CA lawmakers push to tighten licensing at nursing homes
By Samantha Young/Kaiser Health News SACRAMENTO — When Johanna Trenerry found a nursing home for her husband after his stroke, she expected his stay would be temporary. He never came home….
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Why won’t more older Americans get their covid-19 booster?
Even as top U.S. health officials say it’s time America learns to live with the coronavirus, a chorus of leading researchers say faulty messaging on booster shots has left millions of older…
A guide to keeping up with omicron subvariants
TWO years into the coronavirus pandemic, Americans can be forgiven if they’ve lost track of the latest variants circulating nationally and around the world. We’ve heard of the alpha, beta,…
Attendance plummets at Los Angeles Covid vaccination events
By Heidi de Marco/Kaiser Health News LOS ANGELES — Nurse Angel Ho-king sways her head to the sound of salsa music as she waits for people willing to roll up…
Patients’ perilous months-long waiting for Medicaid coverage is a sign of what’s to come
By Bram Sable-Smith and Rachana Pradhan/Kaiser Health News Korra Elliott has tried to avoid seeing a doctor while waiting to get on Medicaid. She worries she can’t afford more bills without any insurance…
The CDC’s new guidelines on COVID risk and masking send confounding signals
WHEN the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month unveiled updated COVID-19 guidelines that relaxed masking recommendations, some people no doubt sighed in relief and thought it was about…
California governor’s big promises on drug prices are slow to materialize
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — When Gov. Gavin Newsom took office in 2019, he promised to lower prescription drug costs for all Californians. But now, as Newsom nears the end of his…
Biden pledges better nursing home care, but he likely won’t fast-track it
PRESIDENT Joe Biden’s top Medicare official suggested Wednesday, March 2 that forthcoming rules to bolster nursing home staffing won’t be issued under a mechanism, known as interim final rules, that…
J&J-vaxxed, mRNA-boosted, and pondering a third shot
YES, we are all exhausted by the covid pandemic. Flummoxed by the constantly shifting science and guidelines. Worried about a succession of scary new variants, each with its own name,…
Why millions on Medicaid are at risk of losing coverage in the months ahead
By Rachana Pradhan/Kaiser Health News The Biden administration and state officials are bracing for a great unwinding: millions of people losing their Medicaid benefits when the pandemic health emergency ends….
It’s day 6 of COVID and a rapid antigen test comes back positive – stay home, say virologists
By Rae Ellen Bichell WHAT does it mean if a person’s rapid antigen test result comes back positive after five days of isolation due to COVID-19? According to the experts,…
Why Medicare doesn’t pay for rapid at-home COVID-19 tests
By Michelle Andrews/Kaiser Health News WHAT group is especially vulnerable to the ravages of COVID-19 even if fully vaccinated and boosted? Seniors. And who will have an especially tough time…
5 things you should know about ‘free’ at-home COVID tests
By Damon Darlin/Kaiser Health News AMERICANS keep hearing that it is important to test frequently for COVID-19 at home. But just try to find an “at-home” rapid COVID test in…
Officials struggle to regulate pop-up COVID testing sites — and warn patients to beware
NEW YORK — In recent months, mobile covid-19 testing tents and vans have sprouted on urban sidewalks and street curbs as demand has skyrocketed in response to the rapid spread…
Hospitals recruit international nurses to fill pandemic shortages
By Nick Ehli/Kaiser Health News BILLINGS, Mont. — Before Mary Venus was offered a nursing job at a hospital here, she’d never heard of Billings or visited the United States….
California ballot will be heavy on health care
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — When Californians go to the polls later this year, they will confront contentious health care choices. Voters will weigh whether to overturn a state law that bans…
Nurses in crisis over COVID dig in for better work conditions
NURSES and health care workers across the country are finding strength in numbers and with labor actions not seen in years. In California, which has a strong union tradition, Kaiser…
How LA, calling the shots on school vaccine mandates, can lead the way on COVID rules
ON March 31, 1977, as a measles epidemic swept through Los Angeles, the county health department issued an ultimatum to the parents of the county’s 1.6 million schoolchildren: Get your…
COVID-19 vaccine-or-test requirements increase work and costs for governments
Amanda Kostroski, a 911 dispatcher in Madison, Wisconsin, leaves her busy job once a week to go to a county health clinic to be tested for COVID-19. She’s been making…
Why you can’t find cheap at-home COVID-19 tests
WHILE developing a rapid test that detects the coronavirus in someone’s saliva, Blink Science, a Florida-based startup, heard something startling: The Food and Drug Administration had more than 3,000 emergency…
Your out-of-pocket health care costs need not be a mystery
IF you’ve ever had a serious illness or cared for someone who has, you know how quickly the medical bills can pile up: from labs, radiology clinics, pharmacies, doctors, different…
‘Not quite on board’: Parents proving a tough sell on COVID vax for teens
EVEN as the U.S. prepares to roll out a covid-19 vaccine to elementary school-aged kids, its efforts to inoculate teenagers — who have been eligible for the shot since May…
California law aims to strengthen access to mental health services
THE number of people with symptoms of depression and anxiety has nearly quadrupled during the covid pandemic, which has made it even more maddeningly difficult to get timely mental health…
Children with disabilities face special back-to-school challenges
LOS ANGELES — Christopher Manzo, a boy with curly brown hair and bright-blue-and-yellow glasses, has lived a third of his five years at home because of the pandemic. And he…
Q&A: How will California’s new 988 mental health line actually work?
By Jenny Gold/California Healthline IN September 2020, Congress passed bipartisan legislation creating a three-digit national suicide hotline: 988. Think of it as an alternative to 911 for mental health emergencies….
California vaccine mandate extends to aides for people with disabilities
WORKERS in adult and senior care facilities and in-home aides have been added to the list of California health workers who must be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. Those who…
A daily pill to treat COVID could be just months away, scientists say
WITHIN a day of testing positive for COVID-19 in June, Miranda Kelly was sick enough to be scared. At 44, with diabetes and high blood pressure, Kelly, a certified nursing…
Is my cloth mask good enough to face the Delta variant?
IN recent months, some European airlines have banned the use of cloth face coverings to control the spread of the coronavirus during air travel, instead favoring surgical masks — sometimes…
Why at-home rapid COVID tests cost so much, even after Pres. Biden’s push for lower prices
By Hannah Norman/Kaiser Health News RAPID at-home covid tests are flying off store shelves across the nation and are largely sold out online as the delta variant complicates a return…
Medicaid vaccination rates founder as states struggle to immunize their poorest residents
MEDICAID enrollees are getting vaccinated against COVID-19 at far lower rates than the general population as states search for the best strategies to improve access to the shots and persuade…