Kaiser Health News
Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a nonprofit news service committed to in-depth coverage of health care policy and politics. And we report on how the health care system — hospitals, doctors, nurses, insurers, governments, consumers — works. Check out our website at khn.org.
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It's About to Get Tougher for Transgender People in Montana to Amend Birth Certificates
This spring, the Republican-led Montana Legislature passed a bill signed by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte that once again requires a court order to change a birth certificate.
In Mental Health Crises, a 911 Call Now Brings a Mixed Team of Helpers — And Maybe No Cops
Nationwide, more communities are creating units in which mental health professionals are the main responders to psychiatric crises instead of cops.
Change to Gilead Assistance Program Threatens PrEP Access, HIV Advocates Say
Gilead announced in April it will change how much it reimburses through that assistance program. For pharmacies that contract with certain safety-net clinics, the change means less reimbursement cash to pass along to the clinics.
Women Now Drink as Much as Men — And Are Prone to Sickness Sooner
The latest U.S. data shows that women in their teens and early 20s reported drinking and getting drunk at higher rates than their male peers — in some cases for the first time since researchers began measuring such behavior.
Unused J&J COVID Doses Are Piling Up as FDA Waits to See if Shelf Life Can Be Extended
State health officials have strenuously warned vaccine administrators against using expired doses. Now, though, the FDA appears optimistic that the Johnson & Johnson expiration dates could be extended.
Boeing Tested Air Purifiers Like Those Widely Used in Schools. It Decided Not to Use Them in Planes.
Aerospace giant Boeing tested two kinds of ionization technologies — like those widely adopted in schools hoping to combat covid — to determine how well each killed germs on surfaces and decided that neither was effective enough to install.
Telehealth: Are Virtual Visits Here to Stay?
As the COVID crisis wanes and life approaches normal across the U.S., health industry leaders and many patient advocates are pushing Congress and the Biden administration to preserve the pandemic-fueled expansion of telehealth.
The 'Grief Pandemic' Will Torment Americans for Years
With nearly 600,000 in the U.S. lost to covid-19 — now a leading cause of death — researchers estimate that more than 5 million Americans are in mourning, including more than 43,000 children who have lost a parent.
Doctors Tell How to Make the Most of Your Telehealth Visits
Telehealth served as a lifeline for many during the pandemic, ramping up from a minority share of office visits to a majority, at least for a while. Still, it cannot replace hands-on care for some conditions.
Little-Known Illnesses Turning Up in COVID Long-Haulers
One doctor says "waves and waves" of "long-haul" covid patients remain sick long after retesting negative for the virus. A significant percentage are suffering from syndromes that few doctors understand or treat.
Lady Gaga and J.Lo Sell 'Well' Building Seal, But It's a Payday, Not a PSA
A-list celebs are backing something called the Well Health-Safety seal, offered by the International Well Building Institute, a for-profit company piggybacking on post-pandemic anxiety.
Is Your Living Room the Future of Hospital Care?
Major hospital systems are betting big money that the future of hospital care looks a lot like the inside of patients' homes.
Pandemic Leads Doctors to Rethink Unnecessary Treatment
Covid-19 is opening the door for researchers to address a problem that has vexed the medical community for decades: the overtreatment and unnecessary treatment of patients.
No-Cancel Culture: How Telehealth Is Making It Easier to Keep That Therapy Session
Providers and patients say teletherapy has largely been an effective lifeline for people struggling with anxiety, depression and other psychological issues during an extraordinarily difficult time.
In Search of Covid's Origins, Scientists Reignite Polarizing Debate on Wuhan 'Lab Leak'
Once dismissed as a conspiracy theory, the idea that the covid virus escaped from a Chinese lab is gaining high-profile attention. As it does, reputations of renowned scientists are at risk — and so is their personal safety.
Doctors Now Must Provide Patients Their Health Data, Online and On Demand
A recent federal rule requires health care providers to give patients like Ramsey electronic access to their health information without delay upon request, at no cost.
Don't Eat the Yellowstone Snow: Elite Ski Resort Aims to Turn Sewage Into Powder
An exclusive Montana resort wants to turn sewage into snow so that its rich and famous members can ski its slopes in a winter season that's shrinking because of climate change.
'I Just Feel Like Myself': A Nonbinary Child in Their Own Words
A family embraces their child's identity as "boy-girl," collectively navigating school and public spaces with mother Shira saying, "This is who they envisioned themselves to be, and we just didn't put hurdles in front of them."
Serious COVID Cases on Rise in Younger Adults
After spending much of the past year tending to elderly patients, doctors are seeing a clear demographic shift: young and middle-aged adults make up a growing share of the patients in covid-19 hospital wards.
CVS and Walgreens Have Wasted More Vaccine Doses Than Most States Combined
Two national pharmacy chains that the federal government entrusted to inoculate people against covid-19 account for the lion's share of wasted vaccine doses, according to government data obtained by KHN.
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