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In carrying out the federal covid-19 鈥渢est-to-treat鈥 initiative, California is targeting the uninsured by outfitting 138 testing sites with screenings for free antiviral drugs. But as of mid-June, fewer than 800 people had been prescribed the medicines. And two-thirds of those undergoing screenings are insured.
Today, debt from medical and dental bills touches nearly every corner of American society.
Have you been forced into debt because of a medical or dental bill? Have you had to make any changes in your life because of such debt? Have you been pursued by debt collectors for a medical bill? We want to hear about it.
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 鈥 after taking millions in federal covid relief and big administrative fees 鈥 it locked the doors.
One million Americans have died from covid-19 鈥 far more per capita than in any other developed country. A new variant is doubling case rates in some states, and more than 300 people are dying a day. But our nation鈥檚 pandemic response has become mild-mannered and performative, backed by neither money, urgency, nor enforcement.
Under the Affordable Care Act, insurers cannot charge consumers for various preventive services that have been recommended by experts. But if those screenings indicate more testing is needed to determine whether something is wrong, patients may be on the hook for hundreds or even thousands of dollars for diagnostic services.
The Biden administration鈥檚 latest plan to address opioid overdose deaths includes $30 million for harm reduction measures, but many conservative states don鈥檛 allow them.
Physicians have long believed it鈥檚 good medicine to consider race in health care. But recently, rather than perpetuate the myth that race governs how bodies function, a more nuanced approach has emerged: acknowledging that racial health disparities often reflect the effects of generations of systemic racism, such as lack of access to stable housing or nutritious food.
In early 2022, Illinois joined a growing number of states where lawmakers and school leaders are trying to combat the ongoing student mental health crisis by granting days off for mental health needs.
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.
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here鈥檚 a collection of their appearances.
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.
Colorado is among about 15 states that have met federal goals to reduce infant mortality, an important indicator of overall population health. Breaking down the data by race and ethnicity, though, makes clear that major gaps remain.
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.
The Biden administration is considering whether Medicaid, which pays the bills for 62% of nursing home residents, should require that most of that funding be used to provide care, rather than for maintenance, capital improvements, or profits.
The U.S. House passed a package of bills seeking to keep some guns out of the hands of children and teenagers, but its fate in the Senate remains a big question mark. Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission takes on drug and hospital prices. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Cori Uccello of the American Academy of Actuaries about the most recent report from Medicare鈥檚 trustees board.
Eye exams for children are required under federal law to be covered by most private health plans and Medicaid, and many states mandate school vision screenings. But a federal survey finds that a quarter of children and teens are still not getting the recommended tests.
State Sen. Scott Wiener opens up about a weeklong stint in the hospital last year and what it鈥檚 like to live with Crohn鈥檚 disease. The San Francisco Democrat is pushing a bill that would require insurance companies to cover certain medications while patients appeal denials.
Research out this week examines how an area鈥檚 political environment can affect its mortality rate.
Despite a consensus that patients should be able to get mental health care from primary care doctors, insurance policies and financial incentives may not support that.
