Daily Edition for Monday, July 25, 2022
Monday’s roundup covers monkeypox, covid surge, air quality, health workers, insurance costs, homelessness, and more.
Ad Targeting Manchin and AARP Mischaracterizes Medicare Drug-Price Negotiations
By Victoria Knight and Colleen DeGuzman
The advocacy group American Commitment said empowering Medicare to negotiate drug prices would raid it of billions of dollars. Drug pricing experts say that that’s not the case and that such policies would instead reduce costs for the Medicare program and seniors.
Even Well-Intended Laws Can’t Protect Us From Inaccurate Provider Directories
By Bernard J. Wolfson
State and federal laws require health plans to offer accurate lists of participating doctors and facilities, but consumers still struggle to get timely appointments with providers.
‘True Cost of Aging’ Index Shows Many Seniors Can’t Afford Basic Necessities
By Judith Graham
The Elder Index, developed by researchers at the University of Massachusetts-Boston, shows that nearly 5 million older women living alone, 2 million older men living alone, and more than 2 million older couples have incomes that make them economically insecure.
Journalists Reexamine Mental Health Barriers, Gun Control Laws, and Homelessness
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Daily Edition for Friday, July 22, 2022
Friday’s roundup covers covid’s surge, Biden’s case, vaccines, masks, monkeypox, Amazon’s health play, mental health, and more.
Three Things About the Abortion Debate That Many People Get Wrong
By Julie Rovner
The commonly repeated myths include arguments that only women who are pregnant are affected by the decision overturning Roe v. Wade, that Democratic lawmakers could have codified abortion protections before, and that Congress can easily get rid of federal laws restricting abortion.
Tres cosas sobre el debate del aborto que se entienden mal
By Julie Rovner
Uno de los mitos: que la decisión de la Corte Suprema afecta solo a las mujeres que quieren realizarse el procedimiento, cuando en realidad afecta a toda la salud reproductiva.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Drug Price Bill Is a Go in the Senate
Two things happened in Washington this week that were inevitable: President Joe Biden tested positive for covid-19, and the Senate agreed to move forward on a budget bill that includes only a sliver of what Biden hoped it would. Still, the bill to allow Medicare to negotiate some drug prices, cap out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors, and extend temporary subsidies for Affordable Care Act insurance premiums would represent a major step if Democrats can get it across the finish line. Meanwhile, abortion battles continue to escalate around the country, with Texas leading the way in restrictions. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Dr. Jack Resneck Jr., the new president of the American Medical Association.
Daily Edition for Thursday, July 21, 2022
USC Researchers ID Possible Risk Factors For Long Covid: A new study from USC researchers suggests that covid patients who reported sore throats, headaches, and hair loss after testing positive were more likely to have long covid symptoms months later. Read more from the Los Angeles Times. Meanwhile, UC San Diego researchers have found that long covid shares origins with other scarring lung diseases. Read more from Times of San Diego.
