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Voting is a point of pride for many older Americans, and senior living facilities in past years have encouraged the civic act by hosting voting precincts, providing transportation to the polls and bringing in groups to help explain election issues. But fears of the spread of the coronavirus among this vulnerable population make voting more difficult this year.
Gov. Gavin Newsom approved many consequential health care bills by his bill-signing deadline Wednesday, including a ban on the sale of menthol and other flavored tobacco products, the creation of a state generic drug label and better coverage for mental health disorders.
COVID patients have been commingled with uninfected patients in California, Florida, New Jersey, Iowa, Ohio, Maryland, New York and beyond. While officials have penalized nursing homes for such failures, hospitals have seen less scrutiny.
New York鈥檚 governor directed nursing homes to take COVID patients. But is it fair to say he 鈥渇orced鈥 them to do so, or that his directive led to the deaths of thousands of elderly residents? Most public health experts say no.
Experts say the administration鈥檚 approach with antigen tests could add cost and risk for the most vulnerable patients.
New research suggests the pandemic鈥檚 deaths are taking an enormous toll on surviving family members and worrisome ripple effects may linger for years.
鈥淟ost on the Frontline鈥 is an ongoing project by Kaiser Health News and The Guardian that aims to document the lives of health care workers in the U.S. who died from COVID 19, and to investigate why so many are victims of the disease.
As health workers were dying of COVID-19, federal work-safety officials filed just one citation against an employer and rapidly closed complaints about protective gear.
State legislators and Gov. Gavin Newsom have hammered out an agreement on a budget that rejects Newsom鈥檚 proposed cuts to health care services for older and low-income people.
Months into the COVID-19 pandemic, the public seems more confused than ever. And health officials still are not all on the same page; this week the World Health Organization had to walk back an official鈥檚 statement about how commonly the virus is spread by people without symptoms. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Also, Rovner interviews Michael Mackert, a professor and health communications expert at the University of Texas-Austin, about how health information can best be translated to the public.
More than 3,000 nursing homes reported less than a week鈥檚 worth of supplies, and 653 said they had run out entirely at some point. Stopgap FEMA equipment has not reached many facilities, and packages that have arrived have fallen short of promises.
KHN senior correspondent Jordan Rau takes a spin through this week's essential health care news.
The guidance to stay sheltered as society slowly reopens wears on older Americans, who have a growing sense of isolation and depression.
Not having an accurate, honest, nationwide way to tally COVID-19 cases will only add to the current tragedy.
Under pressure from organizations representing doctors, nurses, hospitals and other care providers, a handful of states are offering them protections from civil lawsuits over medical treatment.
Still, medical experts say, it鈥檚 not a black-and-white decision of either go on a ventilator or die.
Nursing homes with COVID-19 infections tend to violate health rules more often and have more complaints and fines, records show. But infections also plague highly rated facilities 鈥 while sparing some low-ranked ones.
鈥淭he awful truth is families have no control over what鈥檚 happening,鈥 one advocate says.
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don't have to.
The messaging from the White House coronavirus press briefings is becoming more confusing as President Donald Trump and his science advisers appear to not see eye to eye. Meanwhile, Congress is ready to approve more money to address both the health and economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. And the virus is taking an almost unimaginable toll on the nation鈥檚 nursing homes and putting strain on patients and health care providers with non-COVID ailments. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Jennifer Haberkorn of the Los Angeles Times and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more.
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