Kaiser Health News

Image

SHUTTERSTOCK

Why We May Never Know Whether The $56,000-A-Year Alzheimer’s Drug Actually Works

Scientists may have to wait many years to find out whether Aduhelm is actually effective because the drug was approved using FDA's accelerated pathway.

Jul 13, 2021

Image

SHUTTERSTOCK

Biden Is Caught In The Middle Of Polarizing Abortion Politics

Abortion-rights advocates are frustrated at the slow pace of action from a president they strongly supported — and who courted their votes.

Jul 13, 2021

Image

Na’ryen Cayou had a partial scholarship to a boys’ prep school and a spot playing trombone in the marching band. But then the COVID pandemic shut down his school, mom Nakia Lewis lost her job, and they were evicted — landing Na’ryen in virtual learning and sleeping on a couch at his grandmother’s home./Kathleen Flynn for KHN

Damage to Children’s Education — And Their Health — Could Last a Lifetime

Missing educational opportunities doesn’t just deprive kids of better careers: Study after study shows that people with less education die younger than those with more.

Jul 7, 2021

Paying Billions for Controversial Alzheimer’s Drug? How About Funding This Instead?

Prescriptions for a controversial new drug for Alzheimer's could run $56 billion a year, putting a significant financial burden on Medicare, the health insurance for the elderly.

Jul 6, 2021

Image

SHUTTERSTOCK

New Research Finds J&J Vaccine Has Muscle Against COVID'S Delta Variant

Experts say the Delta variant is 40% to 50% more transmissible than other variants, which means that unvaccinated people can more easily catch it and vaccinated people face a higher risk of a breakthrough infection.

Jul 5, 2021

Image

Walden, Colorado has no hospital or pharmacy./Kyle Spradley/KHN

How One Rural Town Without a Pharmacy Is Crowdsourcing to Get Meds

With large pharmacy chains buying up independent drugstores and increasingly controlling the supply chain, small towns have had difficulty attracting a pharmacy.

Jul 1, 2021

Image

SHUTTERSTOCK

Biden Quietly Transforms Medicaid Safety Net

Officials are engineering a series of expansions to Medicaid that may bolster protections for millions of low-income Americans and bring more people into the program.

Jun 24, 2021

Image

SHUTTERSTOCK

Black and Hispanic Americans Suffer Most in Biggest US Decline in Life Expectancy Since WWII

In addition to the death toll and people suffering persistent symptoms, the pandemic has threatened the health of vulnerable people who've been devastated by the loss of jobs, homes and opportunities for the future.

Jun 24, 2021

Image

Valerie Villegas holds a photograph of her late husband, Robert Villegas, along with her children Alexis Vaiz, Nicholas, Robert Jr., Ayden and Andrew Vaiz outside their Portland, Texas, home./Scott Stephen Ball/KHN

Thousands Of Children Who Lost Parents To COVID Need Help

Grief groups and therapists grew scarce during the pandemic as waiting lists swelled, often leaving bereft children and their surviving parents to cope on their own.

Jun 23, 2021

Image

FRITZ LIEDTKE/OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY

Not All Experts Are Ready to Vaccinate Kids Against COVID

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is set to meet on Friday to discuss whether rare instances of a heart disorder merit changing its recommendations for vaccinating teenagers with the Pfizer vaccine.

Jun 17, 2021