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…

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…

“We were slow with the testing, but very quick with the travel ban. And that’s been much more critical in saving lives.”Jesse Watters, a Fox News Channel commentator, during a March 31 episode of “The Five”This story was produced in partnership with .Defending President Donald Trump’s coronavirus response, Fox News commentator Jesse Watters highlighted federal efforts to restrict international travelers who may be infected — a ban he claimed mattered more than diagnostic testing.“We were slow with the testing, but very quick with the travel ban. And that’s been much more critical in saving...…“We were slow with the testing, but very quick with the travel ban. And that’s been much more critical in saving lives.”Jesse Watters, a Fox News Channel commentator, during a March 31 episode of “The Five”This story was produced in partnership with .Defending President Donald Trump’s coronavirus response, Fox News commentator Jesse Watters highlighted federal efforts to restrict international travelers who may be infected — a ban he claimed mattered more than diagnostic testing.“We were slow with the testing, but very quick with the travel ban. And that’s been much more critical in saving...WW…

KHN's chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, who has covered health care for more than 30 years, offers insight and analysis of policies and politics in her regular HealthBent columns.Send questions to .This story also ran on .On Feb. 27, 2018, I got an email from the Heritage Foundation, alerting me to a news conference that afternoon held by Republican attorneys general of Texas and other states. It was referred to only as a “discussion about the Affordable Care Act lawsuit.”I sent the following note to my editor: “I’m off to the Hill anyway. I could stop by this. You never...…KHN's chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, who has covered health care for more than 30 years, offers insight and analysis of policies and politics in her regular HealthBent columns.Send questions to .This story also ran on .On Feb. 27, 2018, I got an email from the Heritage Foundation, alerting me to a news conference that afternoon held by Republican attorneys general of Texas and other states. It was referred to only as a “discussion about the Affordable Care Act lawsuit.”I sent the following note to my editor: “I’m off to the Hill anyway. I could stop by this. You never...WW…

This story also ran on .For the past month, record-breaking wildfires have torched millions of acres from the Mexican border well into Canada, their smoke producing air so toxic that millions of people remained indoors for days on end while many because of respiratory distress.Last week, Hurricane Sally left a trail of watery devastation in Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, even as more storms brewed offshore.All of that on top of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has .The timing couldn’t have been better for the opening this month of the at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public...…This story also ran on .For the past month, record-breaking wildfires have torched millions of acres from the Mexican border well into Canada, their smoke producing air so toxic that millions of people remained indoors for days on end while many because of respiratory distress.Last week, Hurricane Sally left a trail of watery devastation in Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, even as more storms brewed offshore.All of that on top of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has .The timing couldn’t have been better for the opening this month of the at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public...WW…

September 21, 2020[datawrapper id="WmugB" height="814" /][partner-box]The first five months of the COVID-19 pandemic in California rank among the deadliest in state history, deadlier than any other consecutive five-month period in at least 20 years.And the grim milestone encompasses thousands of “excess” deaths not accounted for in the state’s official COVID death tally: a loss of life concentrated among Blacks, Asians and Latinos, afflicting people who experts say likely didn’t get preventive medical care amid the far-reaching shutdowns or who were wrongly excluded from the coronavirus...…September 21, 2020[datawrapper id="WmugB" height="814" /][partner-box]The first five months of the COVID-19 pandemic in California rank among the deadliest in state history, deadlier than any other consecutive five-month period in at least 20 years.And the grim milestone encompasses thousands of “excess” deaths not accounted for in the state’s official COVID death tally: a loss of life concentrated among Blacks, Asians and Latinos, afflicting people who experts say likely didn’t get preventive medical care amid the far-reaching shutdowns or who were wrongly excluded from the coronavirus...WW…

This story also ran on . It can beThe National Academy of Sciences cites journalists’ “Lost on the Frontline” project in a push to expand federal tracking of worker fatalities.Workers at Garfield Medical Center in suburban Los Angeles were on edge as the pandemic ramped up in March and April. Staffers in a 30-patient unit were rationing a single tub of sanitizing wipes all day. A May memo from the CEO said N95 masks could be cleaned up to 20 times before replacement.Patients showed up COVID-negative but some still developed symptoms a few days later. Contact tracing took the form of texts...…This story also ran on . It can beThe National Academy of Sciences cites journalists’ “Lost on the Frontline” project in a push to expand federal tracking of worker fatalities.Workers at Garfield Medical Center in suburban Los Angeles were on edge as the pandemic ramped up in March and April. Staffers in a 30-patient unit were rationing a single tub of sanitizing wipes all day. A May memo from the CEO said N95 masks could be cleaned up to 20 times before replacement.Patients showed up COVID-negative but some still developed symptoms a few days later. Contact tracing took the form of texts...WW…

This story also ran on .Front-line health care workers are locked in a heated dispute with many infection control specialists and hospital administrators over how the novel coronavirus is spread ― and therefore, what level of protective gear is appropriate.At issue is the degree to which the virus is airborne ― capable of spreading through tiny aerosol particles lingering in the air ― or primarily transmitted through large, faster-falling droplets from, say, a sneeze or cough. This wonky, seemingly semantic debate has a real-world impact on what sort of protective measures health care...…This story also ran on .Front-line health care workers are locked in a heated dispute with many infection control specialists and hospital administrators over how the novel coronavirus is spread ― and therefore, what level of protective gear is appropriate.At issue is the degree to which the virus is airborne ― capable of spreading through tiny aerosol particles lingering in the air ― or primarily transmitted through large, faster-falling droplets from, say, a sneeze or cough. This wonky, seemingly semantic debate has a real-world impact on what sort of protective measures health care...WW…

March 26, 2021Kyunghee Lee’s right hand hurts all the time.She spent decades running a family dry cleaning store outside Cleveland after emigrating from South Korea 40 years ago. She still freelances as a seamstress, although work has slowed amid the covid-19 pandemic.While Lee likes to treat her arthritis with home remedies, each year the pain in the knuckles of her right middle finger and ring finger increases until they hurt too much to touch. So about once a year she goes to see a rheumatologist, who administers a pain-relieving injection of a steroid in the joints of those fingers.Her...…March 26, 2021Kyunghee Lee’s right hand hurts all the time.She spent decades running a family dry cleaning store outside Cleveland after emigrating from South Korea 40 years ago. She still freelances as a seamstress, although work has slowed amid the covid-19 pandemic.While Lee likes to treat her arthritis with home remedies, each year the pain in the knuckles of her right middle finger and ring finger increases until they hurt too much to touch. So about once a year she goes to see a rheumatologist, who administers a pain-relieving injection of a steroid in the joints of those fingers.Her...WW…

August 12, 2020Julie Rovner, KHN’s chief Washington correspondent, on Tuesday joined WDET’s “Detroit Today” host Stephen Henderson and Dr. George Kipa, the deputy chief medical officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, to talk about the future of telemedicine and whether Medicare and private insurers will continue to pay for those services. You can listen to the discussion .Copy HTMLWe encourage organizations to republish our content, free of charge. Here’s what we ask:You must credit us as the original publisher, with a hyperlink to our khn.org site. If possible, please include the...…August 12, 2020Julie Rovner, KHN’s chief Washington correspondent, on Tuesday joined WDET’s “Detroit Today” host Stephen Henderson and Dr. George Kipa, the deputy chief medical officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, to talk about the future of telemedicine and whether Medicare and private insurers will continue to pay for those services. You can listen to the discussion .Copy HTMLWe encourage organizations to republish our content, free of charge. Here’s what we ask:You must credit us as the original publisher, with a hyperlink to our khn.org site. If possible, please include the...WW…