Category: Health Industry

Dialysis Industry Spends Millions, Emerges as Power Player in California Politics

Over the past four years, the dialysis industry has spent $233 million on both political offense and defense in California. Most of it went toward protecting its revenues against ballot initiatives, but the industry also strategically worked the corridors of the state Capitol.

It’s Time to Scare People About COVID

Our public messaging about the virus should explain the real costs — in graphic terms — of catching the virus.

Think Your Health Care Is Covered? Beware of the ‘Junk’ Insurance Plan

Millions of people are looking for coverage on the federal and state marketplaces right now. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference between a comprehensive plan and a “junk” plan with limited benefits and coverage restrictions.

What Happened When the Only ER Doctor in a Rural Town Got COVID

Hospitals across the country are struggling as staffers get infected with the coronavirus. It’s especially tough for small, rural hospitals, where even one doctor out sick can upend patient capacity.

After a Deadly COVID Outbreak, Maryland County Takes Steps to Protect Health Workers

Prince George’s County in Maryland is taking action after a coronavirus outbreak left veteran public health worker Chantee Mack dead and several colleagues with lasting medical problems. But some staffers say more still needs to be done to keep public health workers on the front lines of the COVID fight safe.

NYC Hospital Workers, Knowing How Bad It Can Get, Brace for COVID 2nd Wave

Hospitals are in better shape now than in the spring, with more knowledge of how to handle COVID-19 and bigger stockpiles of protective equipment. Still, nurses worry about staffing shortages and unfilled jobs.

Come for Your Eye Exam, Leave With a Band-Aid on Your Arm

Dentists and optometrists across the country are trying to join in the fight to get everyone vaccinated against COVID-19, the flu and other diseases.

As Hospitals Fill With COVID Patients, Medical Reinforcements Are Hard to Find

More than 93,000 COVID patients are hospitalized across the country. But beds and space aren’t the main concern for hospital administrators — It’s the health care workforce.

OSHA Let Employers Decide Whether to Report Health Care Worker Deaths. Many Didn’t.

Four workers died at a facility with one of the largest U.S. outbreaks, but the Occupational Safety and Health Administration never conducted an inspection. It’s a pattern that’s played out across the nation, a KHN investigation finds.

Thousands of Doctors’ Offices Buckle Under Financial Stress of COVID

Across the nation, primary care practices that were already struggling are closing, victims of the pandemic’s financial fallout. And this is reducing access to health care, especially in rural and other regions already short on doctors.