Latest KFF Health News Stories
California Counties ‘Flying the Plane as We Build It’ in a Plodding Vaccine Rollout
In California, the largest vaccination campaign in U.S. history is run largely by the same overworked and underfunded local health departments tasked with covid-19 testing and contact tracing. It’s a daunting undertaking as the pandemic continues to surge.
Hospitals’ Rocky Rollout of Covid Vaccine Sparks Questions of Fairness
The lack of a federal strategy on how distribution should work at the local level means that states, hospitals, nursing homes and pharmacies are making decisions on their own about who gets vaccinated and when.
Feeling Left Out: Private Practice Doctors, Patients Wonder When It’s Their Turn for Vaccine
Doctors say some patients, and even medical staff members, don’t know where to go to be vaccinated against covid-19.
Are You Old Enough to Get Vaccinated? In Tennessee, They’re Using the Honor System
In most Tennessean counties, residents currently eligible to get the coronavirus vaccine are health care workers, long-term care residents and people 75 and older. But don’t expect strict enforcement.
Health Workers Unions See Surge in Interest Amid Covid
Many front-line health workers who have faced a perpetual lack of PPE and inconsistent safety measures believe the government and their employers have failed to protect them from covid-19.
An Urban Hospital on the Brink Vs. the Officials Sworn to Save It
The wealthy corporation that owns Chicago’s Mercy Hospital says it must close the hospital because it’s losing money. A government board says no. The corporation still has the upper hand.
Only a Smokescreen? Big Tobacco Stands Down as Colorado and Oregon Hike Cigarette Taxes
After spending tens of millions of dollars to oppose past efforts, Altria didn’t oppose Colorado’s tobacco tax initiative and could benefit from the law’s minimum-price provision.
California Budget Reflects ‘Pandemic-Induced Reality,’ Governor Says
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2021-22 budget blueprint would direct billions in state covid assistance to schools, businesses and the state’s vaccination effort. But he didn’t propose more funding for the state’s 61 local health agencies, which have taken on increased responsibility for testing, contact tracing and enforcement of health orders.
One Ambulance Ride Leads to Another When Packed Hospitals Cannot Handle Non-Covid Patients
A Kansas woman thought she’d find help at her local emergency room. What she found instead was a packed hospital and an ambulance ride to someplace else.
‘Peer Respites’ Provide an Alternative to Psychiatric Wards During Pandemic
A growing number of “peer respites,” nonclinical settings for psychiatric recovery, can help people in distress who mainly need to talk to people who understand their problems.
‘An Arm And a Leg’: How a Former Health Care Executive Became a Health Care Whistleblower
Former health care executive Wendell Potter said, “What I used to do for a living was mislead people into thinking that we had the best health care system in the world.” Now, Potter is a health care whistleblower and spent part of 2020 publishing high-profile apologies for the work he used to do.
Is Your Covid Vaccine Venue Prepared to Handle Rare, Life-Threatening Reactions?
More than two dozen people who have received the new covid vaccines in U.S. hospitals and health centers suffered anaphylaxis, a potentially fatal allergic reaction. While such severe reactions are rare, experts warn that the drugstores and drive-thru clinics considered integral to the vaccine rollout must be prepared.
Even With Senate Control, Democrats Will Need Buy-In From GOP on Key Health Priorities
With a majority too small to eliminate the filibuster, Democrats will not have enough votes in the Senate to pass many of their plans without Republicans and will also have only a razor-thin majority in the House. This combination could doom many Democratic health care proposals, like offering Americans a government-sponsored public insurance option, and complicate efforts to pass further pandemic relief.
Trump Administration Approves First Medicaid Block Grant, in Tennessee
The plan, long endorsed by conservatives, would give the state broad authority in running the health insurance program for the poor in exchange for capping its annual federal funding.
Biden’s First Order of Business May Be to Undo Trump’s Policies, but It Won’t Be Easy
President Donald Trump made substantial changes to the nation’s health care system using executive branch authority. But reversing policies that Democrats oppose would take time and personnel resources, competing with other priorities of the new administration.
Do-It-Yourself Contact Tracing Is a ‘Last Resort’ in Communities Besieged by Covid
Covid-19 cases are spreading so fast that they’re outpacing the contact-tracing capacities of some local health departments. Faced with mounting caseloads, those departments are asking people who test positive for the coronavirus to do their own contact tracing.
As the Vulnerable Wait, Some Political Leaders’ Spouses Get Covid Vaccines
Spouses of governors and federal leaders are getting early access to scarce doses of covid-19 vaccines. Some officials have argued their inoculation sets an example for the public and shows the vaccines to be safe and effective. But critics say those doses should go to more vulnerable people first.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Georgia Turns the Senate Blue
Democratic victories in two runoff elections in Georgia will give Democrats control of the Senate starting Jan. 20, which means they will be in charge of both houses of Congress and the White House for the first time since 2010. Meanwhile, covid continues to run rampant while vaccine distribution lags. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call 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.
Illinois Is First in the Nation to Extend Health Coverage to Undocumented Seniors
As the pandemic hits Latino communities especially hard, Illinois is expanding public health insurance to all low-income noncitizen seniors. Advocates hope other states follow its lead.
San Francisco Wrestles With Drug Approach as Death and Chaos Engulf Tenderloin
Covid-19, distrust of police and cheap narcotics have turned parts of the wealthy city into cesspools of filth and drug overdose. City officials and residents profoundly disagree on what needs to be done.
