Boost Now or Wait? Many Wonder How Best to Ride Out Covid’s Next Wave
By Sam Whitehead and Arthur Allen
As the country faces a rise in new infections driven by the omicron BA.5 subvariant of the coronavirus, about 70% of people 50 and older who got a first covid-19 booster shot haven’t received the recommended second one, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many undervaccinated Americans have lost interest, and others aren’t sure whether to get boosted again now or wait for vaccines reformulated to target newer strains of the virus.
No-Bid Medi-Cal Contract for Kaiser Permanente Is Now Law, but Key Details Are Missing
By Bernard J. Wolfson
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill last month that authorizes a statewide Medi-Cal contract for HMO giant Kaiser Permanente. But details still need to be worked out in a memorandum of understanding.
Conservative Blocs Unleash Litigation to Curb Public Health Powers
By Lauren Weber and Anna Maria Barry-Jester
Spurred on by opposition to pandemic-related health mandates, a coalition of religious liberty groups, conservative think tanks, and Republican state attorneys general has filed a cascade of litigation seeking to rein in the powers of public health authorities.
Biden’s FTC Has Blocked 4 Hospital Mergers and Is Poised to Thwart More Attempts
By Harris Meyer
The president has directed the Federal Trade Commission to carefully consider health industry mergers that may stymie competition and drive up prices. The new Democratic majority appears eager to look beyond traditional hospital consolidations to deals that involve products, services, or staffing.
FTC Official: Antitrust Push in Health Care Must Focus on a Merger’s ‘Human Impact’
By Harris Meyer
Mark Seidman, an assistant director in the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition, talks with KHN about efforts to police consolidation among hospitals and other health care providers.
¿Ponerse el refuerzo ahora o esperar? Muchos se preguntan cómo navegar la próxima ola de covid
By Sam Whitehead and Arthur Allen
Aproximadamente el 70% de los estadounidenses de 50 años o más que recibieron una primera vacuna de refuerzo contra covid, y casi la misma cantidad de personas de 65 años o más, no han recibido un segundo, según datos de los CDC.
Daily Edition for Friday, July 15, 2022
Omicron Surge Slams San Diego: Almost two weeks after the Fourth of July, coronavirus activity appears to be on the upswing, according to San Diego County’s latest case and hospitalization numbers, pushing the region into the most severe level of the nationwide covid-19 activity map maintained by the CDC. Read more from the San Diego Union-Tribune and Times of San Diego. Keep scrolling for more news about the covid surge.
Listen: Why Medical Debt Touches Every Corner of America
KHN senior correspondent Noam N. Levey joined WBEZ and Wisconsin Public Radio to talk about medical debt and health care costs in the U.S.
As Big Pharma Loses Interest in New Antibiotics, Infections Are Only Growing Stronger
By Arthur Allen
Existing drugs still treat most infections. But that has discouraged investment in new drugs that will be needed when — not if —the old ones fail.
California’s Public Health Tax Is Dead for the Year
By Angela Hart
A ballot measure that would have taxed California millionaires to boost public health funding will not be on the November ballot. But the tech titans who bankrolled the effort say they are negotiating with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration to get more money without imposing new taxes.
