Category: Kaiser Health News

Trickle of Covid Relief Funds Helps Fill Gaps in Rural Kids’ Mental Health Services

Only a sliver of the funding given to state, local, and tribal governments through the American Rescue Plan Act has been steered to mental health nationwide, but mental health advocates and clinicians hope the money it provides will help address gaps in care for children. In Appalachian Ohio, the funding is helping expand services.

Treating Long Covid Is Rife With Guesswork

With a dearth of evidence on effective treatments for long covid, patients and doctors in 400 clinics around the country still rely on trial and error.

California Aims to Maximize Health Insurance Subsidies for Workers During Labor Disputes

Workers who lose employer-based health coverage during a strike or lockout will have access to a full-subsidy plan through Covered California.

Schools, Sheriffs, and Syringes: State Plans Vary for Spending $26B in Opioid Settlement Funds

The cash represents an unprecedented opportunity to derail the opioid epidemic, but with countless groups advocating for their share of the pie, the impact could depend heavily on geography and politics.

Patient Mistrust and Poor Access Hamper Federal Efforts to Overhaul Family Planning

For decades, many women of color, particularly those with low incomes, had little control over their family planning care. Now, a White House effort aims to give patients more choices as abortion care evaporates, but patients remain wary of providers.

Audits — Hidden Until Now — Reveal Millions in Medicare Advantage Overcharges

Taxpayers had to foot the bills for care that should have cost far less, according to records released after KHN filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act. The government may seek to recover up to $650 million as a result.

Audits — Hidden Until Now — Reveal Millions in Medicare Advantage Overcharges

Taxpayers had to foot the bills for care that should have cost far less, according to records released after KHN filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act. The government may seek to recover up to $650 million as a result.

After Election Win, California’s AG Turns to Investigating Hospital Algorithms for Racial Bias

Attorney General Rob Bonta handily won election on a progressive, social justice platform. He’s already begun with an inquiry into hospital software programs that might bake in racial discrimination.

Mistrust and Polarization Steer Rural Governments to Reject Federal Public Health Funding

As the covid-19 pandemic grinds on, Elko County, Nevada, still lacks a public health department. Yet its elected leaders rejected federal funds that could have helped it create one. Decisions like the one in Elko, and ones made by officials with other state and local governments, leave health experts concerned about whether the country’s public health infrastructure will be prepared to handle future health challenges.

As STDs Proliferate, Companies Rush to Market At-Home Test Kits. But Are They Reliable?

The popularity of at-home covid tests has amplified calls from public health researchers and diagnostic companies to make home testing similarly routine for sexually transmitted diseases. But FDA guidelines are lagging.