This story also ran on .HELENA, Montana — States frustrated by private laboratories’ increasingly long turnarounds for COVID-19 test results are scrambling to find ways to salvage their testing programs.Montana said Wednesday that it is dropping Quest Diagnostics, one of the nation’s largest diagnostic testing companies. The Secaucus, New Jersey-based company had done all the state’s surveillance COVID-19 testing — drive-thru testing that moves from community to community to help track COVID’s spread. But it told state officials last week that it was at capacity and would be unable to...…This story also ran on .HELENA, Montana — States frustrated by private laboratories’ increasingly long turnarounds for COVID-19 test results are scrambling to find ways to salvage their testing programs.Montana said Wednesday that it is dropping Quest Diagnostics, one of the nation’s largest diagnostic testing companies. The Secaucus, New Jersey-based company had done all the state’s surveillance COVID-19 testing — drive-thru testing that moves from community to community to help track COVID’s spread. But it told state officials last week that it was at capacity and would be unable to...WW…

This story also ran on .[UPDATED on April 13]Probably few hospital systems need the emergency federal grants announced this week to handle the coronavirus crisis as badly as Florida’s Jackson Health does.Miami, its base of operations, is the worst COVID-19 hot spot in one of the most severely hit states. Even in normal years, the system sometimes barely makes money. At least two of its staff members have died of the virus.But in a scathing letter to policymakers, system CEO Carlos Migoya said the way Washington has handled the bailout “could jeopardize the very existence” of Jackson, one of...…This story also ran on .[UPDATED on April 13]Probably few hospital systems need the emergency federal grants announced this week to handle the coronavirus crisis as badly as Florida’s Jackson Health does.Miami, its base of operations, is the worst COVID-19 hot spot in one of the most severely hit states. Even in normal years, the system sometimes barely makes money. At least two of its staff members have died of the virus.But in a scathing letter to policymakers, system CEO Carlos Migoya said the way Washington has handled the bailout “could jeopardize the very existence” of Jackson, one of...WW…

This story also ran on .As the coronavirus roils the economy and throws millions of Americans out of work, Medicaid is emerging as a default insurance plan for many of the newly unemployed. That could produce unprecedented strains on the vital health insurance program, according to state officials and policy researchers.Americans are being urged to stay home and practice “social distancing” to prevent the spread of the virus, causing businesses to shutter their doors and lay off workers. The Labor Department reported Thursday that more than people signed up for unemployment insurance during...…This story also ran on .As the coronavirus roils the economy and throws millions of Americans out of work, Medicaid is emerging as a default insurance plan for many of the newly unemployed. That could produce unprecedented strains on the vital health insurance program, according to state officials and policy researchers.Americans are being urged to stay home and practice “social distancing” to prevent the spread of the virus, causing businesses to shutter their doors and lay off workers. The Labor Department reported Thursday that more than people signed up for unemployment insurance during...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 ().Cuatro meses después del lanzamiento del plan de inmunización masiva más grande del país en décadas, ha quedado claro que los mensajes que rodean los esfuerzos de vacunación contra covid-19 son tan importantes como la ciencia que los respalda.Forma parte del grupo de Facebook de Kaiser Health News en español .Se...…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 ().Cuatro meses después del lanzamiento del plan de inmunización masiva más grande del país en décadas, ha quedado claro que los mensajes que rodean los esfuerzos de vacunación contra covid-19 son tan importantes como la ciencia que los respalda.Forma parte del grupo de Facebook de Kaiser Health News en español .Se...WW…

Four months into the largest U.S. vaccine rollout in decades, it’s become clear that the messaging surrounding covid-19 vaccination efforts is as important as the science behind them.That was true when the first covid vaccines were introduced in December at hospitals and nursing homes and even more so after the federal government on Tuesday paused the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after reports of extremely rare but very serious — in one case, fatal — side effects emerged.Most health experts largely applauded the government for its decision, saying it showed regulators making vaccine safety...…Four months into the largest U.S. vaccine rollout in decades, it’s become clear that the messaging surrounding covid-19 vaccination efforts is as important as the science behind them.That was true when the first covid vaccines were introduced in December at hospitals and nursing homes and even more so after the federal government on Tuesday paused the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after reports of extremely rare but very serious — in one case, fatal — side effects emerged.Most health experts largely applauded the government for its decision, saying it showed regulators making vaccine safety...WW…

