Health Industry

Latest KFF Health News Stories

California Is Overriding Its Limits on Nurse Workloads as Covid Surges

KFF Health News Original

As covid patients flood California emergency rooms, hospitals are increasingly desperate to find enough staffers to care for them all. But some nurses worry hospitals will use the pandemic as an excuse to permanently roll back their hard-won nurse-patient ratios.

Patients Fend for Themselves to Access Highly Touted Covid Antibody Treatments

KFF Health News Original

Months after President Donald Trump credited monoclonal antibody therapy for his quick recovery from covid-19, only a trickle of the product has found its way into regular people. While hundreds of thousands of vials sit unused, sick patients who might benefit from early treatment have been left on their own to vie for access.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: On Capitol Hill, Actions Have Consequences

KFF Health News Original

Several large business groups, including health industry organizations, are cutting off contributions to Republicans who voted against the certification of Joe Biden’s election even after riots shut down the Capitol on Jan. 6. Meanwhile, the outgoing Trump administration not only approved a Medicaid block grant for Tennessee, but also made it difficult for the incoming Biden administration to undo. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Kimberly Leonard of Business Insider join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, Rovner interviews KHN’s Victoria Knight about the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode.

Health Workers Unions See Surge in Interest Amid Covid

KFF Health News Original

Many front-line health workers who have faced a perpetual lack of PPE and inconsistent safety measures believe the government and their employers have failed to protect them from covid-19.

An Urban Hospital on the Brink Vs. the Officials Sworn to Save It

KFF Health News Original

The wealthy corporation that owns Chicago’s Mercy Hospital says it must close the hospital because it’s losing money. A government board says no. The corporation still has the upper hand.

‘An Arm And a Leg’: How a Former Health Care Executive Became a Health Care Whistleblower

KFF Health News Original

Former health care executive Wendell Potter said, “What I used to do for a living was mislead people into thinking that we had the best health care system in the world.” Now, Potter is a health care whistleblower and spent part of 2020 publishing high-profile apologies for the work he used to do.

Is Your Covid Vaccine Venue Prepared to Handle Rare, Life-Threatening Reactions?

KFF Health News Original

More than two dozen people who have received the new covid vaccines in U.S. hospitals and health centers suffered anaphylaxis, a potentially fatal allergic reaction. While such severe reactions are rare, experts warn that the drugstores and drive-thru clinics considered integral to the vaccine rollout must be prepared.

Video: The Healthy Nurse Who Died at 40 on the Covid Front Lines: ‘She Was the Best Mom I Ever Had’

KFF Health News Original

Yolanda Coar was 40 when she died of COVID-19 in August 2020 in Augusta, Georgia. She was also a nurse manager, and one of nearly 3,000 frontline workers who have died in the U.S. fighting this virus, according to an exclusive investigation by The Guardian and KHN.

Retiree Living the RV Dream Fights $12,387 Nightmare Lab Fee

KFF Health News Original

A gynecologist in Carlsbad, New Mexico, tested the 60-year-old grandmother for various sexually transmitted infections without her knowledge. Her share of the lab fee was more than $3,000.

Behind Each of More Than 300,000 Lives Lost: A Name, a Caregiver, a Family, a Story

KFF Health News Original

Family members and health care workers say the statistic of 300,000 lost Americans cannot capture their grief or anger at the apathy they’ve encountered from those who minimize the dangers of the coronavirus. “The numbers do not reflect that these were people,” said Brian Walter, who lost his father.