Category: Public Health

When Needs Arise, These Older Women Have One Another’s Backs

Many women aging alone want to hold on to their independence. But, when illness or disability strikes, they often need assistance. A program in New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco offers numerous ways to help.

Hep C And Drug Abuse Often Go Hand In Hand, But Screening For Infection Lags

As the number of people who inject drugs has soared, the rate of hepatitis C infection has climbed steeply, too, because the disease can be tied to sharing needles. Yet many drug patients are not checked for the virus that can damage the liver.

Assisted Living’s Breakneck Growth Leaves Patient Safety Behind

An analysis of inspection records in California, Florida and Texas shows significant numbers of violations related to assisted living residents with dementia.

Nurse Denied Life Insurance Because She Carries Naloxone

The U.S. surgeon general has called on “bystanders” to be equipped with the opioid reversal drug to save lives. But when a nurse answered that call, her application for life insurance was denied. Why?

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Insurance Enrollment Is Lagging — And There Are Lots Of Reasons Why

Sign-ups for insurance under the Affordable Care Act are still well behind last year’s mark with just a week until the end of open enrollment in most states. The Supreme Court declines a case that could have allowed states to defund Planned Parenthood. And the Trump administration gets hundreds of thousands of comments about its proposed changes to immigration rules that could penalize people who use government-funded health care and other social service programs. Alice Ollstein of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and, for “extra credit,” provide their favorite health policy stories of the week.

In Grandma’s Stocking: An Apple Watch To Monitor Falls, Track Heart Rhythms

The new-generation gadget is designed to alert and protect wearers from falls and heart problems, expanding Apple’s target audience beyond the usual, tech-savvy, early adopters to those with older tickers.

Feds Order More Weekend Inspections Of Nursing Homes To Catch Understaffing

Medicare instructs inspectors to look for staffing inadequacies in homes that report suspiciously low numbers of registered nurses and weekend workers.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Reading The Tea Leaves In Blue Wave’s Wake

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Mary Agnes Carey of Kaiser Health News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Ollstein of Politico and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News discuss the impact of House Democratic leadership elections and their impact on health policy; as well as efforts by the Trump administration to address high drug prices and ensure the safety of medical devices. Plus, Julie Rovner interviews KHN’s Jay Hancock about the latest “Bill of the Month.”

One Twin’s Difficult Birth Puts A Project Designed To Reduce C-Sections To The Test

A woman had twins in a hospital south of Boston, and for doctors aiming to reduce cesarean sections, the second baby’s tricky arrival tested the limits of teamwork.

One Twin’s Difficult Birth Puts A Project Designed To Reduce C-Sections To The Test

A woman had twins in a hospital south of Boston, and for doctors aiming to reduce cesarean sections, the second baby’s tricky arrival tested the limits of teamwork.