As the crisis crushed smaller providers, some of the nation’s richest health systems thrived, reporting hundreds of millions of dollars in surpluses after accepting huge grants for pandemic relief. But poorer hospitals — many serving rural and minority populations — got a smaller slice of the pie and limped through the year with deficits and a bleak fiscal future.
Many state Medicaid programs pay out-of-state providers much less than in-state facilities, often making it hard for families with medically complex children to get the care they seek.
Rural Mendocino County had finally figured out its vaccination program. But now the community clinics that helped make it happen are changing course as Blue Shield of California takes over the state vaccine program.
Philanthropies are funding studies of cheap, existing medications like the antidepressant fluvoxamine as covid treatments. But early hype about hydroxychloroquine and other repurposed drugs leaves researchers leery of hasty conclusions.
In his campaign, President Joe Biden promised to undo policies, particularly health policies, implemented by former President Donald Trump. Yet, despite immense executive power, reversing four years of action takes time and resources.
Air-cleaning companies with limited oversight are targeting a growing market of schools desperate for covid-19 protection. Donald Trump’s former covid adviser lands with one that built its business, in part, on ozone-emitting technology.
Insurance giant Blue Shield of California has made millions in charitable and political donations to Gov. Gavin Newsom over nearly two decades, largely to his dearly held homeless initiatives. In turn, Newsom has rewarded the insurer with a $15 million no-bid contract to lead the state’s covid vaccination distribution.
For now, there’s not enough vaccine for the U.S., but that could change within a few months. Vaccinating other nations will be key to stopping the pandemic – and keeping it away from our shores.
One group of maternal health experts in 2016 urged doctors to give all women heparin shots after C-sections, barring specific medical risks for individual patients. But many physicians disagree, questioning whether wide use of the drug is effective, worth the cost and safe, since it carries the risk of bleeding.
The numbers of people wearing these monitors are soaring as prices have fallen and device-makers promote them to doctors and patients. But few studies show the devices lead to better outcomes for the nearly 25 million Americans with Type 2 diabetes who don’t inject insulin to regulate their blood sugar.
