WinnDems News

During pregnancy, workers often face hazardous circumstances, including breathing toxic chemicals. On June 27, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act began requiring employers to provide “reasonable accommodations.” But the new law has a big hole: Not nearly enough is known about which chemical exposures are dangerous for pregnant workers. http://dlvr.it/SrSVxV

It’s been a year since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and, with it, the nationwide right to abortion. The decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization set off widespread uncertainty in government and the courts about the legality or illegality of the procedure. But the decision has had other consequences too, including affecting where health professionals choose to locate. In this special episode of KFF Health News’ “What the Health?” Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF’s Alina Salganicoff about the organization’s research and other work on women’s health policy over the past year. http://dlvr.it/SrR9l0

The “front door” to the health system is changing, under pressure from increased demand, consolidation, and changing patient expectations. http://dlvr.it/SrLvnP

The $120 million International African American Museum that opened this week in Charleston, South Carolina, allows visitors to step back in history at Gadsden’s Wharf, where tens of thousands of enslaved Africans arrived in America, the genesis of generations of health disparities. http://dlvr.it/SrJ3bG

KFF Health News’ recent investigation offers a great opportunity for reporters to investigate an important issue of government accountability from a state or local angle. http://dlvr.it/SrHlrL

Kristie Fields, a cancer patient in Virginia, was urged to go public to seek financial help. She worried about feeding hurtful stereotypes. http://dlvr.it/SrF80G

Physicians and attorneys say it’s a question of when — not if — a pregnant person dies from lack of care in a state with an abortion ban, potentially setting the stage for a malpractice lawsuit that could pressure providers to reconsider delaying or denying care. http://dlvr.it/Sr6Nq9

Three secretaries of Health and Human Services, who served under Presidents Joe Biden, Donald Trump, and Barack Obama, gathered this week for a rare, candid conversation hosted by the Aspen Ideas Festival and KFF Health News’ “What the Health?” about the experience of being the nation’s top health official. http://dlvr.it/Sr5Xnm

In this special episode of KFF Health News’ “What the Health?” host and chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner leads a rare conversation with the current and two former secretaries of Health and Human Services. Taped before a live audience at Aspen Ideas: Health, part of the Aspen Ideas Festival, in Aspen, Colorado, Secretary Xavier Becerra […] http://dlvr.it/Sr59YR

A federal program meant to reduce maternal and infant mortality in rural areas isn’t reaching Black women who are most likely to die from pregnancy-related causes. http://dlvr.it/Sr2YTM

University of California researchers found at least 90% of adults experiencing homelessness became homeless while living in the state, and many suffer depression and anxiety living without stable housing. http://dlvr.it/Sqxhpr

Richard Coble issued vaccine waivers to patients in at least three states without examining them. He was exposed by a Nashville TV station that bought a waiver for a Labrador retriever named Charlie. http://dlvr.it/SqpYpj

U.S. hospitals have seen a record number of cyberattacks over the past few years. Getting hacked can cost a hospital millions of dollars, expose patient data, and even jeopardize patient care. http://dlvr.it/SqmDkC

More than a million Americans have lost Medicaid coverage since pandemic protections ended. The Biden administration is asking states to slow disenrollment, but that does not mean states must listen. Meanwhile, a Supreme Court decision gives Medicaid beneficiaries the right to sue over their care, and a new deal preserves coverage of preventive services nationwide as a Texas court case continues. Rachel Cohrs of Stat, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Mary Agnes Carey to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner interviews Dan Mendelson, CEO of Morgan Health, a new unit of JPMorgan Chase, about employers’ role in insurance coverage. http://dlvr.it/SqkmXl

The views of the leader of a broad anti-vaccine movement who is now running for president are unchallenged in public forums run by several prominent Silicon Valley figures. http://dlvr.it/SqjcPR

As the number of refugees entering the U.S. grows, those arriving in Montana and other rural areas find limited dental care options. http://dlvr.it/SqjKHy

