Latest Morning Briefing Stories
Pandemic Poses Short- and Long-Term Risks to Babies, Especially Boys
A mother’s immune response to covid can be a greater danger to the fetus than the virus itself.
Covered California’s Insurance Deals Range From ‘No-Brainer’ to Sticker Shock
Families of four with incomes of less than about $40,000 a year can pay no premiums and have low deductibles. For some others, health insurance in 2022 will cost more than in 2021 — in some cases, significantly more.
Some Groups Are Left Out of Montana Covid Test Giveaway Program
Public health officials and policymakers alike see rapid antigen tests as a strong tool to keep businesses open and parents working. But a look at Montana’s distribution of the tests shows a patchwork system with limited access for many.
Local Pharmacists Fill Rx Void as Big Brands Pull Out of Rural Areas
Stores like Walmart and Shopko opened pharmacies in small towns, either buying out the local pharmacy or driving it out of business. What happens when those chains later withdraw, leaving communities with no pharmacy?
Vaccine Promoters Struggle to Get People Boosted in California’s Fields
Stressed vaccine communicators battle anti-vaccine propaganda while seeking to persuade Latino farmworkers to get covid boosters.
The Vaccine Rollout Was a Success. But Events Within and Beyond Biden’s Control Stymied Progress.
There were variants, vaccine hesitancy and messaging mix-ups. And, despite campaign promises, Biden and his administration sometimes took actions or made statements without waiting for full scientific evidence to back them up.
As Hospitals Fill Up, Paramedics Spend More Time Moving Patients, Less on Emergencies
Gunnison paramedics cover the largest response zone in Colorado. Because of covid and the lack of nearby hospital beds, patients increasingly are transported long distances, leaving few ambulances to respond to emergencies.
Seeking Refills: Aging Pharmacists Leave Drugstores Vacant in Rural America
Independent pharmacists who want to retire often have trouble attracting new pharmacists to take over their practices, particularly in rural areas. That can cause smaller towns to lose their pharmacies. With many pharmacists near retirement, the problem may only get worse.
Abortion Rights Advocates Try to Change Opinions With Deeply Personal Conversations
Even in states where abortion rights are likely to be preserved, Planned Parenthood turns to “deep canvassing” to fortify support.
‘The Charges Seem Crazy’: Hospitals Impose a ‘Facility Fee’ — For a Video Visit
Facility fees, designed to help hospitals cover the high cost of staying open 24/7, have long rankled consumers. Now, some patients are assessed the fees while sitting at home for a telehealth appointment.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Oh, Oh, Omicron
Even before the omicron variant of covid starts to spread widely in the U.S., hospitals are filling up with post-holiday delta cases. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court signals — loudly — that 2022 will be the year it rolls back abortion rights in a big way. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
Nurses in Crisis Over Covid Dig In for Better Work Conditions
In tough labor negotiations across the nation, here’s what nurses don’t want: “appreciation that is lip service,” “marketing campaigns” and “shiny new buildings.” And this year might well prove to be a turning point in efforts to organize health care’s essential workers.
After ‘Truly Appalling’ Death Toll in Nursing Homes, California Rethinks Their Funding
California wants to hold nursing homes accountable for the quality of care they provide by tying Medicaid funding more directly to performance. But the nursing home industry, an influential player in the Capitol, is gearing up for a fight.
Covid Shots for Kids Are Scarce — And Demand Is Mixed — In Rural Montana
Although covid vaccines have been available to children as young as 5 for more than a month, they’re not being offered in some rural Montana counties, and parents don’t know where to find them in others.
Mattresses and Mold Removal: Medi-Cal to Offer Unconventional Treatments to Asthma Patients
In January, California’s Medicaid program will begin offering nontraditional services —such as ridding homes of roaches, replacing mattresses and installing air purifiers — to some low-income asthma patients. But the rollout could be chaotic, with insurance companies struggling to identify groups that can deliver the services.
Colorado Hospitals in ‘Critical Condition’ as State Weathers Another Surge
Patients with other ailments are frustrated, and nurses and doctors are stressed and burned out, as unvaccinated covid-19 patients fill ICU and acute care beds.
With Overdose Deaths Surging, Advocates on the Ground Push for Over-the-Counter Naloxone
Harm-reduction groups say that requiring a doctor to sign off on their orders of the overdose reversal drug is one of the biggest barriers they face in obtaining the lifesaving medication.
‘An Arm and a Leg’: She Fights Health Insurers for Fun — And Wins
Law professor Jackie Fox looks at health insurance policies like any other contract, and she has spent 30 years making sound legal arguments to help patients get the care they need.
How LA, Calling the Shots on School Vaccine Mandates, Can Lead the Way on Covid Rules
In the middle of a measles outbreak in 1977, the Los Angeles school system required students to be inoculated or stay out of class. Other school systems followed the practice. Will it work again now that the county is insisting that teens have their shots against covid?
Wartime Trauma Hits Close to Home for Scholar of Dementia
The federal government is putting up $7.2 million for a study into the correlation between war trauma and dementia in Vietnamese immigrants. Oahn Meyer, an associate professor at the University of California-Davis who is leading the study, wonders whether her mother’s dementia is linked to trauma she suffered during the Vietnam War.
