Category: Multimedia

What You Need to Know About Monkeypox

For now, monkeypox poses a low risk to the U.S. public, but it could become a problem if the spread is left unchecked. Here’s what everyone should know about it.

Three-Year Abortion Trends Vary Dramatically by State

About 930,000 abortions occurred in the U.S. in 2020, an 8% increase from 2017. But that nationwide figure belies dramatic variation among states — disparities expected to magnify in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Roe v. Wade.

‘American Diagnosis’: Indigenous Advocates Work for Better Reproductive Care

From forced sterilizations in the 1960s to scant access to abortion care today, barriers to health care threaten Native people’s reproductive autonomy. Episode 7 explores efforts to protect and expand Native Americans’ access to comprehensive reproductive and sexual health care.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Supreme Court Overturns ‘Roe’

It was expected, but the reality was still jarring: The Supreme Court has formally overturned Roe v. Wade, erasing the nearly 50-year-old guarantee of abortion rights nationwide. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Sarah Varney of KHN, and Laurie Sobel, associate director for women’s health policy at KFF, join KHN’s Julie Rovner for this special episode to talk about the decision and what happens next for reproductive health care.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The FDA Goes After Nicotine

The FDA is using its power to regulate tobacco products — ordering the vaping device Juul off the market and announcing its intention to lower the amount of nicotine in cigarettes and other products. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court rules on Medicare and kidney dialysis, and Congress makes progress on legislation surrounding guns and mental health. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Noam N. Levey about the new KHN-NPR project on the growing impact of medical debt.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Closing In on Covid Vaccines for ‘The Littles’

The wait is nearly over for parents of kids under 5 as a key advisory committee to the FDA recommends authorizing a covid-19 vaccine for the youngest children. Meanwhile, Congress is struggling to fill in the details of its gun control compromise, and, as the Supreme Court prepares to throw the question of abortion legality back to the states, the number of abortions has been rising. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.

Upended: How Medical Debt Changed Their Lives

People talk about the sacrifices they made when health care forced them into debt.

100 Million People in America Are Saddled With Health Care Debt 

The U.S. health system now produces debt on a mass scale, a new investigation shows. Patients face gut-wrenching sacrifices.

Race Is Often Used as Medical Shorthand for How Bodies Work. Some Doctors Want to Change That.

Physicians have long believed it’s good medicine to consider race in health care. But recently, rather than perpetuate the myth that race governs how bodies function, a more nuanced approach has emerged: acknowledging that racial health disparities often reflect the effects of generations of systemic racism, such as lack of access to stable housing or nutritious food.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Taking a Shot at Gun Control

The U.S. House passed a package of bills seeking to keep some guns out of the hands of children and teenagers, but its fate in the Senate remains a big question mark. Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission takes on drug and hospital prices. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Cori Uccello of the American Academy of Actuaries about the most recent report from Medicare’s trustees board.