Latest KFF Health News Stories
Colorado está a punto de aprobar una ley para que los trabajadores del campo puedan acceder a atención médica, algo que muchos empleadores al parecer no permiten.
Farmworkers Recall Mistreatment as Colorado Aims to Guarantee Medical Access
Agricultural workers living in employer-owned housing can have trouble getting health care. It’s symptomatic of bigger gaps in worker protections that the pandemic spotlighted, say proponents of a newly passed Colorado bill for farmworker rights.
Labor Department Issues Emergency Rules to Protect Health Care Workers From Covid
Citing the deaths of thousands of health care workers, the new rules will force employers to report fatalities or hospitalizations to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and provide higher-quality protective gear, among other actions.
New Montana Laws Enshrine Health Care Alternatives, for Better or Worse
Direct primary care and health care sharing ministries can offer people more accessible or cheaper health care options, but they lack the benefits of traditional insurance and aren’t regulated.
Zooming Into the Statehouse: Nursing Home Residents Use New Digital Skills to Push for Changes
Connecticut residents who learned how to communicate with family and friends through digital technology when their nursing homes closed to visitors last year used that skill to testify remotely during legislative hearings on bills affecting them.
Unused Johnson & Johnson Covid Doses Are Piling Up as FDA Waits to See if Shelf Life Can Be Extended
As vaccine expiration dates loom, states with hundreds of thousands of doses on hand say demand is tanking and there’s no easy way to donate to other states or countries that might want them
Boeing Tested Air Purifiers Like Those Widely Used in Schools. It Decided Not to Use Them in Planes.
The technology that schools have been snapping up in the fight against covid “has not shown significant disinfection effectiveness” to install on its planes, Boeing found. Now the company’s study is being debated in a proposed class-action suit.
Kidney Experts Say It’s Time to Remove Race From Medical Algorithms. Doing So Is Complicated.
When estimating how well a patient’s kidneys are working, doctors frequently turn to an equation that depends on a question: Is the patient Black? Kidney experts are now debating how to remove the race adjustment and whether the question is a function of sound science. It’s considered just the first step in dismantling institutional racism in kidney care.
With Roots in Civil Rights, Community Health Centers Push for Equity in the Pandemic
Community health centers were born in the 1960s to reach low-income communities. But some rural health experts say federally qualified health centers were a missing piece in achieving early equity in the vaccine rollout.
Montana Med School Clash Revives For-Profit Vs. Nonprofit Flap
Two medical schools vie to open in Montana, highlighting the rapid spread of for-profit schools and their previously tarnished business model.
Trying to Avoid Racist Health Care, Black Women Seek Out Black Obstetricians
Besides shared culture and values, a Black physician can offer Black patients a sense of safety, validation and trust. By contrast, the impact of systemic racism can show up starkly in childbirth. Black women are three times as likely to die after giving birth as white women in the United States.
In Missouri and Other States, Flawed Data Makes It Hard to Track Vaccine Equity
Racial and ethnic categories for vaccination data vary widely from one state to another, complicating efforts to distribute shots where they are needed most. In Missouri, some red flags in the data surfaced, making health officials question its usefulness.
Many New Moms Get Kicked Off Medicaid 2 Months After Giving Birth. Illinois Will Change That.
Each year, hundreds of thousands of new mothers lose Medicaid coverage after 60 days when their income exceeds limits. But deadly childbirth complications persist months longer.
Newsom Wants to Spend Millions on the Health of Low-Income Mothers and Their Babies
Democratic legislators back measures that would end the “pink tax” on diapers and menstrual products, provide mental health support, and pilot a guaranteed-income program.
The ‘Grief Pandemic’ Will Torment Americans for Years
More than 5 million Americans lost a loved one to covid, and the ripple effects could lead to serious illness down the road.
Readers and Tweeters React to Racism, Inequities in Health Care
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
From Racial Justice to Dirty Air, California’s New AG Plots a Progressive Health Care Agenda
In a candid interview, California’s newly appointed attorney general, Rob Bonta, reflects on his progressive roots and says he will pursue a health care agenda centered on the principle that quality medical care is a right, not a privilege.
Little-Known Illnesses Turning Up in Covid Long-Haulers
A significant number of post-covid patients suffer from syndromes that few doctors understand.
Mississippi’s Black Communities Turned Around Their Covid Rates. Next Up: Make Strides on Vaccines.
Covid-19 tore through Mississippi’s Black population in the pandemic’s early days, but community efforts slowed the rate. Now health officials and community leaders aim to replicate the success as they dole out vaccines.
KHN Journalist Combs for Clues on Covid’s Origins
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
