Category: Multimedia

KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: Bird Flu Lands as the Next Public Health Challenge

Public health authorities are closely watching an unusual strain of bird flu that has infected dairy cows in nine states and at least one dairy worker. Meanwhile, another major health system suffered a cyberattack, and Congress is moving to extend the availability of telehealth services. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Atul Grover of the Association of American Medical Colleges about its recent analysis showing that graduating medical students are avoiding training in states with abortion bans and major restrictions.

Tribal Nations Invest Opioid Settlement Funds in Traditional Healing to Treat Addiction

Hundreds of Native American tribes are getting money from settlements with companies that made or sold prescription painkillers. Some are investing it in sweat lodges, statistical models, and insurance-billing staffers.

Why One New York Health System Stopped Suing Its Patients

Most U.S. hospitals aggressively pursue patients for unpaid bills. One New York hospital system decided to work with them instead.

KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: Newly Minted Doctors Are Avoiding Abortion Ban States

For the second year in a row, medical school graduates across specialties are shying away from applying for residency training in states with abortion bans or significant restrictions, according to a new study. Meanwhile, Medicare’s trustees report that the program will be able to pay its bills longer than expected — which could discourage Congress from acting to address the program’s long-term financial woes. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins University schools of nursing and public health and Politico Magazine, and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more.

Paid Sick Leave Sticks After Many Pandemic Protections Vanish

The U.S. is one of nine countries that do not guarantee paid sick leave. Since the covid pandemic, advocates in states including Missouri, Alaska, and Nebraska are organizing to take the issue to voters with ballot initiatives this November.

Could Better Inhalers Help Patients, and the Planet?

Puff inhalers can be lifesavers for people with asthma and other respiratory diseases, but some types release potent greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change. That, in turn, worsens wildfires, contributes to air pollution, and intensifies allergy seasons — which can increase the need for inhalers. Some doctors are helping patients switch to more eco-sensitive inhalers.

KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: Abortion Access Changing Again in Florida and Arizona

A six-week abortion ban took effect in Florida this week, dramatically restricting access to the procedure not just in the nation’s third-most-populous state but across the South. Patients from states with even more restrictive bans had been flooding in since the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022. Meanwhile, the CEO of the health behemoth UnitedHealth Group appeared before committees in both the House and Senate, where lawmakers grilled him about the February cyberattack on subsidiary Change Healthcare and how its ramifications are being felt months later. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Rachana Pradhan of KFF Health News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.

DIY Gel Manicures May Harm Your Health

A TikTok user claims to have developed an allergy from DIY gel nails. What gives? An allergist weighed in. Let’s walk through what happened in this viral video.

DIY Gel Manicures May Harm Your Health

A TikTok user claims to have developed an allergy from DIY gel nails. What gives? An allergist weighed in. Let’s walk through what happened in this viral video.

WHO Overturns Dogma on Airborne Disease Spread. The CDC Might Not Act on It.

After grave missteps in the covid pandemic, the World Health Organization revisited the science and now confirms that many respiratory viruses are inhaled as airborne particles. The new framework implies that stopping transmission relies on costly measures like ventilation and masking.