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KHN’s Julie Rovner joins The Atlantic’s 鈥淪ocial Distance鈥 podcast, hosted by Dr. James Hamblin and Maeve Higgins, to talk about President Joe Biden’s support for an initiative to waive patent protection for covid vaccines and the politics of drug policy in the United States.
Democratic leaders in Congress have vowed to pass legislation to address high prescription drug prices this year, but some moderates in their own party appear to be balking. Meanwhile, younger teens are now eligible for a covid-19 vaccine and the Biden administration reinstated anti-discrimination policy for LGBTQ people in health care. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
A new survey shows that unvaccinated Hispanics are almost twice as likely as unvaccinated Blacks or whites to want a covid vaccination. But many still face a variety of access problems, ranging from fear to time squeeze.
Check out KHN鈥檚 video series 鈥 Behind The Byline: How the Story Got Made. Come along as journalists and producers offer an insider鈥檚 view of health care coverage that does not quit.
A bill in the California legislature would require state-regulated health plans to cover policyholders鈥 dependent parents. Advocates say the measure would reduce the number of uninsured people, while business groups warn of premium increases.
Struggling to keep up with a covid-19 surge in Michigan, overwhelmed health departments relied on an unlikely new crew of contact tracers: school principals.
An exclusive Montana ski resort frequented by the likes of Bill Gates and Justin Timberlake says it can safely turn wastewater into snow to the benefit of skiers and the local watershed.
Latinos got hit disproportionately hard by covid-19. When faced with the choice of sending their kids back to school or keeping them in online classes, many Latino parents say their kids are safer at home.
There is no public national data source that tracks vaccination rates based on a combination of race or ethnicity as well as age. Most state-level data shows that disparities exist in vaccine rates between white people and people of color.
Lack of access and infrastructure, stigma and isolation intensify a mental health crisis in agricultural communities.
Camp Ho Mita Koda, an Ohio camp for children with diabetes, plans to host in-person camp this year despite the pandemic. It鈥檚 unusual, especially given that children under 12 likely won’t be able to get covid vaccines for months and many who attend medically focused camps could be especially vulnerable to serious covid complications. But these camps are important not just for the kids, but also for parents.
In one northwestern Montana county where demand for covid vaccines is dropping well before widespread immunity is reached, people are split on whether the virus is a threat.
In 2015, Houston police officers stepped into Alan Pean鈥檚 hospital room, closed the door and shot him through the chest. Nearly six years later, his survival has brought the Pean family a wrenching legacy and conflicted sense of purpose.
The pandemic has been stressful for millions of children. Schools are trying to meet children’s emotional needs in big and small ways as in-person classes resume.
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.
Because there are no caps on cost, consumers and insurers often get billed hundreds of dollars for the most reliable PCR covid test. Prices are rising and they can鈥檛 fight back.
When they were 6, Hallel told their parents they are a boy-girl. At 9, they are helping their parents, grandparents and friends understand what it means to be nonbinary.
The covid pandemic drove major changes to Montana health policies, including the permanent expansion of telehealth regulations, a pullback on local public health officials鈥 authority and the easing of vaccination requirements for workers and students.
All agree that covid vaccines are urgently needed to stop the pandemic, but simply waiving patents fails to provide technological know-how and address supply chain challenges.
The Biden administration is bucking the drug industry and backing a waiver of covid-19 vaccine patent protections to help the rest of the world vaccinate its populations. Here at home, the Food and Drug Administration wants to ban menthol flavorings for cigarettes, setting off a fight with the tobacco industry. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN and Kimberly Leonard of Business Insider join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.
