Latest Kaiser Health News Stories
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: ACA in Peril With Ginsburg’s Seat in Play
The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is giving new life to the latest constitutional challenge to the Affordable Care Act. It also places anti-abortion activists on the cusp of a court majority large enough to ensure the rollback of the right to abortion and, possibly, some types of birth control. Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar tries to centralize power at the sprawling department plagued by miscommunications and scandals. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Kimberly Leonard of Business Insider and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, Rovner interviews KHN’s Sarah Jane Tribble about her new podcast, “Where It Hurts,” debuting Sept. 29.
California Expands Privacy Protection to Public Health Workers Amid Threats
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom expanded a confidential address program to public health officials in the wake of ongoing threats made against them tied to pandemic safety precautions such as masks and stay-at-home orders.
These Secret Safety Panels Will Pick the COVID Vaccine Winners
Data and safety monitoring boards work under a cloak of secrecy meant to prevent undue influence by stakeholders, such as companies or the government. In the Trump era, some worry the anonymity could actually invite it.
As Fires and Floods Wreak Havoc on Health, New Climate Center Seeks Solutions
The climate change center at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health plans to study and help implement policies for slowing climate change and adapting to it.
A Fair to Remember: County Fairs Weigh Risk of Outbreak Against Financial Ruin
The threat of COVID-19 forced many county fairs to cancel this year. But some rural communities that depend on the annual economic and cultural boost decided to go ahead despite a pattern of outbreaks.
How Families Are Keeping Halloween From Turning Into a COVID Nightmare
Parents are turning to spooky scavenger hunts, pumpkin-carving and movie nights as alternatives to trick-or-treating. Health professionals have their own advice on how to safely celebrate Halloween during the pandemic.
Reapertura de universidades generó 3,000 nuevos casos de COVID por día, según estudio
Los investigadores comprobaron que solo reabrir una universidad agregó 1.7 nuevas infecciones por día por cada 100,000 personas en un solo condado.
Colleges’ Opening Fueled 3,000 COVID Cases a Day, Researchers Say
In a draft study, researchers correlated cellphone data showing students’ back-to-campus movements and county infection rates to quantify how the coronavirus spread as colleges and universities reopened for the fall semester.
Native Americans Feel Double Pain of COVID and Fires ‘Gobbling Up the Ground’
Tribal leaders have worked to keep the coronavirus off their reservations because of its deadly impact on Native populations. But careful avoidance of the COVID virus has handcuffed the tribes as they face a devastating fire season.
Battle Rages Inside Hospitals Over How COVID Strikes and Kills
The debate over how the coronavirus spreads heated up Friday when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conceded that the virus spreads through tiny particles, but then took down guidance that could have forced big changes in hospitals.
Lost on the Frontline: Explore the Database
As of Wednesday, the ongoing KHN-Guardian project is investigating 1,256 deaths of U.S. health workers in the fight against COVID-19. Today, we add seven new profiles, including a certified nursing assistant who “rarely got sick” and a cardiologist who checked up on his patients over the phone, even as he was hospitalized for COVID-19. You can explore our interactive database, now containing 209 profiles. It investigates the question: Did they all have to die?
Rural Hospitals Teeter on Financial Cliff as COVID Medicare Loans Come Due
A lack of direction from federal administrators is causing confusion for many hospital administrators. Rural hospitals are among the ones hit hardest.
It’s Not Just Insulin: Lawmakers Focus on Price of One Drug, While Others Rise Too
While insulin is the poster child for outrageous prescription costs, patients are paying ever more to treat depression, asthma, HIV, cholesterol and more. And the pandemic has overtaken efforts to force the issue in Congress.
Señales de una “vacuna sorpresa en octubre” alarma a científicos de carrera
El presidente Donald Trump, que parece decidido a anunciar una vacuna para COVID-19 antes de las elecciones, podría autorizarla legalmente a pesar de las objeciones.
“Where It Hurts,” a new podcast from KFF’s Kaiser Health News (KHN) and St. Louis Public Radio, explores painful cracks in America’s health system that leave millions without the health care they need. Season One, titled “No Mercy,” debuts Sept. 29 and tells the story of what happened in Fort Scott, Kansas, when the rural […]
Signs of an ‘October Vaccine Surprise’ Alarm Career Scientists
President Donald Trump has the legal power to authorize a COVID vaccine over the objections of the Food and Drug Administration and vaccine manufacturers. Such a move could further erode public trust in a vaccine and foist an unsafe shot on Americans.
Trump-Biden Race Could Hinge on How Florida’s Pinellas County Swings
Few places loom as large in the race for the White House as here in Pinellas County, the largest swing county in the ultimate swing state. And polls show that many people will have the pandemic and its public health and economic consequences on their minds when they cast their votes.
Without Ginsburg, Judicial Threats to the ACA, Reproductive Rights Heighten
With the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a lawsuit brought by Republican state officials has become the latest existential threat against the federal health law, scheduled for oral arguments at the Supreme Court a week after the general election in November.
‘An Arm and a Leg’: A Primer on Persisting in Difficult and Uncertain Times
Laura Derrick’s personal fight for affordable health care eventually landed her in the middle of a historic political fight ― and a movement that transformed American health policy.
California’s Deadliest Spring in 20 Years Suggests COVID Undercount
California’s death count for the first five months of the pandemic was 13% higher than average for the same period during the prior three years. Subtract the deaths officially attributed to COVID-19 and experts say that still leaves scores of “excess” deaths among people of color that likely were mistakenly excluded from the coronavirus death tally.