Latest KFF Health News Stories
Hospital Suppliers Take To The Skies To Combat Dire Shortages Of COVID-19 Gear
As the coronavirus sweeps the nation, a new survey reveals widespread medical gear shortages while hospitals give up on a fractured supply chain and take matters into their own hands with planes sprinting past cargo ships.
Some States Are Reporting Incomplete COVID-19 Results, Blurring The Full Picture
Maryland, Ohio and others are reporting only positive tests, which skews tracking and an understanding of how the virus spreads.
Are Vital Home Health Workers Now A Safety Threat?
Hundreds of thousands of health care workers go into homes to provide important services for seniors and disabled people. But with the rising concerns about the danger of the coronavirus pandemic, especially for older people, these health workers could be endangering their patients and themselves.
Why Hoarding Of Hydroxychloroquine Needs To Stop
Six states — Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas — have taken steps to limit inappropriate prescriptions for the medicine and preserve supplies for patients who take it for lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
Photo Essay: LA Under Lockdown
Californians are under orders to stay home to slow the spread of the coronavirus — and the result is that some of Southern California’s best-known spots are shuttered or deserted, from Santa Monica Pier to Olvera Street.
Does Everyone Over 60 Need To Take The Same Coronavirus Precautions?
Just how careful should older people be? Here’s what geriatricians think is reasonable.
Senators Who Led Pharma-Friendly Patent Reform Also Prime Targets For Pharma Cash
Three senators on a revived subcommittee received more than $100,000 each from drugmakers.
With Medical Safety Gear Scarce, The Public Is Stepping Up. Here’s Help On Ways To Help.
If you or your company have useful supplies and want to donate them, here are some answers to questions you might be asking.
CDC Coronavirus Testing Decision Likely To Haunt Nation For Months To Come
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave huge cities roughly the same number of test kits as some rural spots, which crippled efforts by health officials to contain the virus.
Seattle Nurses Scrounge For Masks To Stay Safe On Pandemic’s Front Lines
As illness from the new coronavirus stresses the health care system, nurses said they are being forced to make do with less and learning to be good stewards of available equipment and protective gear.
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.”
