Category: states

How One Health Center Is Leading Chicago on Kid Covid Shots

A health center with clinics on Chicago’s southwest side that serves mostly Hispanic patients has provided the most covid shots to kids in the city by being accessible, (literally) speaking the language of the community and setting up pop-up clinics at schools and parks. It provides a few lessons as the nation gears up to vaccinate 5- to 11-year-olds.

Western Boom Cities See Spike in Harmful Ozone

Vehicle emissions, oil and gas drilling and climate change have combined to create more days with unhealthy levels of the colorless, odorless gas from Denver to Phoenix.

‘Drinking Through a Lead Straw’ — $15B Approved to Fix Dangerous Water Pipes

The infrastructure bill passed Friday funnels $15 billion into lead pipe remediation. Water quality experts say the cost of getting rid of all lead pipes could ultimately cost $60 billion. Still, some health advocates say the new funding will be transformative in allowing communities such as Houston’s Fifth Ward to fix its pipes.

Texas Providers See Increased Interest in Birth Control Since Near-Total Abortion Ban

But providers do not expect contraception to blunt the law’s effects.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Compromise Is Coming — Maybe

Democratic negotiators on Capitol Hill appear to be nearing a compromise on President Joe Biden’s social spending agenda, spurred partly by Democratic losses on Election Day in Virginia. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court hints it might allow abortion providers to sue Texas over its restrictive new ban. But the relief, if it comes, could be short-lived if the court uses a second case, challenging a law in Mississippi, to weaken or overturn Roe v. Wade. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Rae Ellen Bichell, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about an emergency bill for a nonemergency birth.

Few Acute Care Hospitals Escaped Readmissions Penalties

More than 9 in 10 general acute-care hospitals have been penalized at least once in the past decade.

Uninsured in South Would Win Big in Democrats’ Plan, but Hospitals Fear Funding Loss

The latest iteration of President Joe Biden’s social-spending package would close the health insurance gap for at least 2.2 million people, making a huge difference especially in the South, where political opposition has blocked Medicaid expansion.

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.

Montana’s Governor Nixed a Kids’ Vaccine Campaign, So Health Officials Plan Their Own

A former Montana health department leader said Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte’s administration killed a public service campaign planned for last summer that promoted covid vaccines for teens. Health organizations want to fill the void with information on vaccines for children 5 and up.

Unvaccinated? Don’t Count on Leaving Your Family Death Benefits

Blurb: Some front-line workers who die of covid-19 have been considered eligible for accidental death benefits because it is presumed their infection was contracted on the job. But some employers now suggest that if the workers didn’t follow established safety protocols, such as getting vaccinated, those benefits may be denied.