Latest KFF Health News Stories
On The Eve Of Retirement, VA Nurse Succumbs To COVID-19
Nurse Divina “Debbie” Accad had cared for veterans for over 25 years and was set to retire in April. But after contracting the novel coronavirus, she spent her final 11 days on a ventilator — and didn’t survive past March.
Nurse’s Faith Led Her To Care For Prisoners At A New Jersey Jail
Daisy Doronila had a different perspective than most who worked at the Hudson County Correctional Facility, a New Jersey lockup 11 miles from Manhattan. It was a place where the veteran nurse could put her Catholic faith into action, showing kindness to marginalized people.
COVID-19 Brings Overhaul Of Military Health Care To A Halt
The military is called to action to battle the pandemic, even as the numbers of people infected among its ranks and veterans climb amid a shortage of doctors and nurses.
Nurse At Nevada VA Dies After Caring For Infected Colleague
Nurse Vianna Thompson, 52, spent two night shifts caring for a fellow Veterans Affairs health care worker who was dying from COVID-19. Two weeks later, she too was lying in a hospital intensive care unit, with a co-worker holding her hand as she died.
A Desperate Scramble As COVID-19 Families Vie For Access To Plasma Therapy
As efforts ramp up to collect blood plasma from the first survivors of COVID-19, families of critically ill patients are jockeying to obtain the still-unproven antibody treatment.
Dr. J. Ronald Verrier Was Busy Saving Lives Before The Pandemic
Dr. J. Ronald Verrier, a surgeon at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, spent the final weeks of his audacious, unfinished life tending to a torrent of patients inflicted with COVID-19. He died April 8 at Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital in Oceanside, New York, at age 59, after falling ill from the novel coronavirus.
California Nurse Thrived In ER and ICU, But Couldn’t Survive COVID-19
Jeff Baumbach, 57, was a seasoned nurse of 28 years when the novel coronavirus began to circulate in California. He’d worked in the ER, the ICU and on a cardiac floor. Hepatitis and tuberculosis had been around over the years but never posed a major concern.
True Toll Of COVID-19 On U.S. Health Care Workers Unknown
Infection-report forms rarely indicate who is a health worker or whether they survived. States and hospitals tend to keep quiet, citing patient privacy.
Massachusetts Recruits 1,000 ‘Contact Tracers’ To Battle COVID-19
“I know we will succeed somewhat and we will fail somewhat,” says one of the plan’s chief architects. “We won’t be able to find every single person — but we will hopefully prevent a lot of deaths.”
In Shutting Out Threat, Seniors In Continuing Care Communities Feel Shut In
For older adults in retirement communities ― a population especially vulnerable to COVID-19 — striking a balance between reducing the risk of contracting the coronavirus and maintaining the quality of life is a new frontier.
Pediatric Practices Struggle To Adapt And Survive Amid COVID-19
Across the U.S., pediatric practices that provide front-line care for the nation’s children are struggling to adjust to crashing revenues, terrified parents and a shortage of protective equipment — and all while being asked to care for young patients who could well be vectors for transmission without showing symptoms.
Watch: Coronavirus And Your Health Care
KHN’s Julie Rovner answers viewers’ questions on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal” about how the pandemic is affecting health policy as well as patients and their insurance.
Sanders: In Coronavirus Relief Effort, Congress Fell Short On Paid Sick Leave
Capitol Hill’s guarantee does not pertain to many “essential” workers.
How Do We Exit The Shutdown? Hire An Army Of Public Health Workers
The pandemic has exposed massive cracks in the foundations of the U.S. public health system. Getting the country back to normal, experts say, will require a major investment in Public Health 101: training a corps of workers who can track people with the virus and prevent them from passing it to others.
Battling A Pandemic Across 4,750 Square Miles And 10 Million People
Los Angeles County’s health leader describes the struggle for data and resources in the coronavirus fight.
Biden’s Incremental Medicare Play For Bernie’s Backers
The presumptive Democratic presidential candidate unveils a proposal to lower the eligibility age for Medicare from 65 to 60.
Furor Erupts: Billions Going To Hospitals Based On Medicare Billings, Not COVID-19
In the first round of emergency relief, some states will get more than $300,000 per COVID-19 patient, while hard-hit New York gets just $12,000 per patient.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
To ‘Keep The Lights On,’ Doctors And Hospitals Ask For Advance Medicare Payments
As part of the federal response to the coronavirus crisis, Medicare is offering to give hospitals and doctors accelerated payments.
Millennial Zeitgeist: Attitudes About COVID-19 Shift As Cases Among Young Adults Rise
Twenty- and 30-somethings were initially told the coronavirus was more likely to strike older people. But then people in younger age groups started getting seriously sick.
