Category: COVID-19

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Roe v. Wade’s (Possibly Last) Anniversary

Jan. 22 marks the 49th — and very likely last — anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark abortion decision, Roe v. Wade. The court’s conservative supermajority seems poised to overturn later this year the ruling that legalized abortion nationwide. Also this week, the Biden administration turns 1, with much of its domestic and health agenda yet unrealized. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of the 19th, and Kimberly Leonard of Insider join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, about what a post-Roe world might look like.

Families Complain as States Require Covid Testing for Nursing Home Visits

Relatives say it is important they be allowed to go into nursing homes because staff shortages are affecting care. And many are still upset about lengthy separations from loved ones during lockdowns earlier in the pandemic.

Wildfires and Omicron Prompt a Special Health Insurance Enrollment Period in Colorado

Disasters have previously prompted special enrollment periods in California, Maine, and the South. Now, Colorado is extending the state insurance marketplace sign-up period by two months.

5 Things You Should Know About ‘Free’ At-Home Covid Tests

Telling insurance companies to pay for rapid covid-19 tests is just the latest covid-related cost the federal government expects them to bear. But who really ends up paying for it?

Buffy Wicks Turns Her Health History Into Legislation

Assembly member who represents Oakland, is digging into abortion, vaccines and homelessness and drawing on her own health care experiences as she drafts bills.

Officials Struggle to Regulate Pop-Up Covid Testing Sites — And Warn Patients to Beware

High demand for covid screening and scarce supply have opened the door to bad actors, and officials in some states are sounding the alarm about dubious street testing operators that could put people’s personal data, their health or wallets at risk.

‘American Diagnosis’ Episode 1: On the Navajo Nation, Root Causes Complicated the Covid Fight

Explore what made the Navajo people ― also known as the Diné ― so vulnerable to the first surges of the covid-19 pandemic. The first episode of “Rezilience,” Season 4 of the “American Diagnosis” podcast, begins in the forests outside the Grand Canyon.

With No End in Sight to Pandemic Life, Parents Find Disruption Is the New Normal

Amid covid-related staffing shortages and testing requirements, school systems are stretched thin. And so are parents’ nerves.

As Omicron Surges, Effort to Vaccinate Young Children Stalls

Just 18% of 5- to 11-year-olds are fully vaccinated, with rates varying significantly across the country, a KHN analysis of federal data shows. Pediatricians say the slow pace and geographic disparities are alarming, especially against the backdrop of record numbers of cases and pediatric hospitalizations.

Justices Block Broad Worker Vaccine Requirement, Allow Health Worker Mandate to Proceed

The Supreme Court temporarily blocked a federal rule requiring larger businesses to mandate employees be vaccinated or wear masks and undergo weekly testing. At the same time, however, it allowed a federal order that health care workers be vaccinated.