Latest California Healthline Stories
Will the US Overcome Its Covid Complacency Even as the Threat Returns?
One million Americans have died from covid-19 — far more per capita than in any other developed country. A new variant is doubling case rates in some states, and more than 300 people are dying a day. But our nation’s pandemic response has become mild-mannered and performative, backed by neither money, urgency, nor enforcement.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Taking a Shot at Gun Control
The U.S. House passed a package of bills seeking to keep some guns out of the hands of children and teenagers, but its fate in the Senate remains a big question mark. Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission takes on drug and hospital prices. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Cori Uccello of the American Academy of Actuaries about the most recent report from Medicare’s trustees board.
Misinformation Clouds America’s Most Popular Emergency Contraception
At a moment when half of U.S. states stand poised to outlaw or sharply curtail abortion services, the nation’s most popular emergency contraception brand rests in the unlikely stewardship of two private equity firms.
Skirmishes Over Medication Abortion Renews Debate on State vs. Federal Powers
The Biden administration may have authority to allow the use of abortion pills even in states where the practice could be outlawed, say legal experts.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: A(nother) Very Sad Week
Two mass shootings in two weeks — one at a Texas elementary school that killed 19 fourth graders and two teachers — have reignited the “guns-as-public-health-problem” debate. But political consensus seems as far away as ever. Meanwhile, the FDA is in the congressional hot seat over its handling of the infant formula shortage. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Rachana Pradhan of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Dr. Richard Baron, head of the American Board of Internal Medicine, about how doctors should discipline colleagues who spread medical misinformation.
Novavax Missed Its Global Moonshot but Is Angling to Win Over mRNA Defectors
After years of failure, the Maryland company aims to attract the vaccine-hesitant with an alternative to mRNA shots. But will it find a market?
High-Tech’s Business Model Hasn’t Worked for the Cue Covid Test
Cue got attention with a Super Bowl ad for a stylish high-tech covid-testing machine to use at home. But the product is expensive, which has limited the San Diego company’s market.
As Red Cross Moves to Pricey Blood Treatment Method, Hospitals Call for More Choice
The nation’s largest supplier of platelets is moving to a method it says is easier for hospitals, but one that sharply raises costs, leading some centers to demand more options.
Should You Worry About Data From Your Period-Tracking App Being Used Against You?
After a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion was published May 2 suggesting that Roe v. Wade would soon be overturned, social media users started worrying that their use of period-tracking apps could lead to trouble if they sought an abortion and lived in a state with strict limits or bans on the procedure.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The Invisible Pandemic
Covid cases are again climbing, but you wouldn’t know it from the behavior of public health and elected officials, much less the general public, all of whom seem to want to put the pandemic in the rearview mirror. Meanwhile, the fallout over the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion on abortion continues even as the Senate fails — again — to muster the votes to write abortion rights into law. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists suggest their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.