Rachana Pradhan

Author's posts

Never Mind Toys, It’s Time to Ask Santa for Crutches and Catheters

As hospitals juggle holiday covid surges and all their other patients, the global supply chain crisis has left them short of critical supplies.

Democrats Plan to Expand Medicare Hearing Benefits. What Can Consumers Expect?

KHN answers questions for seniors about how this new benefit might work.

The FDA Has Been Without A Permanent Leader For 8 Months, As COVID Cases Climb

Dr. Janet Woodcock, an administrative veteran of the Food and Drug Administration since the 1980s, has been acting director of the agency since January. Why is the permanent job so hard to fill?

Public Health Experts ‘Flabbergasted’ That Biden Still Hasn’t Picked an FDA Chief

The Food and Drug Administration has been mired in controversies related to drug approvals and covid vaccines, all without a permanent leader.

What Missouri Learned the Hard Way About Rapid Covid Testing in Schools

Missouri’s ambitious school testing plan landed with a thud. What it can teach us now about keeping the delta variant out of classrooms.

‘We Sent a Terrible Message’: Scientists Say Biden Jumped the Gun With Vaccine Booster Plan

Many experts say the evidence doesn’t justify widespread booster shots for adults.

At Urgent Care, He Got 5 Stitches and a Big Surprise: A Plastic Surgeon’s Bill for $1,040

The Biden administration is weighing how to treat urgent care clinics as part of broad regulations banning surprise, out-of-network medical bills. At the heart of the matter: What counts as an emergency?

‘Press 1 for English’: Vaccination Sign-Ups Prove Daunting for Speakers of Other Languages

In Virginia, if you called 1-877-VAX-IN-VA to register for a vaccine and wanted help in a language other than English or Spanish, the system might hang up on you.

Delicate Covid Vaccines Slow Rollout — Leading to Shots Given Out of Turn or, Worse, Wasted

“Let rest. Do not shake. Do not refreeze.” Moderna’s vaccine comes with complicated instructions. And both available vaccines are good for only six hours once the vial is open. So at day’s end, health workers are left to either throw out precious doses or get shots into any arm that’s available.

How Pharma Money Colors Operation Warp Speed’s Quest to Defeat COVID

A Trump administration maneuver allows executives who are leading the federal effort to keep investments in drug companies that would benefit from the pandemic response.