All Coverage

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Blowing The Whistle On Trump Team’s COVID Policies

Frustration from inside the Trump administration over the management of the COVID-19 pandemic is starting to become public, as whistleblowers ― some anonymous, some named — tell how the effort is being undermined by favoritism, incompetence and a disdain for science. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court heard a case that could threaten the Affordable Care Act’s birth control benefit. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Rachana Pradhan of Kaiser Health News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, for “extra credit,” the panelists recommend their favorite stories of the week they think you should read, too.

May 7, 2020

COVID-19

Economic Blow Of The Coronavirus Hits America’s Already Stressed Farmers

At the start of the spring planting season, farmers across the U.S. heartland were already trying to recover from last year’s flooding amid worsening economic conditions when the pandemic struck. Farm bankruptcies and suicides continue to climb. A lack of mental health resources in rural America makes finding help more complicated.

By Sandy West

May 7, 2020

Postcard from Kalispell, Montana

How The Pandemic And An Anti-Vax Health Official Are Roiling A Montana Community

In one conservative pocket of Montana, a local health board member who opposes vaccinations helped fight the state’s stay-at-home rules. But now, as the state slowly reopens, she faces a backlash of her own.

By Kathleen McLaughlin

May 7, 2020

COVID-19

When Prisons Are ‘Petri Dishes,’ Inmates Can’t Guard Against COVID-19, They Say

Indiana prisoners said they can’t protect themselves from the virus, as the governor resists calls to reduce overcrowding. “Scared for our lives,” said an inmate.

By Jake Harper, Side Effects Public Media

May 6, 2020

KHN & PolitiFact HealthCheck

Viral Post Alleging Obama-Era Device Tax Caused Current PPE Shortage Is Way Off

Nothing in this viral meme is accurate. And there are other places to place blame.

By Victoria Knight

May 5, 2020

COVID-19

Palliative Care Helped Family Face ‘The Awful, Awful Truth’

Elizabeth and Robert Mar would have celebrated 50 years of marriage in August. Instead, they died within a day of each other. Their two very different deaths illustrate how palliative care is changing to help patients and families cope with the coronavirus pandemic.

By Will Stone

May 5, 2020

COVID-19

COVID-Plagued California Nursing Homes Often Had Problems In Past

Nursing homes with COVID-19 infections tend to violate health rules more often and have more complaints and fines, records show. But infections also plague highly rated facilities — while sparing some low-ranked ones.

By Jordan Rau and Anna Almendrala

May 4, 2020

Navigating Aging

As COVID-19 Lurks, Families Are Locked Out Of Nursing Homes. Is It Safe Inside?

“The awful truth is families have no control over what’s happening,” one advocate says.

By Judith Graham

May 4, 2020

COVID-19

Testing In California Still A Frustrating Patchwork Of Haves And Have-Nots

It’s hard to overstate how uneven access to critical coronavirus test kits remains in the nation’s largest state. Even as some Southern California counties are opening drive-thru sites to make testing available to any resident who wants it, a rural northern county is testing raw sewage to determine whether the coronavirus has infiltrated its communities.

By Anna Maria Barry-Jester, Angela Hart, and Rachel Bluth

May 4, 2020

As Lawmakers Reconvene, Not Everyone Agrees On COVID-Only Agenda

California legislators resume their work Monday after more than a month off. While the coronavirus pandemic has shifted the state’s priorities, many lawmakers say they still intend to push non-COVID health care bills to tax soda, ban vape flavors and more.

By Samantha Young

May 4, 2020

HealthBent

Always The Bridesmaid, Public Health Rarely Spotlighted Until It’s Too Late

Because the public health system mostly operates in the background, it rarely gets the attention or funding it deserves ― until there’s a crisis.

By Julie Rovner

May 4, 2020

Listen: A New Hope In The Battle Against COVID-19

KHN’s Julie Rovner joins a panel of journalists on “1A” to talk about promising results in a study of the drug remdesivir and other developments in the battle against the coronavirus.

May 1, 2020

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.

By Brianna Labuskes

May 1, 2020

KHN & PolitiFact HealthCheck

Trump’s Claim That U.S. Tested More Than All Countries Combined Is ‘Pants On Fire’ Wrong

When you factor in population size, the U.S. is still behind.

