Category: Louisiana

Black and Hispanic Americans Suffer Most in Biggest US Decline in Life Expectancy Since WWII

Even those not infected by the virus could suffer health problems related to poverty, job loss, eviction — or all of the above. And the pandemic drove the nation’s largest decline in life expectancy since World War II.

Rural Hospital Remains Entrenched in Covid ‘War’ Even Amid Vaccine Rollout

Louisiana’s St. James Parish Hospital thought the vaccine would mean the end of its long covid fight. Then the ICU beds surrounding them ran out.

Colorado Initiative Would Further Limit Access in Middle America’s ‘Abortion Desert’

Colorado voters will decide whether to ban most abortions after 22 weeks of pregnancy, which would eliminate a haven for people seeking to end their pregnancies in the Midwest and Mountain West.

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: High Court’s Surprising Abortion Decision

In a decision that surprised both sides of the polarized abortion debate, the Supreme Court struck down a Louisiana law that would require doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Jennifer Haberkorn of the Los Angeles Times join KHN’s Julie Rovner to break down what happened, what comes next and how this case could provide a clue to the one challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.

Supreme Court, Rejecting Restrictive La. Law, Refuses To Roll Back Abortion Rights

Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court’s liberals in the 5-4 decision that strikes down a state law requiring doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.

White House Left States On Their Own To Buy Ventilators. Inside Their Mad Scramble.

Although laws prohibit price gouging on precious resources in times of emergency, states have been forced to compete for a share of the nation’s stockpile of ventilators — used to treat the sickest COVID patients — or pay top dollar on sideline deals. With quality and quantity control lacking, what happens when the pandemic’s second wave hits?

Listen: Pandemic Stresses Already Fragile Rural Health Care Systems

KHN Midwest correspondent Lauren Weber joined WAMU’s “1A” show to talk about the challenges facing rural America during the COVID-19 pandemic.

‘When It Starts Getting Into Your Local Hospital, It Becomes Real’

Located about 45 minutes from New Orleans in one of the hardest-hit counties nationally, the 25-bed rural St. James Parish Hospital has hunkered down as staffers became infected, patient intake numbers have doubled, and intubations have skyrocketed. This is what it looks like inside a rural hospital when COVID-19 hits.

Pandemic-Stricken Cities Have Empty Hospitals, But Reopening Them Is Difficult

In Philadelphia, New Orleans and Los Angeles, former safety-net hospitals sit empty in the middle of the city. But reopening a closed hospital, even in the midst of a pandemic when health resources are scarce, is not easy or cheap.

High Court Revisits Abortion Law Akin To One Struck Down In 2016

The justices will hear a case Tuesday involving a Louisiana law requiring abortion providers to be able to admit patients to a nearby hospital. But four years ago, the court said a similar Texas law was unconstitutional.