COVID-19 hospitalizations have fallen for the second week after the U.S. noted a slight uptick every week since July, according to CDC data.
Category: Public Health
Facing Criticism, Feds Award First Maternal Health Grant to a Predominantly Black Rural Area
Mississippi has the highest rate of Black maternal mortality and morbidity in the U.S. Now, it also has a federal grant to help in rural areas. The award could signal more flexibility from federal officials.
Unraveling the complex enigma of obesity [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! We sit down with Franchell Hamilton, a bariatric surgeon, to explore the intriguing link between genetics, brain function, and obesity. She shares her insights into why many patients don…
Social Security Overpayments Draw Scrutiny and Outrage From Members of Congress
Lawmakers are faulting the Social Security Administration for issuing billions of dollars of payments that beneficiaries weren’t entitled to receive — and then demanding the money back — in the wake of an investigation by KFF Health News and Cox Media Group.
HHS unveils $104M project to combat antibiotic resistance
HHS is awarding up to $104 million to a project to combat the growing threat of drug-resistant bacteria, which account for nearly 3.8 million infections a year in the U.S.
US adults more likely to get vaccinated for flu vs COVID this fall
Despite the emergence of new variants and even after weeks of rising COVID-19 hospitalizations nationwide, 40 percent of Americans are not planning to get the new vaccine, according to survey data from the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
Readers Rail at Social Security Overpayments and Insurers’ Prior Authorizations
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
New Medicare Advantage Plans Tailor Offerings to Asian Americans, Latinos, and LGBTQ+
As more seniors opt for Medicare Advantage, a few small insurers have begun offering plans that provide culturally targeted benefits for cohorts including Asian Americans, Latinos, and LGBTQ+ people. The approach, policy researchers say, has potential and perils.
KFF Health News’ ‘What the Health?’: More Medicaid Messiness
At least 30 states are reinstating coverage for children wrongly removed from the rolls under Medicaid redetermination, the federal government reported. It’s just the latest hiccup in the massive effort to review the eligibility of Medicaid beneficiaries now that the program’s pandemic-era expansion has expired. And federal oversight of the so-called unwinding would be further complicated by an impending government shutdown. Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of Pink Sheet join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Samantha Liss, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature, about a hospital bill that followed a deceased patient’s family for more than a year.
As Covid Infections Rise, Nursing Homes Are Still Waiting for Vaccines
“People want covid-19 to be in the rearview mirror,” one nursing home official says. Faced with a slow rollout of the updated covid vaccines, and without state mandates for workers to get vaccinated, most skilled nursing facilities are relying on persuasion to boost vaccination rates among staff and residents.
