Latest KFF Health News Stories
Hospital Workers Complain of Minimal Disclosure After COVID Exposures
From cafeteria staff to doctors and nurses, hospital workers around the country report frustrating failures by management to notify them when they have been exposed to co-workers or patients known to be infected with COVID-19.
Readers And Tweeters: Doctors Weigh In On Telemedicine Costs
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Keeping The COVID Plague At Bay: How California Is Protecting Older Veterans
Even as COVID-19 has ravaged nursing homes around the country, California has managed to keep the virus at bay at its eight state-run homes for frail and older veterans. What exactly went right?
‘An Arm And A Leg’: Health Care Takes A Financial Hit In The Midst Of Pandemic
In the first quarter of 2020, half the country’s economic devastation happened in the health care sector. Much of the slowdown came after hospitals postponed elective surgeries and as Americans skipped routine doctor’s office visits.
COVID Survivors’ Blood Plasma Is A Sought-After New Commodity
A possibility that the blood of people who had COVID could save others has set off a mad scramble for donors — with top-dollar offers and a plan that relies on the blood of 10,000 Orthodox Jewish women.
COVID Bailout Cash Goes To Big Players That Have Paid Millions To Settle Allegations Of Wrongdoing
At least half of the top 10 recipients, part of a group that received $20 billion in emergency HHS funding, have paid criminal penalties or settled charges related to improper billing and other practices.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
Viral Post Alleging Obama-Era Device Tax Caused Current PPE Shortage Is Way Off
Nothing in this viral meme is accurate. And there are other places to place blame.
COVID-Plagued California Nursing Homes Often Had Problems In Past
Nursing homes with COVID-19 infections tend to violate health rules more often and have more complaints and fines, records show. But infections also plague highly rated facilities — while sparing some low-ranked ones.
Listen: A New Hope In The Battle Against COVID-19
KHN’s Julie Rovner joins a panel of journalists on “1A” to talk about promising results in a study of the drug remdesivir and other developments in the battle against the coronavirus.
California To Widen Pipeline Of Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners
The nursing schools at UCLA, UCSF and UC-Davis have joined hands in a new one-year online training program for mental health care as a surge of patients is expected due to the social isolation and economic impact of COVID-19.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: SCOTUS Decides An ACA Case. No, Not THAT Case.
The Supreme Court this week, in an 8-1 decision, ruled that insurers are due the roughly $12 billion that Congress several years ago tried to cut off in payments under the Affordable Care Act’s “risk corridors” provision. And while the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage in many places around the country, states are starting to reopen their economies at the urging of President Donald Trump and over objections of public health officials. Caitlin Owens of Axios and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHN’s Carmen Heredia Rodriguez, who wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” installment about COVID testing that should have been free but was not.
As Coronavirus Strikes, Crucial Data In Electronic Health Records Hard To Harvest
The U.S. government spent $36 billion computerizing health records, yet they’re of limited help in the COVID-19 crisis.
COVID Tests Are Free, Except When They’re Not
Her doctor worried she had COVID-19 but couldn’t test her for it until she ruled out other things. That test cost a bundle.
Uso masivo de máscaras quirúrgicas pone en grave riesgo a los trabajadores de salud
Expertos dicen que depender de máscaras quirúrgicas, que tienen un grado de protección mucho menor que los respiradores N95, ayuda a diseminar el coronavirus entre trabajadores de salud.
Widely Used Surgical Masks Are Putting Health Care Workers At Serious Risk
Because high-end N95 masks are scarce, medical centers are using surgical masks that have been linked to considerably higher infection rates.
Amid Coronavirus Distress, Wealthy Hospitals Hoard Millions
As the coronavirus threatens the finances of thousands of hospitals, wealthy ones that can draw on millions — and even billions — of dollars in savings are in competition with near-insolvent hospitals for limited pots of financial relief.
Health Insurers Prosper As COVID-19 Deflates Demand For Elective Treatments
With most nonemergency procedures shelved for now, many health insurers are expected to see profits in the near term, but the longer view of how the coronavirus will affect them is far more complicated and could well impact what people pay for coverage next year.
‘An Arm And A Leg’: What A Fleet Of Firetrucks Can Teach About Public Health
This week on “An Arm and a Leg,” a front-line physician wonders if the health care industry’s drive for “efficiency” has robbed the system of surge capacity, leaving the nation underprepared to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Abbott’s Fast COVID Test Poses Safety Issues, Lab Workers Say
HHS said this test would “save personal protective equipment.” But Abbott’s very design ― devised for mobile testing — means those working with specimens need even more protection, experts warn.
