Category: states

Never Mind Toys, It’s Time to Ask Santa for Crutches and Catheters

As hospitals juggle holiday covid surges and all their other patients, the global supply chain crisis has left them short of critical supplies.

From ‘Physician Assistant’ to Medicare, Readers and Tweeters Mince No Words

KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

When the Surges Just Keep Coming: A View From the Covid Vortex

Fresno County, one of California’s persistent covid-19 hot spots, is experiencing an autumn surge that once again has overwhelmed area hospitals. KHN spoke with Interim Health Officer Dr. Rais Vohra about leading the charge in a region where many people remain anti-mask and vaccine-wary.

Data Science Proved What Pittsburgh’s Black Leaders Knew: Racial Disparities Compound Covid Risk

Inside the Black Equity Coalition’s novel effort to share community health intel and scrape government data to understand — and document — the life-threatening differences between white and Black Pittsburgh.

Texas Toughens Ban on Medication-by-Mail Abortions With Jail Time and Hefty Fine

Last week, on the same day the Supreme Court heard a case that could overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling on abortion rights, Texas enacted a law that creates criminal penalties for anyone who prescribes medication abortions via telehealth or mail.

Is It Time to Change the Definition of ‘Fully Vaccinated’?

Experts weigh in as the federal government urges everyone to get boosted amid concerns over omicron, a new covid variant.

A Tale of Two Medicaid Expansions: Oklahoma Jumps In, While Missouri Lags

Voters in Missouri and Oklahoma approved Medicaid expansion to begin in 2021. But while Oklahoma has enrolled over 200,000 people so far, Missouri has enrolled fewer than 20,000. Why are two such similar states handling the public insurance rollout so differently?

New California Law Eases Aid-in-Dying Process

Nearly 2,000 terminally ill Californians have used a 2015 law to end their lives with a doctor’s assistance. A revision of the law will make it easier to do so.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Roe v. Wade on the Rocks

A Supreme Court majority appears ready to overturn nearly 50 years of abortion rights, at least judging by the latest round of oral arguments before the justices. And a new covid variant, omicron, gains attention as it spreads around the world. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Blake Farmer of Nashville Public Radio about the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode.

Hospitals Refused to Give Patients Ivermectin. Lockdowns and Political Pressure Followed.

Hospitals in Montana and Idaho reported threats and harassment from public officials and family members of patients who were denied treatment with a drug not authorized to treat covid-19.