Omicron and Other Coronavirus Variants: What You Need to Know
This new variant has set off alarm bells in the public health community, but much remains to be learned about it.
All Coverage
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With Federal Covid Sick Leave Gone, Workers Feel Pressure to Show Up at Work
National paid sick leave provisions for covid expired, and an uncertain covid winter is around the corner. Colorado, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh are among the places trying to fill the gap, but many employees still face financial pressure to go to work while sick.
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鈥業 Can Go Anywhere鈥: How Service Dogs Help Veterans With PTSD
The PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act means more veterans with symptoms of traumatic stress can get specially trained service dogs.
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Black Tech Founders Want to Change the Culture of Health Care, One Click at a Time
Just as Uber Eats and Grubhub revolutionized food delivery, Black tech entrepreneurs want to change the way patients connect with doctors. They are using technology to match people of color with culturally competent professionals and the transportation they need to get to them.
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鈥楢n Arm and a Leg鈥: How to Avoid the Worst Health Insurance
Listen to a journalist’s first-person horror story on shopping for health insurance 鈥 and learn how to avoid the pitfalls.
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California Joins States Trying to Shorten Wait Times for Mental Health Care
In California, health insurers blame long waits for therapy appointments on workforce shortages, but state lawmakers say that鈥檚 an excuse. A new law requires insurers to reduce wait times for mental health appointments to no more than 10 business days.
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Florida Sen. Rick Scott Off Base in Claim That Rise in Medicare Premiums Is Due to Inflation
The Republican senator says President Joe Biden鈥檚 鈥渋nflation crisis鈥 caused Medicare to raise monthly premiums, which will add hundreds of dollars to beneficiaries鈥 costs. But Medicare experts say inflation was not to blame and most beneficiaries will shoulder a much smaller increase than what Rick Scott claims.
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It Takes a Team: A Doctor With Terminal Cancer Relies on a Close-Knit Group in Her Final Days
Dr. Susan Massad created a 鈥渉ealth team鈥 after learning she had metastatic breast cancer. These friends and family members help her make difficult decisions and lead the most fulfilling life possible.
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KHN鈥檚 鈥榃hat the Health?鈥: The Big Biden Budget Bill Passes the House
President Joe Biden鈥檚 social spending budget is on its way to the U.S. Senate, where Democratic leaders are (optimistically) hoping to complete work by the end of the year. Meanwhile, covid is surging again in parts of the country, along with the political divides it continues to cause. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, and Mary Agnes Carey of KHN join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner previews next week鈥檚 Supreme Court abortion oral arguments with Florida State University law professor Mary Ziegler.
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When the Eye on Older Patients Is a Camera
High-tech tools ease caregivers鈥 stress but can raise sticky privacy questions and concerns about cost.
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Etching the Pain of Covid Into the Flesh of Survivors
Memorial tattoos have grown more popular in recent years. Since parlors reopened after the lockdown, inkers have found that many people are eager to memorialize relatives and friends lost to covid.
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Becerra Says Surprise Billing Rules Force Doctors Who Overcharge to Accept Fair Prices
The Health and Human Services secretary says the administration has heard complaints from doctors and hospitals about the rules it unveiled for implementing the law to end surprise medical bills. But he says providers who have exploited a complicated system to charge exorbitant rates will have to bear their share of the cost 鈥 or close.
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Success of Covid Antiviral Pills Hinges on Access to Speedy and Accurate Tests
The promising antiviral drugs to treat covid can halt hospitalizations and deaths, but only if they鈥檙e given to patients within three to five days of their first symptoms, a narrow window many people won鈥檛 meet. Here鈥檚 why.
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Why You Can鈥檛 Find Cheap At-Home Covid Tests
You probably won鈥檛 be testing everyone at your Thanksgiving table for covid because the tests are expensive and hard to find. Why? The federal government is partly to blame.
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鈥楢n Arm and a Leg鈥: The Insurance Warrior’s Battle Plan
Health care 鈥 and how much it costs 鈥 is scary. But knowledge is power. Take a master class in winning insurance appeals. In the case of Matthew Lientz, taking on his insurance also meant going up against his employer.
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Postcard From the Nation鈥檚 Capital
Lifting DC鈥檚 Strict Indoor Mask Mandate Triggers Mix of Confusion, Anxiety and Relief
Some business owners, wondering whether it鈥檚 too soon to ease the requirement, long for more guidance and support from the mayor.
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Journalists Cover Issues From Pollution to Vaccines and the Spread of Covid in Hospitals
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here鈥檚 a collection of their appearances.
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A Covid Head-Scratcher: Why Lice Lurk Despite Physical Distancing
With kids back in school, business is picking back up for professional nitpickers. But how are kids getting head lice if they鈥檙e physically distancing in the classroom?
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What Happens After a Campus Suicide Is a Form of Prevention, Too
The scientific term is 鈥減ostvention,鈥 and it informs how to navigate the emotional challenges that follow such a tragedy.
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Vaccine-or-Test Requirements Increase Work and Costs for Governments
But state and local officials embrace the requirement because it creates a safer workplace while allowing employees to continue working.
Morning Briefing
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With Efficiency A Priority, CDC Launches Influenza And Respiratory Viruses Division
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Report: Medicare Spent $380M On Organs Never Used In Medicare-Covered Transplants
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As AI Expands In Healthcare, Ex-Anthropic Researcher Warns We're 'Gambling With Our Lives'
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