Category: states

Sex In The Time Of COVID: Gay Men Begin To Embrace A ‘New Normal’

Like other people, many men who have sex with men have done all they could to avoid the coronavirus. Now some are braving renewed contact while balancing risk.

States Search for Ways to Deal With COVID-19 Testing Backlogs

With COVID-19 tests bogged down in backlogs, some states that relied on private laboratories, such as Quest Diagnostics, are trying to adapt as caseloads rise.

Medicaid Mystery: Millions of Enrollees Haven’t Materialized in California

State officials had projected that 2 million Californians would join Medi-Cal, the state’s health insurance program for low-income people, by July because of the economic devastation wrought by COVID-19. Yet enrollment has barely budged, and why is unclear.

Ever Heard of a Surgical Assistant? Meet a New Boost to Your Medical Bills

A college student’s bill for outpatient knee surgery is a whopper — $96K — but the most mysterious part is a $1,167 charge from a health care provider she didn’t even know was in the operating room.

Essential and in Danger: Coronavirus Sickens, Even Kills Public Health Workers

As the coronavirus threatens the nation’s public health army, an outbreak in Maryland reflects the tension between serving the community and protecting workers from a deadly disease.

Scientists Want to Know More About Using UV Light to Fight COVID-19 Spread

‘Germicidal’ ultraviolet light technology has a proven track record against indoor transmission of tuberculosis and other airborne microbes. It’s now being used in some restaurants and on subways.

An Ickier Outbreak: Trench Fever Spread by Lice Is Found in Denver

Three people around Denver have confirmed cases of trench fever, and another person is suspected of having the rare disease, carried by body lice. A scourge during World War I, the illness is the latest problem to emerge as everyone’s attention is diverted to COVID-19.

As Coronavirus Patients Skew Younger, Tracing Task Seems All But Impossible

Although younger people are hospitalized and die less frequently than their elders when infected with COVID-19, their cases are harder to trace. As a result, the virus is spreading uncontrollably throughout much of Southern California. Even hospital staffs are affected by community spread.

Must-Reads of the Week

KHN’s Midwest correspondent Lauren Weber drills through the vital health care policy stories of the week, so you don’t have to.