Category: Kaiser Health News

Deep Roots Help This Chicago Pharmacist Avoid Creating Another Drugstore Desert

Predominantly Black and Hispanic urban areas are more likely than white neighborhoods to see local pharmacies close and are more likely to be pharmacy deserts. In Chicago, one pharmacist is bucking the trend, operating the drugstore his father opened in the 1960s in a Black neighborhood.

As Patients Fell Ill With Covid Inside Hospitals, Government Oversight Fell Short

A KHN investigation finds that hospitals with high rates of covid patients who didn’t have the diagnosis when they were admitted have rarely been held accountable due to multiple gaps in government oversight.

Nursing Homes Bleed Staff as Amazon Lures Low-Wage Workers With Prime Packages

Add nursing homes to the list of industries jolted by Amazon’s handsome hourly wages. Enticed by an average starting pay rate of $18 an hour and the potential for benefits and signing bonuses, low-wage workers are fleeing entry-level elder care for jobs packing boxes.

Record Number of Americans Sign Up for ACA Health Insurance

Nearly 14 million Americans have enrolled in Affordable Care Act marketplace health plans for next year — a record since the health law’s coverage expansion took effect in 2014. A boost in subsidies marketing and assistance in navigating the process increased the rolls of the insured.

Watch: One City’s Effort to Raise Vaccination Rates Among Black Residents

In Hartford, Connecticut, public health leaders engage barbers and faith leaders to combat vaccine skepticism in the Black community.

Rural Communities Left Hurting Without a Hospital, Ambulance or Doctors Nearby

Rural areas such as Echols County, Georgia, have high levels of uninsured people and profound physician shortages that compound the lack of health care options, especially in the 12 states that have not expanded Medicaid.

An Anesthesiology Practice’s Busy Day in Court Collecting on Surprise Bills

Legislative crackdowns on out-of-network bills haven’t kept specialists from hitting patients with unexpected charges running into thousands of dollars.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Manchin Blows Up Biden’s ‘Build Back Better’

Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on Acast. You can also listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) dashed the hopes of President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats for passage of the giant “Build Back Better” bill before the end of […]

‘An Arm and a Leg’: The Rapid-Test Edition: Who’s Making a Buck?

In this episode, host Dan Weissmann talks to reporters who investigated the shortage of tests and traced the U.S. rapid-testing problem back to government agencies.

Layers of Subcontracted Services Confuse and Frustrate Medi-Cal Patients

Many of the 14 million patients in Medi-Cal are in managed care health plans that outsource their care to subcontractors or sub-subcontractors. For patients with difficult health care needs, it can be hard to know where to turn.