Category: COVID-19

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Dealing With Drug Prices

Medicare officials tentatively plan to restrict the use of a controversial Alzheimer’s drug to only those patients participating in clinical trials, while the Department of Health and Human Services looks into lowering the monthly Medicare Part B premium. Meanwhile, covid confusion still reigns, as the Biden administration moves, belatedly, to make more masks and tests available. Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

Ask KHN-PolitiFact: Is My Cloth Mask Good Enough? The 2022 Edition

With the omicron variant surging throughout the U.S., many experts warn that a single-layer cloth mask is not enough protection. Instead, they recommend an upgrade: layering wardrobe masks with surgical masks or wearing an N95 or KN95 respirator.

Fire Closes Hospital and Displaces Staff as Colorado Battles Omicron

The most destructive fire in state history has knocked a hospital out of service and left health care workers homeless with omicron driving new covid hospitalizations.

Supreme Court Weighs Biden’s Workplace Vaccine Requirements

The court is considering whether to let the rules go into effect as opponents fight them in lower courts. Conservative justices pressed lawyers hard about whether the administration overstepped its authority, but liberal members of the high court questioned why the government shouldn’t be expected to move forcefully when facing a severe health crisis.

Hospitals Recruit International Nurses to Fill Pandemic Shortages

Montana’s largest hospital recently signed employment contracts with two dozen foreign nurses. Nationwide, a backlog of 5,000 international nurses await approval to enter the U.S.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Contagion Confusion

It’s 2022 and the covid-19 pandemic is still with us, as are congressional efforts to pass President Joe Biden’s big health and social spending bill. But other issues seem certain to take center stage on this year’s health agenda, including abortion, the state of the health care workforce, and prescription drug prices. Tami Luhby of CNN, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Victoria Knight, who reported the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode.

Why an HBCU Med School Decided to Put CARES Act Money Into Students’ Pockets

More than most schools, the country’s historically Black colleges and universities are funneling stimulus money directly to students, wiping out loans and past-due fees. But one is going a step further with its financial assistance.

Laws Shield Hospitals From Families Who Believe Loved Ones Contracted Covid as Patients

Families who believe their loved ones contracted covid-19 while hospitalized are finding they have little recourse following a wave of liability shield legislation pushed by business interests.

As Patients Fell Ill With Covid Inside Hospitals, Government Oversight Fell Short

A KHN investigation finds that hospitals with high rates of covid patients who didn’t have the diagnosis when they were admitted have rarely been held accountable due to multiple gaps in government oversight.

Watch: One City’s Effort to Raise Vaccination Rates Among Black Residents

In Hartford, Connecticut, public health leaders engage barbers and faith leaders to combat vaccine skepticism in the Black community.