Category: Kaiser Health News

Pandemic Funding Is Running Out for Community Health Workers

Illinois used federal pandemic money to hire community health workers who connect people with food banks and rental assistance programs, just like public health officials have long hoped to do. What will happen to the community trust that has been built up when the federal money runs out and the workers disappear?

Tennessee Offers to Expand Dental Schools as Medicaid Coverage Stretches Need

As states expand Medicaid’s dental benefits, they’re running up against a shortage of dentists willing to work on those patients, especially in rural communities. So Tennessee is helping dental schools expand and offering to pay off student loans for those who work in high-need areas.

Reaction to the RaDonda Vaught Verdict: KHN Wants to Hear From Nurses

KHN is asking nurses and other medical professionals to weigh in on the conviction of RaDonda Vaught, a former Tennessee nurse who administered the wrong drug to a patient, killing her.

Delays for Autism Diagnosis and Treatment Grew Even Longer During the Pandemic

Despite increased public awareness, research advances, and wider insurance coverage for autism therapies, children often wait months — in some cases more than a year — to get an autism diagnosis and begin intervention services. The waits can be longer for Black and Latino children, and families in rural areas are also disadvantaged, without access to providers.

Covid and Schizophrenia: Why This Deadly Mix Can Deepen Knowledge of the Brain Disease

Recent studies from around the world have found that people with schizophrenia are as much as five times as likely to die from covid-19 as the general population. Scientists think the findings suggest schizophrenia is not just a disease of the brain, but also a disease of the immune system.

As Red States Push Strident Abortion Bans, Other Restrictions Suddenly Look Less Extreme

The Supreme Court’s conservative majority has yet to make clear its stand on Roe v. Wade. But state lawmakers aren’t waiting to consider a variety of extreme measures: bills that would ban abortions in cases of ectopic pregnancies, allow rapists’ families to object to terminating a victim’s pregnancy, or prohibit the procedure in the case of fetal disability. Do these proposals make the less extreme restrictions seem more mainstream?

‘American Diagnosis’: ‘Water Warriors’ Tap Diné Resilience to Increase Access on Navajo Land

Over decades, federal and state policies have left many tribal communities without access to clean, running water. This episode explores what separates some Diné and other Native people in the western United States from this critical resource.

Colorado Doubles Down on Abortion Rights as Other States — And the High Court — Reconsider

The Supreme Court is expected to overturn or weaken “Roe v. Wade.” If that happens, Colorado may become an abortion-access island, nearly surrounded by a sea of anti-abortion states. The state is bracing for impact, and advocates are trying to shore up its abortion defenses.

At a Tennessee Crossroads, Two Pharmacies, a Monkey, and Millions of Pills

Prosecutors say opioid-seeking patients drove hours to get their prescriptions filled in Celina, Tennessee, where pharmacies ignored signs of substance misuse and paid cash — or “monkey bucks” — to keep customers coming back.

‘An Arm and a Leg’: A Fight for the Right to Help

It’s illegal for a person who isn’t a lawyer to give even basic legal advice to people being sued for medical debt. Two New Yorkers are suing to change that.