The landmark Roe v. Wade decision could soon be overturned. Two Knoxville-based providers of reproductive health care wonder how — and if — they will continue to serve their patients.
Category: Public Health
Plummet in COVID-19 testing could be hiding infection rates
As omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 gain traction and infection “waves” slam into California, Texas, and St. Louis, infectious disease experts warn the nearly 80 percent decrease in testing over the last three months is disguising the current COVID-19…
Kaiser Permanente launches gun violence research center, funds $1.3M in grants
Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente launched a new Center for Gun Violence Research and Education alongside funding $1.3 million in grants to nine recipients June 16.
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.
AMA to FDA: Make birth control available over the counter
The American Medical Association is urging the FDA to make oral contraceptives available over-the-counter without an age restriction.
A Surgery Shatters Retirement Plans and Leads to Bankruptcy
Sherrie Foy had surgeries and medical complications that produced about $850,000 in bills. The Foys ended up declaring bankruptcy. “They took everything we had.”
CDC updates clinical guidance on monkeypox
Clinicians should not rule out monkeypox in patients with rashes considered characteristic of more common infections, such as syphilis, the CDC said in a June 14 health alert update.
It’s Hot Outside — And That’s Bad News for Children’s Health
An article in the New England Journal of Medicine takes a sweeping look at how heat — which can be a byproduct of air pollution and climate change — adversely affects people’s health, especially that of kids.
US abortion rates rise as nation awaits fate of Roe v. Wade
After more than 30 years of decline, abortions rose 8 percent in the U.S. from 2017-2020, according to a June 15 report from the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health policy and and research organization.
Buy and Bust: When Private Equity Comes for Rural Hospitals
Noble Health swept into two small Missouri towns promising to save their hospitals. Instead, workers and vendors say it stopped paying bills and government inspectors found it put patients at risk. Within two years — after taking millions in federal covid relief and big administrative fees — it locked the doors.
