Demand for Service Dogs Unleashes a 鈥榃ild West鈥 Market
Service dogs can help people with ailments from autism to epilepsy, but a trained dog can cost up to $40,000 鈥 and insurance won鈥檛 cover it.
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Inside the Tactical Tug of War Over the Controversial Alzheimer鈥檚 Drug
An epic battle is playing out behind the scenes over whether the government should pay for Aduhelm, an FDA-approved Alzheimer鈥檚 drug that scientists say has not been proven to work.
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This Doctor Thought She Could Navigate US Health Care. Then Her Autistic Son Needed Help.
Dr. Mai Pham left her corporate career to spark change in a system that is failing millions of Americans with autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities.
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Medical Boards Pressured to Let It Slide When Doctors Spread Covid Misinformation
State medical boards have an obligation to investigate complaints about doctors, including those who may spread false information about medical care. But in Florida, Tennessee, and other states, lawmakers are moving to protect physicians using unproven covid treatments or spreading misinformation.
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‘American Diagnosis’ Episode 3: Uranium Mining Left Navajo Land and People in Need of Healing
Episode 3 is an exploration of the forces that brought uranium mining to the Navajo Nation, the harmful consequences, and the fight for compensation that continues today.
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Covid Precautions Are Part of Hispanic Community鈥檚 Efforts to Tend to Community Good
Among many Latinos, especially recent immigrants, there is a cultural emphasis on living in harmony within one鈥檚 community 鈥 called 鈥渃onvivir鈥 in Spanish. That notion may have helped drive improvements in covid vaccination and testing rates.
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Why Millions on Medicaid Are at Risk of Losing Coverage in the Months Ahead
State Medicaid agencies for months have been preparing for the end of a federal mandate that has prevented states from removing people from the safety-net program during the pandemic.
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Health Policy Valentines Too Sweet Not to Tweet
KHN highlights some of the creative valentines posted on Twitter by health policy enthusiasts.
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Journalists Discuss Cracks in the Health Care System and Roadblocks to Covid Booster Shots
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here鈥檚 a collection of their appearances.
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Don鈥檛 Nurse That Moscow Mule 鈥 It Could Be a Health Hazard
Researchers in Montana have found that unsafe levels of copper can leach into the cocktail in less than half an hour.
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Exits by Black and Hispanic Teachers Pose a New Threat to Covid-Era Education
Schools that serve poor and disadvantaged kids have taken a series of hits during the pandemic. Now, teachers of color are leaving the profession at higher rates than are white teachers.
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What Are Taxpayers Spending for Those 鈥楩ree鈥 Covid Tests? The Government Won鈥檛 Say.
Inquiries lead from one federal office to the next, with no clear answers. At one Army Contracting Command, a protocol office employee says that 鈥渧oicemail has been down for months.鈥 And the email address listed for fielding media inquiries? 鈥淭he army stopped using the email address about eight years ago.鈥
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KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: FDA Takes Center Stage
Congress is set to start its once-every-five-years review of the law that authorizes user fees to finance the hiring of personnel to speed the FDA review of drugs. The periodic renewals of 鈥淧DUFA鈥 also give lawmakers a chance to make other changes to the agency at the hub of the pandemic. Meanwhile, the FDA could also find itself at the center of the abortion debate and a controversial new medication to treat Alzheimer鈥檚 disease. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
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Montana Mice May Hold the Secret to Virus Spillover
Researchers in Montana are working to figure out how climate change and biodiversity affect viruses鈥 jump from animals to people.
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Skirmish Between Biden and Red States Over Medicaid Leaves Enrollees in the Balance
The Biden administration is getting rid of several policies implemented by Trump-era appointees that restricted enrollment. Federal officials now say states can no longer charge premiums to low-income residents enrolled in Medicaid and have ruled out work requirements.
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The Doctor Will See You Now 鈥 In the Hallway
At Salem Health Salem Hospital in Oregon, the omicron surge is still swamping health care workers. They are ground down emotionally but keep showing up for their patients.
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Polio, Chickenpox, Measles, Now Covid. It’s Time to Consult History on School Vaccine Mandates
As some states adopt covid vaccine requirements, not everyone agrees mandates for children are the way forward. Taking a page from history: We have two paths to putting the pandemic behind us: a quicker, more certain one of mandatory vaccination or a stuttering, drawn-out, likely more deadly affair.
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鈥楽omebody Is Gonna Die鈥: Medi-Cal Patients Struggle to Fill Prescriptions
Problems with California鈥檚 new Medicaid prescription drug program are preventing thousands of patients from getting their medications, including some life-saving ones. State officials say they鈥檙e working on fixes.
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Missouri鈥檚 War on Public Health Shows Extent of National Rift
A public health official who said he was anti-abortion and anti-mandate for masks and covid vaccines did not pass the purity test of a Missouri senator who opposes covid public health restrictions. The senator killed the official鈥檚 nomination to be state health director, highlighting how hands may be tied in the nationwide fight against infectious diseases.
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Health Care Paradox: Medicare Penalizes Dozens of Hospitals It Also Gives Five Stars
Among the 764 hospitals hit with a 1% reduction in Medicare payments this year for having high numbers of patient infections and avoidable complications are more than three dozen that Medicare also ranks as among the best in the country.
