Latest Morning Briefing Stories

After Accident, Patient Crashes Into $700,000 Bill for Spine Surgery

KFF Health News Original

Generous personal injury coverage on your car policy may not be enough to cover medical bills. Patients can get financially blindsided when auto insurance and health insurance policies differ.

California and Texas Took Different Routes to Vaccination. Who’s Ahead?

KFF Health News Original

California stresses equity for minority groups. Texas is all about personal choice and liberty. Both are struggling to vaccinate Latinos and contending with vaccine hesitancy among conservative communities.

Otra victoria para la industria: fracasa proyecto de ley de impuestos a sodas

KFF Health News Original

En los últimos cuatro años, las empresas de refrescos gastaron alrededor de $5,9 millones presionando a legisladores de California y haciendo donaciones a sus campañas u organizaciones benéficas favoritas.

Another Soda Tax Bill Dies. Another Win for Big Soda.

KFF Health News Original

A bill that would have allowed California cities and counties to once again pursue taxes on sugary drinks was just shelved in the legislature without a hearing. Public health advocates blame the political — and financial — clout of the soft drink industry.

Censorship or Misinformation? DeSantis and YouTube Spar Over Covid Roundtable Takedown.

KFF Health News Original

The Florida governor considers the pushback he received from the online video platform to be “Orwellian.” But the scientists featured at the event made specific statements YouTube deemed as “misinformation,” at odds with current public health recommendations for controlling the spread of the covid virus.

Tras un año mortal en las carreteras, los estados dicen sí a la seguridad y no a la velocidad

KFF Health News Original

Legisladores de California y otros estados se replantean cómo establecer y hacer cumplir los límites de velocidad, y proponen darle más poder a las jurisdicciones locales para frenar a los conductores en sus comunidades.

After a Deadly Year on the Roads, States Push for Safety Over Speed

KFF Health News Original

Lawmakers in California and other states are rethinking how they set and enforce speed limits, and they’re proposing to hand more power to local authorities to slow drivers in their communities.

Public Health Experts Worry About Boom-Bust Cycle of Support

KFF Health News Original

Congress has poured tens of billions of dollars into public health since last year. While health officials who have juggled bare-bones budgets for years are grateful for the money, they worry it will soon dry up, just as it has after previous crises such as 9/11, SARS and Ebola. Meanwhile, they continue to cope with an exodus from the field amid political pressure and exhaustion that meant 1 in 6 Americans lost their local health department leader.

Airports Step Up Mental Health Assistance as Passenger Anxiety Soars

KFF Health News Original

As more people return to air travel, tension is mounting in airports nationwide. Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson is among those that have responded to the pandemic-related stress and fear among passengers and employees by offering services such as meditation, chaplains and other help in their terminals.