This story is part of a partnership that includes , and Kaiser Health News.To reopen businesses and public spaces safely, experts say, states need to be testing and contact tracing on a massive scale. But only a handful of states are doing enough testing to stay on top of potential outbreaks, according to a state-by-state analysis .Among those, Tennessee stands out for its aggressive approach to testing. In Tennessee, anyone who wants a test can get one, and the state will pick up the tab. The guidance has evolved to “,” and the state started paying for it in April.It’s still rare for a...…This story is part of a partnership that includes , and Kaiser Health News.To reopen businesses and public spaces safely, experts say, states need to be testing and contact tracing on a massive scale. But only a handful of states are doing enough testing to stay on top of potential outbreaks, according to a state-by-state analysis .Among those, Tennessee stands out for its aggressive approach to testing. In Tennessee, anyone who wants a test can get one, and the state will pick up the tab. The guidance has evolved to “,” and the state started paying for it in April.It’s still rare for a...WW…

Noticias en español es una sección de Kaiser Health News que contiene traducciones de artículos de gran interés para la comunidad hispanohablante, y contenido original enfocado en la población hispana que vive en los Estados Unidos.Este contenido puede usarse de manera gratuita ().Los hospitales de todo el país tienen miedo de enviar cientos de miles de facturas relacionadas con las pruebas para COVID-19, porque el Congreso ordenó que no hubiera copagos ni costos de bolsillo para los pacientes.Forma parte del grupo de Facebook de Kaiser Health News en español .Pero muchos empleadores con...…Noticias en español es una sección de Kaiser Health News que contiene traducciones de artículos de gran interés para la comunidad hispanohablante, y contenido original enfocado en la población hispana que vive en los Estados Unidos.Este contenido puede usarse de manera gratuita ().Los hospitales de todo el país tienen miedo de enviar cientos de miles de facturas relacionadas con las pruebas para COVID-19, porque el Congreso ordenó que no hubiera copagos ni costos de bolsillo para los pacientes.Forma parte del grupo de Facebook de Kaiser Health News en español .Pero muchos empleadores con...WW…

This story is part of a partnership that includes , and Kaiser Health News.Hospitals around the country are afraid to send out hundreds of thousands of bills related to COVID-19 testing. That’s because Congress mandated there would be no copays and no out-of-pocket costs for patients. But many employers with self-funded health plans seem to believe they’re exempt from the rules.When testing kits were still scarce, Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, fired up its clinical labs. It almost single-handedly took over testing in much of Tennessee. Other health systems...…This story is part of a partnership that includes , and Kaiser Health News.Hospitals around the country are afraid to send out hundreds of thousands of bills related to COVID-19 testing. That’s because Congress mandated there would be no copays and no out-of-pocket costs for patients. But many employers with self-funded health plans seem to believe they’re exempt from the rules.When testing kits were still scarce, Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, fired up its clinical labs. It almost single-handedly took over testing in much of Tennessee. Other health systems...WW…

This story is part of a partnership that includes , and Kaiser Health News.Masks, gloves and other equipment are crucial as health care workers face the COVID-19 outbreak. There is a strategic national stockpile that the U.S. government controls — but no one knows what, beyond that stockpile, is available in the private sector.Some hospitals have a surplus of the protective equipment and some not enough. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working on a system that would track the inventory across the U.S.The big hurdle isn’t the technology. The issue is getting hospitals...…This story is part of a partnership that includes , and Kaiser Health News.Masks, gloves and other equipment are crucial as health care workers face the COVID-19 outbreak. There is a strategic national stockpile that the U.S. government controls — but no one knows what, beyond that stockpile, is available in the private sector.Some hospitals have a surplus of the protective equipment and some not enough. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working on a system that would track the inventory across the U.S.The big hurdle isn’t the technology. The issue is getting hospitals...WW…

This story is part of a partnership that includes , , and .Mass protests against police violence across the U.S. have public health officials concerned about an accelerated spread of the coronavirus. But even before the protests began May 26, by the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, several states had been recording big jumps in the number of COVID-19 cases.The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Robert Redfield, registered his concern at a Thursday. He shook his head as a congresswoman showed him photos of of people at the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri...…This story is part of a partnership that includes , , and .Mass protests against police violence across the U.S. have public health officials concerned about an accelerated spread of the coronavirus. But even before the protests began May 26, by the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, several states had been recording big jumps in the number of COVID-19 cases.The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Robert Redfield, registered his concern at a Thursday. He shook his head as a congresswoman showed him photos of of people at the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri...WW…

