5 Things You Should Know About âFreeâ At-Home Covid Tests
Telling insurance companies to pay for rapid covid-19 tests is just the latest covid-related cost the federal government expects them to bear. But who really ends up paying for it?
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Telling insurance companies to pay for rapid covid-19 tests is just the latest covid-related cost the federal government expects them to bear. But who really ends up paying for it?
High demand for covid screening and scarce supply have opened the door to bad actors, and officials in some states are sounding the alarm about dubious street testing operators that could put peopleâs personal data, their health or wallets at risk.
Explore what made the Navajo people â also known as the DinĂŠ â so vulnerable to the first surges of the covid-19 pandemic. The first episode of âRezilience,â Season 4 of the âAmerican Diagnosisâ podcast, begins in the forests outside the Grand Canyon.
Amid covid-related staffing shortages and testing requirements, school systems are stretched thin. And so are parentsâ nerves.
Just 18% of 5- to 11-year-olds are fully vaccinated, with rates varying significantly across the country, a KHN analysis of federal data shows. Pediatricians say the slow pace and geographic disparities are alarming, especially against the backdrop of record numbers of cases and pediatric hospitalizations.
The Supreme Court temporarily blocked a federal rule requiring larger businesses to mandate employees be vaccinated or wear masks and undergo weekly testing. At the same time, however, it allowed a federal order that health care workers be vaccinated.
Medicare officials tentatively plan to restrict the use of a controversial Alzheimerâs drug to only those patients participating in clinical trials, while the Department of Health and Human Services looks into lowering the monthly Medicare Part B premium. Meanwhile, covid confusion still reigns, as the Biden administration moves, belatedly, to make more masks and tests available. Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHNâs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
Although at-home antigen testing remains a useful tool, experts warn it is often used inappropriately and can provide false confidence for people concerned about safety.
As omicron sweeps the country, many hospitals are dealing with a flood of people hospitalized with covid â 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.
KHN Midwest correspondent Lauren Weber talks about the risks of covidâs spread in hospitals on the â1Aâ radio program and on the Newsy TV network.
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.
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.
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 shouldnât be expected to move forcefully when facing a severe health crisis.
Montanaâs 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.
Itâs 2022 and the covid-19 pandemic is still with us, as are congressional efforts to pass President Joe Bidenâs big health and social spending bill. But other issues seem certain to take center stage on this yearâs 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 KHNâs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHNâs Victoria Knight, who reported the latest KHN-NPR âBill of the Monthâ episode.
More than most schools, the countryâs 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.
Families who believe their loved ones contracted covid-19 while hospitalized are finding they have little recourse following a wave of liability shield legislation pushed by business interests.
In Hartford, Connecticut, public health leaders engage barbers and faith leaders to combat vaccine skepticism in the Black community.
A KHN investigation finds that hospitals with high rates of covid patients who didnât have the diagnosis when they were admitted have rarely been held accountable due to multiple gaps in government oversight.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) dealt a blow to congressional efforts to pass President Joe Bidenâs domestic agenda bill, forcing Democrats to regroup starting in 2022. Meanwhile, the omicron covid variant spreads rapidly in the U.S., threatening the stability of the nationâs health care system. Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Rachel Cohrs of Stat and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHNâs Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more, plus a look back at the year in health policy. Also this week, Rovner interviews Ceci Connolly, president and CEO of the Alliance of Community Health Plans.
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