Category: Kaiser Health News

Tech Glitches at One VA Site Raise Concerns About a Nationwide Rollout

Blurb: The more than $16 billion, decade-long effort by the Department of Veterans Affairs was designed to provide seamless electronic health records for patients from enlistment in the military past discharge.

Losing Sleep Over the Pandemic? Work Flexibility May Be a Boon for Night Owls’ Health

Many sleep scientists maintain that people who prefer to stay up late could improve their mental and physical health by synchronizing their natural sleep cycles with workday demands. The flexible work schedules that came with covid’s work-from-home trend, according to one new study, backs up this idea.

Why Nurses Are Raging and Quitting After the RaDonda Vaught Verdict

The former Tennessee nurse faces prison time for a fatal error. Reaction from her peers was swift and fierce on social media and beyond ― and it isn’t over.

ACA Sign-Ups for Low-Income People Roll Out Amid Brokers’ Concerns About Losing Their Cut

The Biden administration unveiled a new special enrollment option aimed at signing up low-income Americans for Affordable Care Act coverage — even if it is outside of the usual annual open enrollment period. But insurers are cutting broker commissions at the same time.

Travel in the Time of Covid: Getting There Is Easy — It’s Getting Home That’s Hard

The part of my London visit that I didn’t plan was testing positive for the coronavirus. I couldn’t get back to the U.S., but the U.K. didn’t care what I did or where I went.

Patients’ Perilous Months-Long Waiting for Medicaid Coverage Is a Sign of What’s to Come

The pandemic crisis has overwhelmed understaffed state Medicaid agencies, already delaying access to the insurance program in Missouri. As the public health emergency ends, low-income people nationwide could find it even harder to have coverage.

Insulin Copay Cap Passes House Hurdle, But Senate Looks for a Broader Bill

Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) are seeking to craft a compromise that members from both parties could accept. Their plan, still being ironed out, would not guarantee a specific limit on out-of-pocket costs but seeks to roll back insulin prices by barring rebate payments to pharmacy benefit managers.

Record Fines Might Mean California Is Finally Serious About Improving Medi-Cal

California regulators issued record fines against L.A. Care, the state’s largest Medi-Cal managed-care plan, for providing inadequate care to its enrollees. But whether the penalties are a sign that the state will make a more forceful effort to improve Medi-Cal’s overall quality of care remains to be seen.

As US Nears 1 Million Covid Deaths, One Hard-Hit County Grapples With Unthinkable Loss

The United States is nearing 1 million deaths from covid — an almost incomprehensible number of lives lost that few thought possible when the pandemic began. Pennsylvania’s Mifflin County offers a snapshot into how one hard-hit community, with over 300 dead, is coping.

Black Students Experiencing Racism on Campus Lack Mental Health Support

Black students at many predominantly white colleges are speaking out about the racial hostility they’ve experienced, which contributes to depression, elevated stress levels, and anxiety. But the students are often not getting the mental health help they need on campus.