Latest KFF Health News Stories
Coronavirus Threatens The Lives Of Rural Hospitals Already Stretched To Breaking Point
Almost half of the nation’s rural hospitals operate in the red on a good day. But amid the coronavirus pandemic, rural hospital CEOs warn that soon some may be unable to pay their workers. And their doors may close when the community most needs them.
Some Hospitals Continue With Elective Surgeries Despite COVID-19 Crisis
Even as many states put a moratorium on elective surgeries in a desperate effort to preserve dwindling stocks of protective gear, hospitals in other pockets of the country continue to perform a range of elective procedures. Some staff members and ethicists are voicing concerns.
Hoping That Insurance Expansion Will Help Tamp Outbreak, 9 States Reopen Marketplaces
The states are allowing new enrollments this month to help ease consumers’ concerns about the cost of health care so that the sick will not be deterred from seeking medical attention and inadvertently spread the virus.
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.
Now On The Menu At Closed Schools: Drive-Thru Lunches
As schools shutter to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus, many districts are still offering free meals to their most vulnerable students. In two Southern California districts, families roll through school lunch drive-thrus to grab hot meals.
Millions Of Older Americans Live In Counties With No ICU Beds As Pandemic Intensifies
A Kaiser Health News analysis shows that counties with ICUs average one ICU bed for every 1,300 older residents, those most at risk for needing hospitalization.
Baltimore barber Antoine Dow helps bring dignity to young black men whose lives were cut short by gun violence.
Mask Shortage Straps Pharmacists Who Need Them To Keep Medicines Pure
Fifteen percent of hospital pharmacists who prepare injectable drugs are going without the protective masks they typically use or are using substitutes for masks.
Gig Economy Workers Hurt By Coronavirus Eye New Federal Funds For Relief
A law signed by Trump on Wednesday will provide financial help for self-employed workers, who generally don’t have paid leave. Some states also have family and medical leave programs that can be helpful.
Was The Novel Coronavirus Really Sneaky In Its Spread To The U.S.? Experts Say No.
Public health professionals dismissed the president’s claims that the spread of the coronavirus, in particular, and the threat of a pandemic, in general, snuck up on us as being “simply astonishing” and “simply untrue.”
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: The Affordable Care Act Turns 10
Next week is the 10th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act. Millions of Americans have benefited from the law, yet its future is in the hands of both the Supreme Court and voters in November. For this special episode of “What the Health?” host Julie Rovner interviews Kathleen Sebelius, who was Obama’s secretary of Health and Human Services when the law was passed. Then Rovner, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Mary Agnes Carey of Kaiser Health News discuss its history, impact and prospects for the future.
Sebelius, Looking Back At ACA, Says The Country’s Never ‘Seen This Kind Of Battle’
On KHN’s “What the Health? ” podcast, the former secretary of Health and Human Services says she continued to believe during the debate 10 years ago on the health law that it would eventually gain some Republican support. But that never happened.
Funeral Homes, Families Ponder Deaths In The Age Of COVID-19
As the novel coronavirus marches across the country, it is upending how families and funeral homes honor the dead — and, ultimately, put them to rest.
A View From The Front Lines Of California’s COVID-19 Battle
California physicians dealing with COVID-19 offer a sobering portrait of a health care system bracing for the worst of a pandemic that could be months from peaking.
Take A Deep Breath: Making Risk-Based Decisions In The Coronavirus Era
There’s an array of recommendations about how to adjust our lives to reduce the spread of the novel virus. All are motivated by the same guiding principle: The better the public does in these efforts, the better off everyone will be.
Amid Pandemic, Programs Struggle To Reach Vulnerable Seniors Living At Home
Older adults are at serious risk during this pandemic and have been advised to avoid contact with others. Yet many still need essential services, and programs are scrambling to adapt.
Is The Bay Area’s ‘Unprecedented’ Lockdown The First Of Many?
About 7 million people across the San Francisco Bay Area began to “shelter in place” Tuesday to limit the spread of the new coronavirus. Although public health officials acknowledged the orders were drastic, they also agreed they were necessary.
As Coronavirus Testing Gears Up, Specialized Swabs Running Out
Nationwide, testing for coronavirus is ramping up. But the supply of specialty swabs needed to collect potential coronavirus specimens can’t keep up with demand, creating a bottleneck in testing capabilities. So two top manufacturers are working with U.S. and Italian governments to increase production.
Near Trump’s Florida Home, Drive-Thru COVID-19 Testing Gets Off To Rocky Start
Just 5 miles from Mar-a-Lago, the POTUS’ outpost, Florida residents find that the president’s pledge to make testing accessible hasn’t materialized.
In Face Of Coronavirus, Many Hospitals Cancel On-Site Training For Nursing And Med Students
Hospitals and nursing homes say they are acting to protect students and patients, but nursing educators worry the pipeline of new nurses could be slowed at a time when they may be needed most. Some doctors in training have also seen their clinical rotations canceled.
