Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, more patients are administering dialysis to themselves at home rather than receiving it in a clinic. Although home dialysis limits exposure to the virus, it comes with its own challenges.
Counting deaths caused by the coronavirus pandemic is easier said than done. Without widespread testing, officials must sort through presumed COVID deaths and those who died with infections rather than from them. Then there are the indirect deaths of people who died from circumstances created by the pandemic.
Democrats were not impressed with the Trump administration’s COVID-19 national testing strategy document submitted to Congress this week. They say the pandemic requires more direction from the federal government, while the administration wants to give nearly all the responsibility to the states. Meanwhile, in an effort to shore up his base of senior voters, President Donald Trump has unveiled a plan to limit what those on Medicare must pay out-of-pocket for insulin. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Erin Mershon of STAT News and Joanne Kenen of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, Rovner interviews KHN’s Phil Galewitz, who wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” installment about a patient who thought he might have COVID-19, did everything right and got a big bill, anyway.
Older adults are at serious risk during this pandemic and have been advised to avoid contact with others. Yet many still need essential services, and programs are scrambling to adapt.
Just 5 miles from Mar-a-Lago, the POTUS’ outpost, Florida residents find that the president’s pledge to make testing accessible hasn’t materialized.
As the new coronavirus continues its spread through the U.S., the general public can look for guidance from millions of Americans with weakened immune systems who long ago adopted the rules of infection control that officials tout to avoid contagion.
In advance of the Super Tuesday primary, California’s Los Angeles County is rotating new touch-screen voting machines among 41 locations, including adult day care centers and jails, to increase voting among populations with historically low turnout.
Health care experts thought the battle was won against heart disease, measles, smoking, STDs and other life-threatening conditions and behaviors. Better think again.
KHN Midwest correspondent Lauren Weber was interviewed by KBIA’s Sebastián Martínez Valdivia to discuss the challenges Missouri faces in managing patients’ pain amid the opioid epidemic.
The Department of Veterans Affairs is partnering with Virta Health, a California startup that offers remote coaching and monitoring for people with Type 2 diabetes to help them follow the ultra-low carbohydrate diet.