[UPDATED at 5 p.m. ET]States have tried with limited success to get covid vaccines to people of color, who have been disproportionately killed and hospitalized by the virus.It can beStarting Thursday, Vermont explicitly gave Black adults and people from other minority communities priority status for vaccinations. It follows Montana, which in January announced that Native Americans and other people of color, because they are at higher risk of complications from covid-19, would be allowed to receive the vaccine.All Black, Indigenous residents and other people of color who are permanent...…[UPDATED at 5 p.m. ET]States have tried with limited success to get covid vaccines to people of color, who have been disproportionately killed and hospitalized by the virus.It can beStarting Thursday, Vermont explicitly gave Black adults and people from other minority communities priority status for vaccinations. It follows Montana, which in January announced that Native Americans and other people of color, because they are at higher risk of complications from covid-19, would be allowed to receive the vaccine.All Black, Indigenous residents and other people of color who are permanent...WW…

Indiana’s Medicaid expansion — with its “personal responsibility” provisions that require enrollees to pay monthly premiums and manage health savings accounts — proved no better at improving health and access to care than other state expansions, a found.It can beEven when compared with states that did not expand Medicaid, Indiana showed only mixed results in improving the health of low-income residents, the report said.Indiana’s expansion program — known as the Healthy Indiana Plan — has been closely watched not just because of its complexity, but also because its chief architects were...…Indiana’s Medicaid expansion — with its “personal responsibility” provisions that require enrollees to pay monthly premiums and manage health savings accounts — proved no better at improving health and access to care than other state expansions, a found.It can beEven when compared with states that did not expand Medicaid, Indiana showed only mixed results in improving the health of low-income residents, the report said.Indiana’s expansion program — known as the Healthy Indiana Plan — has been closely watched not just because of its complexity, but also because its chief architects were...WW…

In North Carolina, the nation’s , any adult who has smoked more than in their lifetime can now be vaccinated against covid.It can beIn Florida, people under 50 with underlying health conditions can get vaccinated only if they have written permission from their doctor.In Mississippi, more than 30,000 covid vaccine appointments were open Friday — days after the state became the first in the contiguous United States to make the shots .In — along with about 30 other states — people are eligible only if they are 65 or older or have certain health conditions or work in high-risk jobs.How does any...…In North Carolina, the nation’s , any adult who has smoked more than in their lifetime can now be vaccinated against covid.It can beIn Florida, people under 50 with underlying health conditions can get vaccinated only if they have written permission from their doctor.In Mississippi, more than 30,000 covid vaccine appointments were open Friday — days after the state became the first in the contiguous United States to make the shots .In — along with about 30 other states — people are eligible only if they are 65 or older or have certain health conditions or work in high-risk jobs.How does any...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 ().En la batalla de la nación contra la epidemia de diabetes, el arma preferida que se promueve agresivamente entre los pacientes es tan pequeña como una moneda de 25 centavos, y se usa en el abdomen o en el brazo.Es un monitor continuo de glucosa (MCG), un sensor diminuto que se inserta justo debajo de la piel, lo...…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 ().En la batalla de la nación contra la epidemia de diabetes, el arma preferida que se promueve agresivamente entre los pacientes es tan pequeña como una moneda de 25 centavos, y se usa en el abdomen o en el brazo.Es un monitor continuo de glucosa (MCG), un sensor diminuto que se inserta justo debajo de la piel, lo...WW…

Will Bondurant decided to get tested for COVID-19 after attending three racial justice demonstrations over a five-day period in San Francisco, where he lives.The first, , “was the scariest and most risky from the point of view of COVID infection,” said Bondurant, 31. Although most wore masks, participants were jammed in, unable at times to maintain the recommended 6-foot distance, he said.Bondurant did not have any COVID symptoms but went for the test because he had a meeting scheduled the following weekend with a friend in his late 70s.As protests continue to ripple across the country...…Will Bondurant decided to get tested for COVID-19 after attending three racial justice demonstrations over a five-day period in San Francisco, where he lives.The first, , “was the scariest and most risky from the point of view of COVID infection,” said Bondurant, 31. Although most wore masks, participants were jammed in, unable at times to maintain the recommended 6-foot distance, he said.Bondurant did not have any COVID symptoms but went for the test because he had a meeting scheduled the following weekend with a friend in his late 70s.As protests continue to ripple across the country...WW…