The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
Before the pandemic, Colorado was building momentum to pass what鈥檚 known as a 鈥減ublic option鈥 health plan that would lower insurance premiums and force hospitals to accept lower payments. But now with hospitals and health care providers enjoying support as front-line heroes in the pandemic, state legislators have stripped the option from their bill.
In the times of smallpox, vaccination was accompanied by blood, sweat, fire and brimstone. Nowadays, a slight fever may make you feel as if you鈥檝e earned the reward of immunity from covid. But you鈥檙e protected even without a nasty reaction to the vaccine.
Chronic pain from covid can linger for months after patients appear to recover from the disease.
Despite high mortality and infection rates, the counties of northeastern Ohio, where many Amish people live, have the lowest vaccination rates in the state.
KHN Editor-in-Chief Dr. Elisabeth Rosenthal helps accident victims avoid pitfalls in seeking medical care 鈥 a conundrum profiled in KHN-NPR’s most recent Bill of the Month installment.
Responsible for 34% of the nation鈥檚 covid death toll, nursing homes and long-term care facilities get slammed by their investors and are told to change.
Covid patients who did not speak English well were 35% more likely to die, data from one Boston hospital shows.
Presidential historians say that Joe Biden鈥檚 first 100 days in office 鈥 a somewhat arbitrary but frequently cited milestone 鈥 have included an above-average number of major accomplishments.
Insurers voluntarily set the charges aside earlier in the pandemic 鈥 but that means those same health plans can decide to reinstate them.
It鈥檚 unclear whether 鈥渞ed flag鈥 laws 鈥 which allow the seizure of guns from a person deemed dangerous 鈥 help prevent mass shootings or should have been applied to the suspects in recent shootings in Boulder, Colorado, and Indianapolis.
Local health officials have become the face of government authority as they work to stem the pandemic. That has made them targets for chilling threats from some of the same militia groups that stormed the U.S. Capitol. Santa Cruz leaders are among those whose daily routines now incorporate security patrols, surveillance cameras and, in some cases, firearms.
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.
In 2015, St. Louis-based Mercy health system opened what officials called the world鈥檚 first 鈥渉ospital without beds.鈥 Since the pandemic, Mercy has incorporated telehealth throughout its system, part of a national acceleration in virtual care that proponents laud but critics say is happening too fast.
Of the three covid vaccines the U.S. government has authorized, only one is available to 16- and 17-year-olds: the Pfizer shot. It鈥檚 also the most complicated to manage in rural settings, with their small, dispersed populations. That forces some teens and their families to travel long distances for a dose 鈥 or go without.
The covid outbreak in Michigan stands out on the U.S. contagion map, but odds are it will be repeated elsewhere. How vaccine hesitancy, relaxed restrictions and a coronavirus variant combined to create the worst outbreak in the country.
The Biden administration has started to speed efforts to reverse health policies forged under Donald Trump. Most recently, the administration overturned a ban on fetal tissue research and canceled a last-minute extension of a Medicaid waiver for Texas. That latter move may delay the Senate confirmation of President Joe Biden鈥檚 nominee to head the Medicare and Medicaid programs, as Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) seeks to fight back. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Rachel Cohrs of Stat and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
Medical experts are struggling to define or explain the lingering, debilitating symptoms some covid patients experience. Part of the problem is the wide range of symptoms, but doctors say getting a better understanding will mean tracking patients and their outcomes and establishing clinical trials.
Generous personal injury coverage on your car policy may not be enough to cover medical bills. Patients can get financially blindsided when auto insurance and health insurance policies differ.
California stresses equity for minority groups. Texas is all about personal choice and liberty. Both are struggling to vaccinate Latinos and contending with vaccine hesitancy among conservative communities.
A bill that would have allowed California cities and counties to once again pursue taxes on sugary drinks was just shelved in the legislature without a hearing. Public health advocates blame the political 鈥 and financial 鈥 clout of the soft drink industry.
