Texas Archives

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Drug Price Bill Is a Go in the Senate

Two things happened in Washington this week that were inevitable: President Joe Biden tested positive for covid-19, and the Senate agreed to move forward on a budget bill that includes only a sliver of what Biden hoped it would. Still, the bill to allow Medicare to negotiate some drug prices, cap out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors, and extend temporary subsidies for Affordable Care Act insurance premiums would represent a major step if Democrats can get it across the finish line. Meanwhile, abortion battles continue to escalate around the country, with Texas leading the way in restrictions. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Dr. Jack Resneck Jr., the new president of the American Medical Association.

July 21, 2022

A family photo shows Jacob Boggs holding his daughter Emma and standing next to his daughter Riley and his wife Courtney Boggs.

Parents Become Drug Developers to Save Their Children’s Lives

Families affected by ultra-rare diseases are starting their own companies to speed the development of treatments for their kids, venturing into territory that traditional drugmakers deem too risky.

By Jared Whitlock

July 21, 2022

A photo shows a doctor putting a bandage on an elderly patient's arm after she gets vaccinated.

COVID-19

Boost Now or Wait? Many Wonder How Best to Ride Out Covid’s Next Wave

As the country faces a rise in new infections driven by the omicron BA.5 subvariant of the coronavirus, about 70% of people 50 and older who got a first covid-19 booster shot haven't received the recommended second one, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many undervaccinated Americans have lost interest, and others aren’t sure whether to get boosted again now or wait for vaccines re51��Ƶted to target newer strains of the virus.

By Sam Whitehead and Arthur Allen

July 18, 2022

Conservative Blocs Unleash Litigation to Curb Public Health Powers

Spurred on by opposition to pandemic-related health mandates, a coalition of religious liberty groups, conservative think tanks, and Republican state attorneys general has filed a cascade of litigation seeking to rein in the powers of public health authorities.

By Lauren Weber and Anna Maria Barry-Jester

July 18, 2022

A photo shows the exterior of Crosbyton Clinic Hospital. An American flag is seen on a pole to the left of the entrance.

Rural Hospital Rescue Program Is Met With Skepticism From Administrators

A new federal rescue program that pays rural hospitals to shutter underused inpatient units and focus solely on emergency rooms and outpatient care hasn’t generated much interest yet.

By Sarah Jane Tribble and Tony Leys

July 14, 2022

Two photos are shown side-by-side. On the left are Paulina Hijar and Gilbert Shepherd standing next to each other. On the right is a close up of a notepad with recorded overdoses.

Crowdsourced Data on Overdoses Pinpoints Where to Help

University of Texas researchers are testing a program that would allow harm reduction groups to crowdsource data on fatal and nonfatal drug overdoses statewide. While the data relies on word of mouth, they say, it is more comprehensive than anything that exists now and can be used immediately to prevent overdoses.

By Renuka Rayasam

July 5, 2022

A photo shows a colorful screen with DNA mapping and a pipette.

Genetic Screening Results Just Got Harder to Handle Under New Abortion Rules

Most prenatal genetic tests aren’t performed until after 11 weeks’ gestation, and the time between drawing a sample and getting results may be additional weeks. But new abortion restrictions prevent parents from choosing an abortion when they find out their child has a genetic disease, and make the already difficult decision for them.

By Sara Reardon

June 27, 2022

A photo shows the exterior of the U.S. Supreme Court blocked by fencing. Signs on the fences read, "Area closed."

Five Things to Know Now That the Supreme Court Has Overturned Roe v. Wade

By undoing that landmark decision, the law of the land since 1973, the court has empowered states to set their own abortion restrictions — so where people live will determine their level of access.

By Victoria Knight, Rachana Pradhan, and Julie Rovner

June 24, 2022

Senator John Cornyn is seen speaking during a meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Senate Deal Raises Hopes for a Reduction in Gun Suicides

A bipartisan U.S. Senate agreement on guns that focuses on mental health raises hopes and doubts in rural Western states with high suicide rates and easy access to guns.

