Category: COVID-19

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: When It Comes To COVID-19, States Are On Their Own

Just about every state is lifting some coronavirus-related restrictions, but it’s unclear how things are really going, considering data on the spread of the virus lags and may not be reliable. Meanwhile, the federal government continues to throw more responsibility for dealing with the pandemic to state and local governments. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Kimberly Leonard of Business Insider and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more.

Reopening Dental Offices For Routine Care Amid Pandemic Touches A Nerve

Most states ordered dental offices to close except for emergency patient care when the coronavirus hit the U.S. But the shutdown drilled deep into dentists’ finances, and they have been eager to reopen as states have relaxed their closures.

Scientist Has ‘Invisible Enemy’ In Sights With Microscopic Portraits Of Coronavirus

As an electron microscopist at the National Institutes of Health’s Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Montana, Elizabeth Fischer has captured stunning images of emerging pathogens such as Ebola, the MERS coronavirus and now SARS-CoV-2.

Analysis: Get Ready For The Vaccine — They’re Never Simple

Trials are an immense undertaking involving tens of thousands of participants. They’re likely to start this summer — but don’t expect quick results. And what’s a successful result, anyway?

Tennessee’s Secret To Plentiful Coronavirus Testing? Picking Up The Tab

Just about anyone who wants a coronavirus test in the state of Tennessee can get one. How? The state got buy-in and lots of participation from private labs by assuring them it will pay them.

Fewer Traffic Collisions During Shutdown Means Longer Waits For Organ Donations

Accident deaths are typically the biggest source of donor organs nationwide. But when the coronavirus forced Californians indoors, accidents declined.

The Pandemic Is Hurting Pediatric Hospitals, Too

Children’s hospitals were generally in good shape before COVID-19, but now their revenues are plunging as beds they reserved to assist in the pandemic effort remain empty.

‘Last Responders’ Seek To Expand Postmortem COVID Testing In Unexplained Deaths

Early in the outbreak, some coroners and medical examiners didn’t have enough tests to use for people who died unexpectedly at home to see whether the coronavirus was a factor. Now, as testing gradually becomes widely available, more such mysteries could be solved.

Tourists, Beware: Foreign Visitors’ Travel Health Insurance Might Exclude Pandemics

Many travel insurance plans offer health care coverage, but they could limit how much the insurer will pay or exclude coverage for health crises like the coronavirus pandemic. That may leave foreign travelers — unfamiliar with the way the American health system works ― on the hook for major expenses.

Medicaid Providers At The End Of The Line For Federal COVID Funding

Congress authorized $100 billion for health care providers to help reimburse them for losses linked to the coronavirus pandemic. But the majority of that funding so far has gone to hospitals, doctors and other facilities that serve Medicare patients. Providers primarily serving low-income Medicaid populations and children have been largely left out.