Latest KFF Health News Stories
How Covid Has Changed Our Movement, as Revealed by Your Cellphone
Californians are venturing out to shop, dine and work far more now than a year ago, when state officials issued the first sweeping stay-at-home order. But we’re still sticking to home way more than before the pandemic, according to mobile phone tracking data.
Analysis: The Trump Health Care Policies That Deserve to Stick Around
President Joe Biden may want to continue the previous administration’s efforts to lower drug prices and make medical costs transparent.
The Boom in Out-of-State Telehealth Threatens In-State Providers
Health provider conflicts, fraud and access disparity temper the covid telehealth revolution.
Covid Cases Plummet 83% Among Nursing Home Staffers Despite Vaccine Hesitancy
Federal records show a steep decline in staff covid cases since December, when health care workers at thousands of nursing homes began getting their shots. Still, many are reluctant to get vaccinated.
A Year Into the Pandemic, Three Huge Losses in One Family
The Aldaco family of Phoenix suffered more than most in this year of unfathomable losses. Three brothers perished in the pandemic: Jose in July, Heriberto in December and Gonzalo in February.
Did CDC Delays in Up-To-Date Masking Advice Cost Health Workers’ Lives?
Researchers say “very low”-quality research from the 2003 SARS outbreak drove guidelines on who got the best PPE, leaving those most at risk exposed.
‘Explained by KHN’: Consumer Concerns About the Covid Vaccines
Our newsroom has some of the best and smartest health care and health policy reporters in the business. We’ve created a new video series — “Explained by KHN” — in which our correspondents and editors answer common health care and policy questions. In this edition we cover consumer concerns over the covid-19 vaccines.
University of Missouri Settles Lawsuits Over Knee Surgeries Involving Veterinarian
The University of Missouri settled a collection of 22 medical malpractice and false advertising lawsuits over knee surgeries for $16.2 million. One doctor involved in the cases is among Missouri’s highest-paid state employees; the other is a veterinarian.
To Extract More Doses per Vial, Vaccinators Put Squeeze on FDA to Relax Vaccine Handling Advice
Although vaccine supply is ramping up, the supply gap puts pressure on vaccinating teams to extract every drop they can. Some are asking the FDA to waive guidance against extracting vaccine from two vials with the same needle. It’s worth a shot.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Expanding the ACA in an Unpredicted Way
Beyond the billions of dollars aimed squarely at the pandemic, the covid relief bill cleared by Congress this week includes significant changes to health policy. Among them are the first major expansions to the Affordable Care Act since its enactment 11 years ago and changes that could expand coverage for the Medicaid program. Tami Luhby of CNN, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
Meet the Retired Nurse Who Could Give Covid Shots But Couldn’t Get One
She followed up on every possible avenue that would allow her to register for a vaccination appointment. Ultimately, it took a 40-minute drive and someone else’s cancellation to make it happen.
Vaccine Altruists Find Appointments for Those Who Can’t
An army of volunteers help people who otherwise would have had difficulty securing a covid vaccination because of cumbersome computer or telephone registration systems.
High Obesity Rates in Southern States Magnify Covid Threat
In the American South — home to nine of the nation’s 12 heaviest states — obesity is playing a role not only in covid outcomes, but in the calculus of the vaccination rollout.
One Year In: How Covid’s Toll Compares With Other Causes of Death
Covid-19 has become the country’s third-leading cause of death, and isn’t far behind cancer.
In a Year of Zoom Memorials, Art Exhibit Makes Space for Grief
After his father died, artist Taiji Terasaki created a ritual to memorialize him. Now, Terasaki honors front-line health care workers who succumbed to covid with an exhibit inspired by “Lost on the Frontline,” the investigation by KHN and The Guardian.
For Covid ‘Long Haulers,’ Battling for Disability Benefits Adds Aggravation to Exhaustion
Early in the pandemic, many patients couldn’t be tested. The lack of a covid diagnosis complicates disability insurance for those whose illness continues.
What Childhood Vaccine Rates Can, and Can’t, Teach Us About Covid Vaccines
Hesitancy toward routine childhood vaccines doesn’t necessarily predict hesitancy toward a covid shot.
Texas Winter Storm Exposes Gaps in Senior Living Oversight
As the recent winter storm disaster in Texas showed, many long-term care sites aren’t required to have backup power supplies or other redundancies to keep residents safe when disaster strikes.
Pfizer’s Newest Vaccine Plant Has Persistent Mold Issues, History of Recalls
After nearly a decade’s worth of federal inspections, reprimands and corrective action plans, has Pfizer fixed the facility that will be filling vials of its covid vaccine?
Without a Pandemic Safety Net, Immigrants Living Illegally in US Fall Through the Cracks
Many undocumented immigrants are essential workers at high risk of exposure to the virus — and the pandemic’s economic crash — with no direct access to federal financial lifelines available to U.S. citizens.
