‘Is This When I Drop Dead?’ Two Doctors Report From the COVID Front Lines
Two emergency room doctors, one in New York and the other in Houston, discuss their cities’ coronavirus outbreaks — and responses.
COVID Data Failures Create Pressure for Public Health System Overhaul
Poor information-sharing between hospitals and public health agencies has hurt the response to the pandemic. Some health care systems and IT companies are making inroads, but an overhaul would cost billions.
Back to Life: COVID Lung Transplant Survivor Tells Her Story
The first known coronavirus patient in the U.S. to undergo a double lung transplant is now strong enough to share the story of her ordeal.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Kamala Harris on Health
The Democratic presidential ticket is complete, with Joe Biden’s selection of California Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate. Health has not been a major issue for Harris, whose career priority has been the criminal justice system. But expect Republicans to pounce on her on-again, off-again support for “Medicare for All.” Meanwhile, with Congress still in a stalemate over another round of COVID-19 relief, President Donald Trump is trying to use his executive power to do what lawmakers have not — with mixed success. Kimberly Leonard of Business Insider, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Mary Agnes Carey of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health stories of the week they think you should read, too.
Dying Young: The Health Care Workers in Their 20s Killed by COVID-19
A database of deaths compiled by KHN and The Guardian includes a significant minority under 30, leaving shattered dreams and devastated families.
Contact Tracers in Massachusetts Might Order Milk or Help With Rent. Here’s Why.
Massachusetts offers support and resources for people isolating because of COVID-19 — helping them make choices that keep everyone safe. Experts say that is work that more states need to fund.
Turning Anger Into Action: Minority Students Analyze COVID Data on Racial Disparities
About 70 college students are enrolled this summer in a program developed by San Francisco researchers and funded by the National Institutes of Health that allows them to explore the pandemic’s impact on communities facing health disparities.
Listen: Will Telemedicine Outlast the Pandemic?
KHN’s Julie Rovner appears on WDET’s “Detroit Today” to discuss the future of telemedicine.
In Health-Conscious Marin County, Virus Runs Rampant Among ‘Essential’ Latino Workers
The pandemic is racing through packed apartment blocks as Mexican and Central American workers bring the virus home to their families.
Bereaved Families Are ‘the Secondary Victims of COVID-19’
New research suggests the pandemic’s deaths are taking an enormous toll on surviving family members and worrisome ripple effects may linger for years.
Primary Care Doctors Look at Payment Overhaul After Pandemic Disruption
Many physicians were forced to close their offices — or at least see only emergency cases — when the pandemic struck. Because they are generally paid piecemeal for every service, they suffered big losses, leading to layoffs and pay cuts. Some doctors say they now are looking to overhaul the way they get paid.
Nurses and Doctors Sick With COVID Feel Pressured to Get Back to Work
Hospital employees say they must choose between their paychecks and their health or that of their families. Returning to work with symptoms also risks infection among the patients they are meant to heal.
Lost on the Frontline: Explore the Database
KHN and The Guardian unveil an interactive database, featuring the life stories of health care workers who died from COVID-19 and what happened in their final days. We investigate: Did so many have to die?
Public Health Officials Are Quitting or Getting Fired in Throes of Pandemic
A review by KHN and the Associated Press finds at least 49 state and local public health leaders have resigned, retired or been fired since April across 23 states. One of the latest departures came Sunday, when California’s public health director was ousted.
“Lost on the Frontline” is an ongoing project by Kaiser Health News and The Guardian that aims to document the lives of health care workers in the U.S. who died from COVID 19, and to investigate why so many are victims of the disease.
Business Is Booming for Dialysis Giant Fresenius. It Took a $137M Bailout Anyway.
Half of the money the Trump administration gave dialysis companies was collected by Fresenius, an international juggernaut with a robust balance sheet, a KHN analysis has found.
Newsletter editor Lauren Olsen wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
