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Policies mandating company approval before talking publicly about conditions in hospitals have been a source of conflict over the past year, as physicians, nurses and other health workers have been disciplined for speaking or posting about what they view as dangerous covid-19 safety precautions. The appeals court鈥檚 decision could mean that hospitals 鈥 and other employers 鈥 will need to revise their policies.
The potential benefits of Aduhelm are small, its effectiveness is not certain, and even the FDA Thursday shifted its guidance on who should get the drug. But physicians are dealing with an onslaught of interest from patients and their families, and figuring out which patients are best positioned to be helped by the drug will be difficult.
Your dutiful columnist tried to make use of a federal 鈥渢ransparency鈥 rule to compare the prices of common medical procedures in two California health care systems. It was a futile exercise.
The pharmaceutical industry argues that large profits are needed to fund extensive research and innovation. But Democrats on the House Oversight and Reform Committee, seeking to bolster their effort to let Medicare negotiate drug prices, say major drug companies plow more of their billions in earnings back into propping up their stock and enriching executives and shareholders.
Mesa County is a breeding ground for the covid-19 delta variant, but few would guess with tens of thousands of people flocking to the state鈥檚 largest country music festival.
Hesitancy about the vaccines among prison staffers has led to a striking disparity: Inmates are better protected than corrections officials.
The state will be the first to offer comprehensive counseling services to parents during pediatric visits as part of Medicaid.
As vaccination rates rise across the state, the overall numbers of covid cases and deaths have plunged. But health officials are still reporting nearly 1,000 new cases and more than two dozen deaths a day. So, where does covid continue to simmer in California? And why?
Vermont and Massachusetts lead the nation, with more than 70% of adults having had at least one dose of a covid-19 vaccine. Southern states like Tennessee lag far behind.
Aduhelm, approved by the Food and Drug Administration last month despite questions about its efficacy, could be prescribed to at least 1 million patients a year, for a price tag of about $56 billion. Experts suggest there might be better ways to spend that money.
Experts say rural communities must find new models to keep emergency services afloat as more 911 calls go unanswered.
Veteran health journalist Marshall Allen has been exposing health care grifters for years. Now he鈥檚 written a book about how to fight them. Host Dan Weissmann spoke with Allen about some of the best tips from 鈥淣ever Pay the First Bill: And Other Ways to Fight the Health Care System and Win.鈥
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.
The data is reassuring to people who got this shot.
A Trump administration rule mandating that hospitals disclose true prices on their websites took effect this year. But compliance is spotty and even when the data is public, it鈥檚 hard to find and understand.
The approach, known as contingency management, has helped thousands of veterans kick the methedrine habit, but a federal government ruling has limited its use. California hopes to challenge that and make the treatment a Medi-Cal benefit.
After years of unstable funding, California鈥檚 2022-23 budget will include a dramatic new investment in public health. Insiders say a powerhouse lobbying campaign made all the difference.
The Biden administration is moving to undo many of the changes the Trump administration made to the enrollment process for the Affordable Care Act to encourage more people to sign up for health insurance. Meanwhile, Congress is opening investigations into the controversial approval by the Food and Drug Administration of an expensive drug that might (or might not) slow the progression of Alzheimer鈥檚 disease. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Kimberly Leonard of Insider and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews Marshall Allen of ProPublica about his new book, 鈥淣ever Pay the First Bill: And Other Ways to Fight the Health Care System and Win.鈥
As more independently owned community pharmacies close, a Colorado town is crowdsourcing ways of getting prescription medicines delivered to those who can鈥檛 travel the long distance to the closest pharmacy. But even those stopgap measures don鈥檛 always work.
Black and Hispanic students have lost up to 12 months of learning, which could lead to lower incomes and shorter, sicker lives.
