Refurbished Walkers and Wheelchairs Fill Gaps Created by Supply Chain Problems
By Kate Ruder
Loan closets are playing an important role as supply chain issues and the rising price of aluminum have led to shortages in medical equipment such as wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, and knee scooters.
Journalists Discuss Insulin Costs and Ethical Questions Surrounding a North Carolina Rehab Program
KHN 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, April 8, 2022
Friday’s California health news roundup covers BA.2 cases, covid boosters and vaccines, work weeks, Medicare, military health, and more.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Finally, a Fix for the ‘Family Glitch’
President Joe Biden welcomed former President Barack Obama back to the White House this week to announce a new policy for the Affordable Care Act that would make subsidies available to more families with unaffordable employer coverage. Meanwhile, Congress struggled to find a compromise for continued federal funding of covid-19 vaccines, testing, and treatments. Tami Luhby of CNN, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
Daily Edition for Thursday, April 7, 2022
Thursday’s California health news roundup covers Medi-Cal, covid cases, vaccines and boosters, mental health care, opioids, housing, and more.
A Shortfall of ECMO Treatment Cost Lives During the Delta Surge
By Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio
About 50% of the covid-19 patients who got the last-ditch life support treatment at Vanderbilt University Medical Center died. Researchers wanted to know what happened to the many patients they had to turn away because ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) machines and the specialized staffers needed were in short supply. The grim answer: 90% of those turned away perished.
The Pandemic Exacerbates the ‘Paramedic Paradox’ in Rural America
By Katheryn Houghton
Emergency medical services are a lifeline in regions with scarce medical care. But paramedics, trained to respond to patients with life-threatening injuries, are in short supply where they’re needed most.
California Handed Its Medicaid Drug Program to One Company. Then Came a Corporate Takeover.
By Samantha Young
The company awarded the state’s Medi-Cal Rx contract was taken over by another company, Centene. That left the state with a contractor it didn’t pick — one that has been accused of overbilling nine other state Medicaid programs and is now under investigation by California.
Never-Ending Costs: When Resolved Medical Bills Keep Popping Up
By Aneri Pattani
A bill one family considered paid wrongfully resurfaced, resurrecting painful memories. It’s a scenario that’s not uncommon but grievously unsettling.
Daily Edition for Wednesday, April 6, 2022
State Climate Report Predicts Many More Deaths From Fires, Heat: Painting alarming scenes of fires, floods and economic disruption, the California Legislature’s advisers Tuesday released a six-part series of reports that explained in stark terms the effects of climate change across the state. Among the findings, the reports projected many more deaths each year from extreme heat and wildfire smoke. Read more from CalMatters.
