Category: Multimedia

Patients Went Into the Hospital for Care. After Testing Positive There for Covid, Some Never Came Out.

About 21% of patients diagnosed with covid during a hospital stay died, according to data analyzed for KHN. In-hospital rates of spread varied widely and patients had no way of checking them.

‘Not Quite on Board’: Parents Proving a Tough Sell on Covid Vax for Teens

Even as the U.S. prepares to roll out a covid-19 vaccine to elementary school-aged kids, its efforts to inoculate teenagers — who have been eligible for the shot since May — continue to meet with a lackluster response. So far, about half of kids 12 to 17 are fully vaccinated in the U.S., compared with […]

‘An Arm and a Leg’: Need Surgery to Save Your Life? Tips for Getting Insurance to Pay

Laurie Todd calls herself the “Insurance Warrior” and is sharing her strategies for getting health insurance companies to bend to her will.

Texas Abortion Law Gets Speedy High-Court Hearing Monday

The Supreme Court justices, who accepted the case only 10 days before the arguments will be made, may skirt the issue of abortion and concentrate instead on the legality of the law’s unusual tack to let private citizens enforce it.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Biden Social-Spending ‘Framework’ Pulls Back on Key Health Pledges

President Joe Biden unveiled a compromise “Build Back Better” framework shortly before taking off for key meetings in Europe, but it’s unclear whether the framework can win the votes of all Democrats in the House and Senate, and it leaves out some of the party’s health priorities, notably significant provisions to lower prescription drug prices. Meanwhile, younger children may soon be eligible for covid vaccines. Joanne Kenen of Politico and Johns Hopkins, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet and Rachana Pradhan of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

How Billing Turns a Routine Birth Into a High-Cost Emergency

“Obstetrical emergency departments” are a new feature in some hospitals that can inflate medical bills for even the easiest, healthiest births. Just ask the parents of Baby Gus.

‘No Mercy’ Bonus Episodes: More From Fort Scott, Kansas

Check out the latest bonus episodes from the award-winning “Where It Hurts” podcast.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Dems Agree to Agree, But Not on What to Agree On

Negotiations on the health parts of President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda are getting serious but have yet to produce a deal every Democrat can support. Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration remains without a nominated leader but manages to take the first steps toward approving over-the-counter hearing aids. Joanne Kenen of Politico and Johns Hopkins, Tami Luhby of CNN and Rachel Cohrs of Stat 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.

Scientists Search for Cause of Mysterious Covid-Related Inflammation in Children

Scientists treating kids for MIS-C point to rare genes, leaky guts and a “superantigen.”

California’s Mental Health Crisis: What Went Wrong? And Can We Fix It?

KHN’s Angela Hart leads a lively discussion on the challenges facing California’s mental health care system and potential solutions. The panel was part of a broader symposium on mental health and addiction hosted by the Sacramento-based publication Capitol Weekly.