By Shefali Luthra

May 1, 2020

COVID-19

Do-It-Yourself Cheek Swab Tested As Next Best Thing To Detect Coronavirus

Los Angeles County is providing thousands of coronavirus self-testing kits to its citizens, but public health officials are leery of the shortage of data on whether this easier method ― in which an individual swabs his or her own cheek ― is as reliable as a less comfortable but well-established technique.

By David Tuller

May 1, 2020

California To Widen Pipeline Of Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners

The nursing schools at UCLA, UCSF and UC-Davis have joined hands in a new one-year online training program for mental health care as a surge of patients is expected due to the social isolation and economic impact of COVID-19.

By Lori Basheda

May 1, 2020

Podcast

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: SCOTUS Decides An ACA Case. No, Not THAT Case.

The Supreme Court this week, in an 8-1 decision, ruled that insurers are due the roughly $12 billion that Congress several years ago tried to cut off in payments under the Affordable Care Act’s “risk corridors” provision. And while the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage in many places around the country, states are starting to reopen their economies at the urging of President Donald Trump and over objections of public health officials. Caitlin Owens of Axios and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHN’s Carmen Heredia Rodriguez, who wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” installment about COVID testing that should have been free but was not.

April 30, 2020

Postcard From Tupelo, Mississippi

Free Clinics Try To Fill Gaps As COVID Sweeps Away Job-Based Insurance

The volunteer medical providers at the Tree of Life Free Clinic in Tupelo, Mississippi, give crucial health care to the uninsured in the best of times, drawing crowds who line up for hours. Amid the current COVID pandemic, clinic staffers were advised to close. Instead, they chose to adapt — even without critical N95 masks to protect themselves — as the economic crisis intensifies the need for free care.

By Michaela Gibson Morris

April 30, 2020

Podcast

‘An Arm And A Leg’: If Insurer Bills You For COVID Testing, Talk — And Maybe Tweet — It Out

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act requires private insurers to pay for certain services related to coronavirus testing at no cost to the patient. But gaps in the protections expose patients to unexpected medical bills.

By Dan Weissmann

April 30, 2020

Botched Operation

As Coronavirus Strikes, Crucial Data In Electronic Health Records Hard To Harvest

The U.S. government spent $36 billion computerizing health records, yet they’re of limited help in the COVID-19 crisis.

By Fred Schulte

April 30, 2020

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More Topics

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Blowing The Whistle On Trump Team’s COVID Policies

Economic Blow Of The Coronavirus Hits America’s Already Stressed Farmers

How The Pandemic And An Anti-Vax Health Official Are Roiling A Montana Community

When Prisons Are ‘Petri Dishes,’ Inmates Can’t Guard Against COVID-19, They Say

Viral Post Alleging Obama-Era Device Tax Caused Current PPE Shortage Is Way Off

Palliative Care Helped Family Face ‘The Awful, Awful Truth’

COVID-Plagued California Nursing Homes Often Had Problems In Past

As COVID-19 Lurks, Families Are Locked Out Of Nursing Homes. Is It Safe Inside?

Testing In California Still A Frustrating Patchwork Of Haves And Have-Nots

As Lawmakers Reconvene, Not Everyone Agrees On COVID-Only Agenda

Always The Bridesmaid, Public Health Rarely Spotlighted Until It’s Too Late

Listen: A New Hope In The Battle Against COVID-19

Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes

Trump’s Claim That U.S. Tested More Than All Countries Combined Is ‘Pants On Fire’ Wrong

Do-It-Yourself Cheek Swab Tested As Next Best Thing To Detect Coronavirus

California To Widen Pipeline Of Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: SCOTUS Decides An ACA Case. No, Not THAT Case.

Free Clinics Try To Fill Gaps As COVID Sweeps Away Job-Based Insurance

‘An Arm And A Leg’: If Insurer Bills You For COVID Testing, Talk — And Maybe Tweet — It Out

As Coronavirus Strikes, Crucial Data In Electronic Health Records Hard To Harvest

Morning Briefing

Supreme Court Preserves Telehealth And Mail Access To Mifepristone — For Now

CDC: No Current US Cases Of Hantavirus, But 41 People Are Being Monitored

Justice Department Not Privy To Private Trans Patient Data, Judge Rules

All Coverage

Morning Briefing

Supreme Court Preserves Telehealth And Mail Access To Mifepristone — For Now

CDC: No Current US Cases Of Hantavirus, But 41 People Are Being Monitored

Justice Department Not Privy To Private Trans Patient Data, Judge Rules

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