Latest Morning Briefing Stories

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Oh, Oh, Omicron

KFF Health News Original

Even before the omicron variant of covid starts to spread widely in the U.S., hospitals are filling up with post-holiday delta cases. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court signals — loudly — that 2022 will be the year it rolls back abortion rights in a big way. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

After ‘Truly Appalling’ Death Toll in Nursing Homes, California Rethinks Their Funding

KFF Health News Original

California wants to hold nursing homes accountable for the quality of care they provide by tying Medicaid funding more directly to performance. But the nursing home industry, an influential player in the Capitol, is gearing up for a fight.

Covid Shots for Kids Are Scarce — And Demand Is Mixed — In Rural Montana

KFF Health News Original

Although covid vaccines have been available to children as young as 5 for more than a month, they’re not being offered in some rural Montana counties, and parents don’t know where to find them in others.

Con más muertes por sobredosis, defensores claman por una naloxona de venta libre

KFF Health News Original

La administración Biden ha destinado $30 millones a programas de reducción de daños por adicciones. Pero defensores dicen que la principal barrera es que la naloxona sigue siendo de venta bajo receta.

How LA, Calling the Shots on School Vaccine Mandates, Can Lead the Way on Covid Rules

KFF Health News Original

In the middle of a measles outbreak in 1977, the Los Angeles school system required students to be inoculated or stay out of class. Other school systems followed the practice. Will it work again now that the county is insisting that teens have their shots against covid?

West Virginia Sen. Manchin Takes the Teeth Out of Democrats’ Plan for Seniors’ Dental Care

KFF Health News Original

In West Virginia, older residents often go without dental care, and a quarter of people 65 and older have no natural teeth, the highest rate of any state in the country. But a powerful senator from West Virginia, Joe Manchin, has rebuffed efforts to add a dental benefit to Medicare.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Much Ado About (Vaccine) Mandates

KFF Health News Original

The fight over covid vaccines continues to intensify, with Republicans on Capitol Hill pushing — with some success — to cancel President Joe Biden’s “test regularly or vaccinate” requirement for private employers. Meanwhile, abortion is not the only health issue before the Supreme Court this term. Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet and Rachel Cohrs of Stat News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

Data Science Proved What Pittsburgh’s Black Leaders Knew: Racial Disparities Compound Covid Risk

KFF Health News Original

Inside the Black Equity Coalition’s novel effort to share community health intel and scrape government data to understand — and document — the life-threatening differences between white and Black Pittsburgh.

When the Surges Just Keep Coming: A View From the Covid Vortex

KFF Health News Original

Fresno County, one of California’s persistent covid-19 hot spots, is experiencing an autumn surge that once again has overwhelmed area hospitals. KHN spoke with Interim Health Officer Dr. Rais Vohra about leading the charge in a region where many people remain anti-mask and vaccine-wary.