States

Latest KFF Health News Stories

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: What’s In The Next Round Of COVID-19 Relief?

KFF Health News Original

House Democrats unveiled legislation that would effectively double what the federal government has spent on relief for the COVID-19 pandemic, but Republicans say they want to wait before even talking about another bill. Meanwhile, a key Republican senator called the GOP court case challenging the Affordable Care Act “flimsy.” Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call and Joanne Kenen of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more.

Despite Pandemic, Trauma Centers See No End To ‘The Visible Virus Of Violence’

KFF Health News Original

A steady stream of gunshot victims continues to flow into a trauma center on Chicago’s South Side and many other metropolitan trauma centers. This puts a strain on hospitals already busy fighting COVID-19.

Under COVID Cloud, Prisons In Rural America Threaten To Choke Rural Hospitals

KFF Health News Original

A rural Montana county of 5,000 people lays claim to the state’s highest COVID-19 infection rate. The community risks additional spread, though, because of a private prison situated there. If the virus infiltrates the prison and just a fraction of inmates get sick, the area’s limited health resources may not endure.

Returning To Roots, Indian Health Service Seeks Traditional Healers

KFF Health News Original

The Indian Health Service hospital at Montana’s Fort Belknap reservation has put out a call for applicants for two traditional practitioner positions, part of a new recognition of Native American ethnobotany expertise that was pushed underground for decades. The openings are already making waves in the state.

Racial Status And The Pandemic: A Combustible Mixture

KFF Health News Original

The novel coronavirus is affecting black Americans disproportionately, which some community leaders and public health experts say is not surprising. So why didn’t anyone sound an alarm?

Hospital Workers Complain of Minimal Disclosure After COVID Exposures

KFF Health News Original

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.

Millions Stuck At Home With No Plumbing, Kitchen Or Space To Stay Safe

KFF Health News Original

In 470,000 American homes spread across every state, washing hands to prevent COVID-19 may not be as easy as turning on a faucet. They don’t have showers or toilets or, in some cases, even water piped into their homes. Nearly a million U.S. homes don’t have complete kitchens and millions more are overcrowded, making it much tougher for people to shelter in place and avoid infection.

How COVID Colors The Salon Experience

KFF Health News Original

As Colorado gradually reopens, a beauty salon in Loveland is swamped as its clients clamor for haircuts, trims and color. But business isn’t exactly back to normal as new precautions slow every step.

Trying Out LA’s New Coronavirus Testing Regime

KFF Health News Original

Los Angeles is the first big U.S. city to offer COVID-19 testing to anyone who wants it. Will it help restore normal life to the 10 million residents of the city and surrounding county?

Reopening In The COVID Era: How To Adapt To A New Normal

KFF Health News Original

States and the federal government are experimenting with steps that will allow people to start working again and returning to more typical lifestyles. But public health experts offer their thoughts on the related risk-benefit calculations.

Looking For A Path To Reopen, Employers Weigh COVID Testing Of Workers

KFF Health News Original

As some states begin the delicate task of lifting stay-at-home orders and allowing businesses to reopen, many employers are considering whether their strategy should include wide testing of workers.

Eerie Emptiness Of ERs Worries Doctors As Heart Attack And Stroke Patients Delay Care

KFF Health News Original

Emergency department volumes are down 40 to 50 percent across the country. Doctors worry a new wave of cardiac patients is headed their way — people who have delayed care and will be sicker and more injured when they finally seek care.

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Blowing The Whistle On Trump Team’s COVID Policies

KFF Health News Original

Frustration from inside the Trump administration over the management of the COVID-19 pandemic is starting to become public, as whistleblowers ― some anonymous, some named — tell how the effort is being undermined by favoritism, incompetence and a disdain for science. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court heard a case that could threaten the Affordable Care Act’s birth control benefit. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Rachana Pradhan of Kaiser Health News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, for “extra credit,” the panelists recommend their favorite stories of the week they think you should read, too.