A nationwide decline in foster home spots has led to dire situations in some rural areas, including northeastern Nevada, where a state social worker has been pleading with community leaders to help address a shortage that left officials housing children in casino hotels. http://dlvr.it/SqfPwc

Homeless people are being fraudulently enrolled in health plans on the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace, induced with cash payments from insurance agents and brokers. Those who sign up for an ACA plan are disqualified from other forms of free and low-cost care and risk disruption in treatment. http://dlvr.it/SqbWbs

Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra is asking states to make more of an effort to keep eligible Medicaid recipients enrolled. He particularly fears children losing health insurance coverage. http://dlvr.it/SqbWVl

Cities and towns are again in deep waters this summer trying to hire enough lifeguards to open their public pools. Many are proceeding with sensitivity to issues of race and ethnicity. http://dlvr.it/SqXtQZ

The National Eating Disorders Association’s help line has seen demand climb to unsustainable levels since the beginning of the covid pandemic, with more people reporting severe mental health problems, the nonprofit says. But staffers worry this chatbot may make things worse. http://dlvr.it/SqXkKY

Dental therapists are licensed providers who offer basic care traditionally provided by dentists, including fillings and simple tooth extractions. But opposition from interest groups and the profession’s relative newness mean more than two-thirds of states don’t yet have them. http://dlvr.it/SqPhcQ

The bipartisan deal to extend the U.S. government’s borrowing authority includes future cuts to federal health agencies, but they are smaller than many expected and do not touch Medicare and Medicaid. Meanwhile, Merck & Co. becomes the first drugmaker to sue Medicare officials over the federal health insurance program’s new authority to negotiate drug prices. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News senior correspondent Sarah Jane Tribble, who reported the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature, about the perils of visiting the U.S. with European health insurance. http://dlvr.it/SqPLcH

Some GOP members of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic have two-stepped around vaccine skepticism, proclaiming themselves to be pro-vaccine while also validating the beliefs of people who oppose vaccine mandates. The result could have serious public health consequences. http://dlvr.it/SqLcxG

Medical debt is a leading public health problem, researchers say. Despite the county’s ongoing expansion of health coverage, the prevalence of medical debt remained unchanged from 2017 to 2021. http://dlvr.it/SqLJDC

The billion-dollar amount cited by former Sen. Al Franken, while an estimate, is likely very close to what insurers will owe this year under a provision of the Affordable Care Act that compels rebates when insurers spend too little on actual medical care. http://dlvr.it/SqHZK2

UnitedHealth Group is the largest health insurer in the United States. And it keeps growing. This has led some health care experts to call for antitrust regulation of this “behemoth” company. http://dlvr.it/SqHBKP

UnitedHealth Group is the largest health insurer in the United States. And it keeps growing. This has led some health care experts to call for antitrust regulation of this “behemoth” company. http://dlvr.it/SqDM0R

A push is underway to create a National Patient Safety Board modeled after the National Transportation Safety Board, an independent federal agency that investigates plane crashes and other transportation disasters. But unlike the NTSB, some patient safety advocates say, the current proposal is toothless and wouldn’t provide transparency about the nation’s hospitals. http://dlvr.it/Sq9Ddr

As the leading cause of death for teens, firearm injuries are detrimental to more than just physical health. It takes a major toll on young people’s mental health. http://dlvr.it/Sq4VzC

When KFF Health News’ “What the Health?” podcast launched in 2017, Republicans in Washington were engaged in an (ultimately unsuccessful) campaign to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act. The next six years would see a pandemic, increasingly unaffordable care, and a health care workforce experiencing unprecedented burnout. In the podcast’s 300th episode, host and chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner explores the past and possible future of the U.S. health care system with three prominent “big thinkers” in health policy: Ezekiel Emanuel of the University of Pennsylvania, Jeff Goldsmith of Health Futures, and Farzad Mostashari of Aledade. http://dlvr.it/Sq1cxN

Montana, Alaska, Mississippi, Missouri, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming are among the latest states moving to provide health coverage for up to a year after pregnancy through the federal-state health insurance program for low-income people. http://dlvr.it/Spyyzy