Latest KFF Health News Stories
As COVID-19 Lurks, Families Are Locked Out Of Nursing Homes. Is It Safe Inside?
“The awful truth is families have no control over what’s happening,” one advocate says.
Testing In California Still A Frustrating Patchwork Of Haves And Have-Nots
It’s hard to overstate how uneven access to critical coronavirus test kits remains in the nation’s largest state. Even as some Southern California counties are opening drive-thru sites to make testing available to any resident who wants it, a rural northern county is testing raw sewage to determine whether the coronavirus has infiltrated its communities.
As Lawmakers Reconvene, Not Everyone Agrees On COVID-Only Agenda
California legislators resume their work Monday after more than a month off. While the coronavirus pandemic has shifted the state’s priorities, many lawmakers say they still intend to push non-COVID health care bills to tax soda, ban vape flavors and more.
Always The Bridesmaid, Public Health Rarely Spotlighted Until It’s Too Late
Because the public health system mostly operates in the background, it rarely gets the attention or funding it deserves ― until there’s a crisis.
Trump’s Claim That U.S. Tested More Than All Countries Combined Is ‘Pants On Fire’ Wrong
When you factor in population size, the U.S. is still behind.
Do-It-Yourself Cheek Swab Tested As Next Best Thing To Detect Coronavirus
Los Angeles County is providing thousands of coronavirus self-testing kits to its citizens, but public health officials are leery of the shortage of data on whether this easier method ― in which an individual swabs his or her own cheek ― is as reliable as a less comfortable but well-established technique.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: SCOTUS Decides An ACA Case. No, Not THAT Case.
The Supreme Court this week, in an 8-1 decision, ruled that insurers are due the roughly $12 billion that Congress several years ago tried to cut off in payments under the Affordable Care Act’s “risk corridors” provision. And while the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage in many places around the country, states are starting to reopen their economies at the urging of President Donald Trump and over objections of public health officials. Caitlin Owens of Axios and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHN’s Carmen Heredia Rodriguez, who wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” installment about COVID testing that should have been free but was not.
Free Clinics Try To Fill Gaps As COVID Sweeps Away Job-Based Insurance
The volunteer medical providers at the Tree of Life Free Clinic in Tupelo, Mississippi, give crucial health care to the uninsured in the best of times, drawing crowds who line up for hours. Amid the current COVID pandemic, clinic staffers were advised to close. Instead, they chose to adapt — even without critical N95 masks to protect themselves — as the economic crisis intensifies the need for free care.
‘An Arm And A Leg’: If Insurer Bills You For COVID Testing, Talk — And Maybe Tweet — It Out
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act requires private insurers to pay for certain services related to coronavirus testing at no cost to the patient. But gaps in the protections expose patients to unexpected medical bills.
As Coronavirus Strikes, Crucial Data In Electronic Health Records Hard To Harvest
The U.S. government spent $36 billion computerizing health records, yet they’re of limited help in the COVID-19 crisis.
Fear Of Coronavirus Propels Some Smokers To Quit
Increasing evidence suggests people who smoke are more likely to become severely ill and die from COVID-19 than nonsmokers. Some people are using that as inspiration to quit.
Trump Says N95 Masks Can Be Sterilized For Reuse. Only In A Pinch, Experts Warn.
Repurposing one N95 mask 20 times is not the same as having 20 new ones.
COVID Tests Are Free, Except When They’re Not
Her doctor worried she had COVID-19 but couldn’t test her for it until she ruled out other things. That test cost a bundle.
The Challenges Of Keeping Young Adults Safe During The Pandemic
Even while playing the role of quarantine enforcer for your teens and 20-somethings, recognize that they are as anxious and worried as you are — and with good reason.
Widely Used Surgical Masks Are Putting Health Care Workers At Serious Risk
Because high-end N95 masks are scarce, medical centers are using surgical masks that have been linked to considerably higher infection rates.
Amid Coronavirus Distress, Wealthy Hospitals Hoard Millions
As the coronavirus threatens the finances of thousands of hospitals, wealthy ones that can draw on millions — and even billions — of dollars in savings are in competition with near-insolvent hospitals for limited pots of financial relief.
Lawmaker Pushing Mental Health Reform: It’s ‘More Needed Than Ever’
Gov. Gavin Newsom has asked lawmakers to pare down their legislative wish lists and focus on the state’s coronavirus response. But state Sen. Jim Beall plans to forge ahead with his mental health care proposals, including a measure to create a state mental health parity requirement.
Health Insurers Prosper As COVID-19 Deflates Demand For Elective Treatments
With most nonemergency procedures shelved for now, many health insurers are expected to see profits in the near term, but the longer view of how the coronavirus will affect them is far more complicated and could well impact what people pay for coverage next year.
Consumer Beware: Coronavirus Antibody Tests Are Still A Work In Progress
Public officials are putting high hopes on new blood tests as a means of determining who has developed antibodies to COVID-19, and with those antibodies, presumed immunity. But experts caution the tests are largely unreliable and the science is still catching up.
‘An Arm And A Leg’: What A Fleet Of Firetrucks Can Teach About Public Health
This week on “An Arm and a Leg,” a front-line physician wonders if the health care industry’s drive for “efficiency” has robbed the system of surge capacity, leaving the nation underprepared to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