This story is part of a partnership that includes , and Kaiser Health News.More than 20 patients have died. Dozens more are still hospitalized. And residents who had already been sent back to a nursing home in Gallatin, Tennessee, have turned up with new cases of COVID-19.An investigation finds that the facility downplayed the outbreak to first responders on 911 calls in late March. But the nursing home administrator told WPLN News that the coronavirus was unstoppable in Tennessee’s largest outbreak yet.Dawn Cochran, the administrator of the Gallatin Center for Rehabilitation and Healing,...…This story is part of a partnership that includes , and Kaiser Health News.More than 20 patients have died. Dozens more are still hospitalized. And residents who had already been sent back to a nursing home in Gallatin, Tennessee, have turned up with new cases of COVID-19.An investigation finds that the facility downplayed the outbreak to first responders on 911 calls in late March. But the nursing home administrator told WPLN News that the coronavirus was unstoppable in Tennessee’s largest outbreak yet.Dawn Cochran, the administrator of the Gallatin Center for Rehabilitation and Healing,...WW…

April 6, 2020[UPDATED on April 16]The new coronavirus doesn’t discriminate. But physicians in public health and on the front lines said they already can see the emergence of familiar patterns of racial and economic bias in the response to the pandemic.In one analysis, it appears doctors may be less likely to refer African Americans for testing when they show up for care with signs of infection.The biotech data firm Rubix Life Sciences, based in Lawrence, Massachusetts, reviewed in several states to see if African Americans with symptoms like cough and fever were less likely to be given one...…April 6, 2020[UPDATED on April 16]The new coronavirus doesn’t discriminate. But physicians in public health and on the front lines said they already can see the emergence of familiar patterns of racial and economic bias in the response to the pandemic.In one analysis, it appears doctors may be less likely to refer African Americans for testing when they show up for care with signs of infection.The biotech data firm Rubix Life Sciences, based in Lawrence, Massachusetts, reviewed in several states to see if African Americans with symptoms like cough and fever were less likely to be given one...WW…

Noticias en español es una sección de Kaiser Health News que contiene traducciones de artículos de gran interés para la comunidad hispanohablante, y contenido original enfocado en la población hispana que vive en los Estados Unidos.Este contenido puede usarse de manera gratuita ().Las máscaras y el distanciamiento físico están demostrando tener importantes beneficios extra, evitando que las personas contraigan todo tipo de enfermedades, no solo covid-19.Pero no está claro si los protocolos valdrán la pena a largo plazo.Forma parte del grupo de Facebook de Kaiser Health News en español...…Noticias en español es una sección de Kaiser Health News que contiene traducciones de artículos de gran interés para la comunidad hispanohablante, y contenido original enfocado en la población hispana que vive en los Estados Unidos.Este contenido puede usarse de manera gratuita ().Las máscaras y el distanciamiento físico están demostrando tener importantes beneficios extra, evitando que las personas contraigan todo tipo de enfermedades, no solo covid-19.Pero no está claro si los protocolos valdrán la pena a largo plazo.Forma parte del grupo de Facebook de Kaiser Health News en español...WW…

Masks and physical distancing are proving to have major fringe benefits, keeping people from getting all kinds of illnesses — not just covid-19. But it’s unclear whether the protocols will be worth the pain in the long run.This story is part of a partnership that includes , and KHN. It can beThe teachers at New Hope Academy in Franklin, Tennessee, were chatting the other day. The private Christian school has met in person throughout much of the pandemic — requiring masks and trying to keep kids apart, to the degree it is possible with young children. And Nicole Grayson, who teaches fourth...…Masks and physical distancing are proving to have major fringe benefits, keeping people from getting all kinds of illnesses — not just covid-19. But it’s unclear whether the protocols will be worth the pain in the long run.This story is part of a partnership that includes , and KHN. It can beThe teachers at New Hope Academy in Franklin, Tennessee, were chatting the other day. The private Christian school has met in person throughout much of the pandemic — requiring masks and trying to keep kids apart, to the degree it is possible with young children. And Nicole Grayson, who teaches fourth...WW…

As the speed of covid vaccinations picks up, so do the reports of doses going to waste. And it’s more than just a handful at the end of the day because of a few appointment cancellations. Health officials are trying to rein in waste without slowing down vaccinations.This story is from a partnership that includes ,  and .  It can beThe incidents range from 335 discarded doses in , that were damaged in shipping, to nearly 5,000 doses that went to waste in in February, prompting additional federal oversight. “I definitely have been losing some sleep over this, for...…As the speed of covid vaccinations picks up, so do the reports of doses going to waste. And it’s more than just a handful at the end of the day because of a few appointment cancellations. Health officials are trying to rein in waste without slowing down vaccinations.This story is from a partnership that includes ,  and .  It can beThe incidents range from 335 discarded doses in , that were damaged in shipping, to nearly 5,000 doses that went to waste in in February, prompting additional federal oversight. “I definitely have been losing some sleep over this, for...WW…