By Carly Graf

June 22, 2022

A photo shows two children in bathing suits playing in a yard with a sprinkler on a sunny day.

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.

By Colleen DeGuzman

June 16, 2022

Diagnosis: Debt

Upended: How Medical Debt Changed Their Lives

People talk about the sacrifices they made when health care forced them into debt.

By Noam N. Levey, Aneri Pattani, Yuki Noguchi, NPR News, and Bram Sable-Smith

June 16, 2022

A wide shot shows Audrain Community Hospital.

Patients for Profit

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.

By Sarah Jane Tribble

June 15, 2022

As Biden Fights Overdoses, Harm Reduction Groups Face Local Opposition

The Biden administration’s latest plan to address opioid overdose deaths includes $30 million for harm reduction measures, but many conservative states don’t allow them.

By Renuka Rayasam

June 14, 2022

An illustration shows a dark green diagram of air flow highlighted with lines radiating out from it. A pale green classroom is shown faded in the background.

COVID-19

Covid Funding Pries Open a Door to Improving Air Quality in Schools

Researchers say the billions in pandemic funding available for ventilation upgrades in U.S. schools provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to combat covid-19, as well as making air more breathable for students living with allergies, asthma, and chronic wildfire smoke.

By Liz Szabo

June 13, 2022

A photo shows nurses and doctors rushing a bed down a hospital corridor. They are blurred by their motion.

Trauma Surgeons Detail the Horror of Mass Shootings in the Wake of Uvalde and Call for Reforms

Trauma surgeons say that the weapons used in mass shootings are not new but that more of these especially deadly guns are on the street, causing injuries that are difficult to survive.

By Andy Miller and Lauren Sausser

June 10, 2022

Digital illustration of a person waiting in a jail cell while the pages of a calendar flip.

Long Wait for Justice: People in Jail Face Delays for Mental Health Care Before They Can Stand Trial

People in jail who have serious mental illness and cannot stand trial because of their condition are waiting months, or even more than a year, to get into their state psychiatric hospitals.

By Andy Miller and Rebecca Grapevine

June 10, 2022

A close-up photo shows hands typing on a laptop keyboard in the dark.

They Thought They Were Buying Obamacare Plans. What They Got Wasn’t Insurance.

Some consumers who think they are signing up for Obamacare insurance find out later they actually purchased a membership to a health care sharing ministry. But regulators and online advertising sites don’t do much about it.

By Bram Sable-Smith

June 7, 2022

Ruby Gadelrab (left) stands next to Katie Coleman (right). They both are smiling widely at the camera. The background shows their office, out of focus.

She’s 31, Has Stage 4 Kidney Cancer — And Talked Openly About It in a Job Interview

Katie Coleman’s friends warned her not to tell prospective employers about her cancer diagnosis, fearing it would jeopardize her chances of being hired — even though it’s illegal for employers to discriminate because of a medical condition.

By Bruce Horovitz

June 6, 2022

Podcast

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Washington’s Slow Churn

Stemming gun violence is back on the legislative agenda following three mass shootings in less than a month, but it’s hard to predict success when so many previous efforts have failed. Meanwhile, lawmakers must soon decide if they will extend current premium subsidies for those buying health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, and the Biden administration acts, belatedly, on Medicare premiums. Margot Sanger-Katz of the New York Times, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Michelle Andrews, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about a too-common problem: denial of no-cost preventive care for a colonoscopy under the Affordable Care Act.

June 2, 2022

A digital illustration in bright ink and watercolor drawn in a cartoon style. Colorful children are visible through the windows of different hotel rooms, appearing tired or concerned and holding backpacks and stuffed animals. The exterior of the buildings are painted in dark, cool tones which contrasts with the vivid interiors.

‘Desperate Situation’: States Are Housing High-Needs Foster Kids in Offices and Hotels

Some foster children with complex mental, behavioral, and physical health needs without a foster placement are having to stay in hotel rooms and even office buildings, a practice called “hoteling.”

By Sam Whitehead

June 1, 2022

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