Category: Kaiser Health News

Job-Based Health Insurance Costs Are Up 4% This Year, 55% in Past Decade

A family plan costs, on average, more than $21,000 this year and workers pay nearly $5,600 toward that cost, the annual KFF survey of employers finds.

In Debate, Pence and Harris Offer Conflicting Views of Nation’s Reality

During this, the first and only vice presidential debate of the 2020 election season, the two candidates clashed over the coronavirus and other health care issues, as well as a range of other topics.

Young Doctor Succumbs to COVID, One of the South’s Many Health Workers Lost

A 28-year-old Texas doctor tested positive in early July and died in September — one of a dozen young health workers nationwide whose deaths from the coronavirus have been profiled by KHN and The Guardian as part of the “Lost on the Frontline” project.

Moved by Plight of Young Heart Patient, Stranger Pays His Hospital Bill

A retired college professor in Las Vegas saw Matthew Fentress’ story and felt called to help. So she paid off $5,000 of his medical bill. “When you help other people, it gives you joy,” the Good Samaritan said.

Hard Lives Made Harder by COVID: Homeless Endure a ‘Slow-Moving Train Wreck’

This was supposed to be the year California finally did something about its homelessness epidemic. COVID-19 upended that promise, along with the cobbled-together services many homeless people rely on for survival. Interviews across the state reveal a new magnitude of hardship and indignity for tens of thousands of people living on the streets.

Does the Federal Health Information Privacy Law Protect President Trump?

The president’s doctors have used HIPAA — the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act — as a shield to avoid questions about the president’s COVID-19 diagnosis.

Refuge in the Storm? ACA’s Role as Safety Net Is Tested by COVID Recession

Relentlessly knocked around by politics and now headed again to the Supreme Court, the ACA is covering millions who have lost their jobs during the pandemic. But not everyone.

Lifetime Experiences Help Older Adults Build Resilience to Pandemic Trauma

These seniors use coping strategies to keep them socially active yet safe from the coronavirus.

Fighting for Patient Protections While Attacking ACA — Hard to Have It Both Ways

Montana’s Matt Rosendale and many other Republican congressional candidates face the challenge of convincing voters they support safeguards on preexisting conditions even as they oppose the Affordable Care Act, which codifies those safeguards.

One School, Two Choices: A Study in Classroom vs. Distance Learning

Most students at one Marin County school attend in person, while a dozen study from home. Those on campus are constantly nagged to use hand sanitizer and submit to the thermometer. Home-schoolers yell to their parents for help, while the parents pray that Zoom doesn’t freeze.