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As omicron sweeps the country, many hospitals are dealing with a flood of people hospitalized with covid 鈥 including those primarily admitted for other reasons. While often milder cases, so-called incidental covid infections still drain the beleaguered health care workforce and can put them and other patients at higher risk for contracting covid.
States are required to set up transportation to medical appointments for adults, children and people with disabilities enrolled in the Medicaid program, and contracts can be worth tens of millions of dollars for transportation companies. But patients say the companies that deliver those rides are showing up late 鈥 and sometimes not at all 鈥 leaving them in bad weather, disrupting their care and even causing injuries.
With the omicron variant surging throughout the U.S., many experts warn that a single-layer cloth mask is not enough protection. Instead, they recommend an upgrade: layering wardrobe masks with surgical masks or wearing an N95 or KN95 respirator.
Medical bills are a leading reason people get stuck in a cycle of debt. Declaring bankruptcy is one lifeline, but attorney and court fees can put it out of reach. The nonprofit Upsolve created an app it calls the 鈥淭urboTax of bankruptcy鈥 to help people hit the reset button and rebuild their financial lives.
The most destructive fire in state history has knocked a hospital out of service and left health care workers homeless with omicron driving new covid hospitalizations.
On Jan. 1, California started buying prescription drugs for its nearly 14 million Medicaid enrollees, a responsibility that had primarily been held by managed-care insurance plans. State officials estimate California will save hundreds of millions of dollars by flexing its purchasing power, but some health clinics expect to lose money.
National data shows that Black Medicare patients and their families are not making the move to comfort care as often as white patients are. Experts speculate it’s related to spiritual beliefs and widespread mistrust in the medical system due to decades of discrimination.
The court is considering whether to let the rules go into effect as opponents fight them in lower courts. Conservative justices pressed lawyers hard about whether the administration overstepped its authority, but liberal members of the high court questioned why the government shouldn鈥檛 be expected to move forcefully when facing a severe health crisis.
In the Nov. 8 general election, California voters will consider overturning the state鈥檚 flavored tobacco ban and hiking medical malpractice awards. Other proposals to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms, target dialysis clinics and boost public health funding could also be on the ballot, along with a plan to limit business and school closures during public health emergencies.
If a judge decides someone cannot make their own decisions, the person can be placed under a court-appointed guardianship, also known as a conservatorship. Some states are beginning to allow less-restrictive alternatives.
Montana鈥檚 largest hospital recently signed employment contracts with two dozen foreign nurses. Nationwide, a backlog of 5,000 international nurses await approval to enter the U.S.
It鈥檚 2022 and the covid-19 pandemic is still with us, as are congressional efforts to pass President Joe Biden鈥檚 big health and social spending bill. But other issues seem certain to take center stage on this year鈥檚 health agenda, including abortion, the state of the health care workforce, and prescription drug prices. Tami Luhby of CNN, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN鈥檚 Victoria Knight, who reported the latest KHN-NPR 鈥淏ill of the Month鈥 episode.
Prominent researchers say the nationwide effort to get people to spell out how they want to be treated as they die is not improving patients鈥 care.
After the National Cancer Act became law 50 years ago, cancer went from shameful taboo to one of the best-funded areas of medicine. Much of the credit for this transformation goes to one woman, Mary Lasker.
Despite state Republican leaders鈥 rigid opposition to expanding the health program designed for low-income residents, advocates successfully gathered enough signatures to get the measure on the fall ballot.
Sales of recreational marijuana are underway, and dispensary owners say they鈥檙e not ready to meet the demand. That may mean problems for the 55,000 Montanans who hold medical marijuana cards.
A new law makes California the first state to require that health insurance plans, including Medicaid, cover home STI tests. But some details still need to be worked out.
Years in the making, a new federal law against surprise medical bills took effect Jan. 1.
More than most schools, the country鈥檚 historically Black colleges and universities are funneling stimulus money directly to students, wiping out loans and past-due fees. But one is going a step further with its financial assistance.
Fear of covid has kept some adults from moving to nursing homes, and many facilities are in trouble financially. When Nevada, Missouri, officials announced they were planning to close a home specializing in dementia care, members of the community rose up in protest.
