Latest Morning Briefing Stories

COVID Plans Put to Test as Firefighters Crowd Camps for Peak Wildfire Season

KFF Health News Original

Thousands of firefighters from across the U.S. have converged on the West as the wildfire season enters its peak. The inherently dangerous job now carries the additional risk of COVID-19 transmission, and fire managers are adapting their plans for crowded fire camps in the hope of preventing outbreaks that could sideline crews and weaken the nation’s firefighting infrastructure.

COVID Testing Choke Points

KFF Health News Original

A case study of COVID-19 testing in Sacramento, California, shows that bottlenecks in the testing supply chain this summer limited people’s access to tests and dramatically delayed results. Similar scenarios played out in communities across the country.

GOP Senate Ad Misrepresents Montana Governor’s Stance

KFF Health News Original

The race between Steve Bullock and Steve Daines reflects a trend in campaigns nationwide. Republicans often paint Democrats as left of the general public and health care has often been one of the issues the GOP highlights in that effort. In this case, the National Republican Senatorial Committee is leaping to conclusions with its claims.

Politics Slows Flow of US Pandemic Relief Funds to Public Health Agencies

KFF Health News Original

Congress has allocated trillions of dollars to ease the coronavirus crisis. A joint KHN and AP investigation finds that many communities with big outbreaks have spent little of that federal money on local public health departments for work such as testing and contact tracing.

‘Pennie’-Pinching States Take Over Obamacare Exchanges From Feds

KFF Health News Original

Pennsylvania and New Jersey are leaving the federal marketplace this fall to save money and will start their own insurance exchanges. Kentucky, New Mexico, Virginia and Maine are looking to join them in 2021 or beyond.

With COVID Vaccine Trial, Rural Oregon Clinic Steps Onto World Stage

KFF Health News Original

A small allergy clinic in Medford, Oregon, might seem an unlikely place to recruit hundreds of volunteers to test the Moderna vaccine against COVID-19. But its steward has a record of leading hundreds of clinical trials.

Turning Anger Into Action: Minority Students Analyze COVID Data on Racial Disparities

KFF Health News Original

About 70 college students are enrolled this summer in a program developed by San Francisco researchers and funded by the National Institutes of Health that allows them to explore the pandemic’s impact on communities facing health disparities.

Primary Care Doctors Look at Payment Overhaul After Pandemic Disruption

KFF Health News Original

Many physicians were forced to close their offices — or at least see only emergency cases — when the pandemic struck. Because they are generally paid piecemeal for every service, they suffered big losses, leading to layoffs and pay cuts. Some doctors say they now are looking to overhaul the way they get paid.