The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
Face it: Drug names can be kooky. And Comirnaty 鈥 the brand-new brand name for the Pfizer-BioNTech covid vaccine 鈥 is a candidate for the kookiest. Take this tongue-in-cheek quiz to see how many brand-name drug names you can pick out from the decoys.
KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal joins “CBS This Morning” to discuss the latest Bill of the Month installment, in which a man discovered the hard way that health plans can vary from one job to the next, even if the insurer is the same.
A change in FDA rules during the pandemic has let women receive the drugs needed for a medical abortion by mail after a telemedicine appointment. While some abortion rights advocates hail the move, others note that these services, which are often cheaper than going to a clinic, could siphon away patients needed to keep those brick-and-mortar facilities operating.
Fall and football go hand in hand. But with covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths soaring from the delta variant, is it safe to go to the stadium? KHN asks the experts.
Lynn Casteel Harper, a minister at the interdenominational Riverside Church in New York City, discusses the spiritual dimension of aging.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom鈥檚 pandemic policies are effectively on California鈥檚 Sept. 14 recall ballot 鈥 and the electorate views them with a mix of resentment, gratitude and disillusionment.
How a sexual assault survivor is questioned by police can greatly influence the ability to access memories of the traumatic incident. Better interview techniques might help solve more cases.
Back-to-school season has fueled immediate covid outbreaks. Instead of beefing up protections, some districts are letting students go without masks, physical distancing and quarantines. And parents are left to make impossibly tough decisions.
Televisits took off during the worst days of the pandemic, but states are now rolling back the temporary rules that facilitated them. That鈥檚 adding fuel to debates about states鈥 authority over medical licensing.
Zoom in on states with overall good vaccination rates and you see a checkerboard effect, with rural areas far lagging urban zones. That鈥檚 allowed the pandemic to rage in places like Jackson County, Oregon, overwhelming hospitals.
After months of burnout from the pandemic, hospitals are scrambling to fill nursing and other jobs. Some administrators, particularly in rural areas, are afraid to implement vaccine mandates that alienate their short-handed staffs.
Two days before hosting an outdoor Wilco concert, the St. Louis Music Park announced it would require proof of vaccination or a negative covid test for all ticket holders, sending some attendees scrambling and upending plans. Concertgoers, promoters and venues nationwide are all having to pivot quickly to find safer ways of enjoying live music amid the pandemic鈥檚 delta surge.
Seattle鈥檚 Northwest Kidney Centers, which pioneered kidney failure treatment 50 years ago, now pairs dying patients with hospice services, without forcing them to forgo the comfort dialysis can provide.
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.
A Seattle patient discovers the hard way that you can still hit a lifetime limit for certain types of care. And health plans can vary a lot from one job to the next, even if the insurer is the same.
Reproductive rights groups and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom argue that Californians鈥 access to abortion would be threatened if he is recalled. But a replacement governor鈥檚 power to restrict access to the procedure would be limited.
As covid case numbers rise nationwide, Georgia and some other states have restricted the case count data they share publicly.
Efforts by states and the private health plans that many states pay to cover low-income Americans has been scattershot and hampered by a lack of data.
The FDA鈥檚 formal approval of the first vaccine to prevent covid-19 may or may not prompt doubters to go out and get shots, but it has clearly prompted employers to make vaccination a work requirement. Meanwhile, moderates and liberals in the U.S. House put aside their differences long enough to keep a giant social-spending bill on track, at least for now. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for 鈥渆xtra credit,鈥 the panelists suggest their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
A 2017 law designed to help lower the cost of hearing aids mandated that federal officials set rules for a new class of devices consumers could buy without needing to see an audiologist. But those regulations are still on hold.
