scores of smaller schools face finances so ruinous they could be fatal for their institutions.

California Lawmakers to Newsom: Give All Immigrants Health Coverage

Given the pandemic’s disproportionate hit on minority communities, two Democratic lawmakers are pushing Newsom to agree to offer health care to all unauthorized immigrants. They planned to unveil legislation Monday — and a new strategy to make it happen.

After a Deadly COVID Outbreak, Maryland County Takes Steps to Protect Health Workers

Prince George’s County in Maryland is taking action after a coronavirus outbreak left veteran public health worker Chantee Mack dead and several colleagues with lasting medical problems. But some staffers say more still needs to be done to keep public health workers on the front lines of the COVID fight safe.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Who Will Run the Biden Health Effort?

The official transition to a Joe Biden administration has finally begun, and he is expected to announce his health care team soon, including a new secretary of Health and Human Services. Meanwhile, as the COVID-19 pandemic worsens in the U.S., officials are preparing for the effort to get Americans vaccinated as soon as vaccines are approved by the FDA. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Julie Appleby, who wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” installment.

During ACA Open Enrollment, Picking a Plan Invites New COVID Complications

COVID-19’s “long haulers” — patients with lingering effects of the disease — have joined the ranks of Americans with preexisting conditions. For those shopping for health coverage on the individual market, here’s help navigating an uncharted insurance landscape.