Rachel Bluth

Rachel Bluth was a correspondent for KFF Health News until February 2023.

@RachelHBluth

Community Clinics Shouldered Much of the Vaccine Rollout. Many Haven’t Been Paid.

Federally qualified health centers from California to Michigan are mired in a bureaucratic mess over how they should be paid under Medicaid for each dose of covid vaccine given. In California alone, clinics await reimbursement for at least 1 million shots, causing a “massive cash flow problem.”

New Law Bans Harassment at Vaccination Sites, but Free Speech Concerns Persist

Effective immediately, it will be a misdemeanor in California to harass people on their way to get a covid, or any other, vaccine. But First Amendment experts say the new law violates free speech protections and could face a constitutional battle.

It’s Not Just Covid: Recall Candidates Represent Markedly Different Choices on Health Care

Those seeking to replace California Gov. Gavin Newsom in Tuesday’s recall election disagree with him on more than mask and vaccine mandates. The conservative candidates tend to favor free-market solutions over Newsom’s expansion of publicly funded health coverage.