Chronic Lifeguard Shortage Serves as Springboard to Address Racial Inequities
By Michelle Andrews
Cities and towns are again in deep waters this summer trying to hire enough lifeguards to open their public pools. Many are proceeding with sensitivity to issues of race and ethnicity.
On the Brink of Homelessness, San Diego Woman Wins the Medi-Cal Lottery
By Angela Hart
Annie Malloy, of San Diego, is among the first to receive a new housing move-in benefit from Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program. It’s an effort to help homeless and near-homeless people who might otherwise rack up huge medical bills.
Escasez crónica de salvavidas resalta desigualdades raciales
By Michelle Andrews
Cuando las autoridades locales toman decisiones sobre el cierre de piscinas o la reducción de horarios, lo hacen sabiendo que la natación tiene un tenso historial de desigualdades raciales.
Daily Edition for Friday, June 9, 2023
Gun violence, illegal drug use, patient data breach, covid, mpox, environmental health, the housing crisis, and more are in the news.
Dental Therapists Help Patients in Need of Care Avoid the Brush-Off
By Christina Saint Louis
Dental therapists are licensed providers who offer basic care traditionally provided by dentists, including fillings and simple tooth extractions. But opposition from interest groups and the profession’s relative newness mean more than two-thirds of states don’t yet have them.
Daily Edition for Thursday, June 8, 2023
Medical debt, air quality, long covid, prison health, homelessness, mental health, blood pressure, vaccines, and more are in the news.
How the Mixed Messaging of Vaccine Skeptics Sows Seeds of Doubt
By Darius Tahir
Some GOP members of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic have two-stepped around vaccine skepticism, proclaiming themselves to be pro-vaccine while also validating the beliefs of people who oppose vaccine mandates. The result could have serious public health consequences.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Debt Deal Leaves Health Programs (Mostly) Intact
The bipartisan deal to extend the U.S. government’s borrowing authority includes future cuts to federal health agencies, but they are smaller than many expected and do not touch Medicare and Medicaid. Meanwhile, Merck & Co. becomes the first drugmaker to sue Medicare officials over the federal health insurance program’s new authority to negotiate drug prices. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News senior correspondent Sarah Jane Tribble, who reported the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature, about the perils of visiting the U.S. with European health insurance.
Personal Medical Debt in Los Angeles County Tops $2.6 Billion, Report Finds
By Molly Castle Work
Medical debt is a leading public health problem, researchers say. Despite the county’s ongoing expansion of health coverage, the prevalence of medical debt remained unchanged from 2017 to 2021.
Daily Edition for Wednesday, June 7, 2023
Hospital Workers Say Surgical Trays Are Contaminated: Employees at Kaiser Zion Medical Center in Grantville are calling for the suspension of all surgeries at the facility due to what they say is visible contamination of the trays that hold sterilized surgical instruments. Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune.
