Category: COVID-19

Public Health Agencies Try to Restore Trust as They Fight Misinformation

As public health departments work on improving their message, the skepticism and mistrust often reserved for covid-19 vaccines now threaten other public health priorities, including flu shots and childhood vaccines.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The Covid Response Coordinator Speaks

Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on Acast. You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Click here for a transcript of the episode. Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House covid-19 response coordinator, is the guest for a wide-ranging interview on this week’s […]

‘Caged … For No Fault of Your Own’: Detainees Dread Covid While Awaiting Immigration Hearings

Covid remains a threat for the roughly 30,000 people in the country’s network of immigration facilities. But ICE continues to flout its own pandemic protocols, an extension of the facilities’ poor history of medical care.

A Retiree Returns to Work After a Calamitous Year of Health Emergencies

In 2020, diabetes and covid-19 landed David Zipprich in the hospital three times. Even with insurance, he was inundated with bills, debt notices, and calls from collectors.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Health Spending? Only Congress Knows

Top negotiators in Congress have agreed to a framework for government spending into next year, but there are details to iron out before a vote — such as the scheduled Medicare payment cuts that have providers worried. Also, the Biden administration reopens its program allowing Americans to request free covid-19 home tests, as hopes for pandemic preparedness measures from Congress dim. Rachel Cohrs of Stat, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Rebecca Adams of KHN join KHN’s Mary Agnes Carey to discuss these topics and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.

Paxlovid Has Been Free So Far. Next Year, Sticker Shock Awaits.

The government soon will stop paying for the covid drug that has proved to be the most effective at keeping patients alive and out of the hospital.

Much of the CDC Is Working Remotely. That Could Make Changing the Agency Difficult.

Like many U.S. workplaces, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention went remote during the pandemic. Most of the agency’s staff members haven’t returned to the office full time, raising concerns about the CDC’s ability to reform itself after recent stumbles.

The Business of Clinical Trials Is Booming. Private Equity Has Taken Notice.

Private equity-backed Headlands Research heralded its covid-19 vaccine trials as a chance to boost participation among diverse populations, then it shuttered multiple sites that conducted them.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Medicaid Machinations

The lame-duck Congress has returned to Washington with a long health care to-do list and only a little time. Meanwhile, some of the states that have not yet expanded Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act are rethinking those decisions. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Fred Clasen-Kelly, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature, about a mysterious mishap during minor surgery.

A Work-From-Home Culture Takes Root in California

Even as pandemic lockdowns fade into memory, covid-19 has transformed California’s workplace culture in ways researchers say will reverberate well beyond 2022. According to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau, working from home for some portion of the week has become the new normal for a large segment of Californians. The data shows high-income […]