Category: Health & Insurance

December 21, 2020

Incoming Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signaled he won’t continue a statewide mask mandate in place since July, though he said he plans to wear a mask himself and get vaccinated against COVID-19. If Gianforte, a Republican, reverses outgoing Democratic Gov. […]

December 14, 2020

If there’s such a thing as a date with destiny, it’s marked on Dr. Taison Bell’s calendar. At noon Tuesday, Bell, a critical care physician, is scheduled to be one of the first health care workers at the University of […]

December 11, 2020

The Food and Drug Administration is “rapidly” working toward clearing Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use after a key panel overwhelmingly endorsed the shots Thursday evening, Commissioner Stephen Hahn said in a statement Friday. “Following yesterday’s positive advisory committee meeting […]

December 7, 2020

Americans have made no secret of their skepticism of COVID-19 vaccines this year, with fears of political interference and a “warp speed” timeline blunting confidence in the shots. As recently as September, nearly half of U.S. adults said they didn’t […]

December 3, 2020

California, like the rest of the nation, is seeing a dramatic rise in COVID infections and deaths — and Los Angeles County has some of the most dire statistics. Health officials reported more than 7,500 new cases in the county […]

December 2, 2020

Hospitals in much of the country are trying to cope with unprecedented numbers of COVID-19 patients. As of Monday, 96,039 were hospitalized, an alarming record that far exceeds the two previous peaks in April and July of just under 60,000 […]

December 1, 2020

The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) submitted a letter to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention and its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to prioritize the solid waste and recycling sector to receive the COVID-19 vaccines. […]

November 24, 2020

Registered nurse Pascaline Muhindura has spent the past eight months treating COVID patients at Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri. But when she returns home to her small town of Spring Hill, Kansas, she’s often stunned by what she […]

November 23, 2020

President-elect Joe Biden is putting scientists in charge and back on the stage to restore trust in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The plans include immediately reviving regular media briefings and giving a central role to long-sidelined career […]

November 20, 2020

With its choice of a new leader, the Florida Hospital Association has signaled that seeking legislative approval to expand Medicaid to nearly 850,000 uninsured adults won’t be among its top priorities. In October, Mary Mayhew became the association’s CEO. Mayhew, […]

November 19, 2020

News from global pharma firms that their coronavirus vaccine candidates are highly effective is welcome, but work needs to be done to ensure they reach everyone around the world, the World Health Organization’s Europe chief said Thursday. “I firmly believe […]

November 17, 2020

As the novel coronavirus emerged in the news in January, Sarah Keeley was working as a medical scribe and considering what to do with her biology degree. By February, as the disease crept across the U.S., Keeley said she found […]

November 10, 2020

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued guidance and an accompanying one-pager to help employers understand which standards are most frequently cited during coronavirus-related inspections. OSHA based these documents on data from citations issued, […]

November 6, 2020

The Department of Veterans Affairs is recruiting 8,000 volunteers for the Phase 3 clinical trials of at least four COVID-19 vaccine candidates at 20 federal medical facilities across the U.S., according to officials with the VA and Operation Warp Speed, […]

November 3, 2020

With the Trump administration announcing two days before Election Day that Georgia’s healthcare.gov website will no longer provide options for residents shopping for plans starting in 2023, consumers will need to rely on private brokers, insurance companies, agents and commercial […]

November 2, 2020

Nearly half the nation’s hospitals, many of which are still wrestling with the financial fallout of the unexpected coronavirus, will get lower payments for all Medicare patients because of their history of readmitting patients, federal records show. The penalties are […]

October 29, 2020

Sen. Lindsey Graham has never been a fan of the Affordable Care Act — even though it’s helped dramatically lower the number of uninsured people in his home state of South Carolina. The Republican, who heads the Senate Judiciary Committee, […]

October 27, 2020

With the development of a coronavirus vaccine nearing its final stages, public health departments across the U.S. are hastily preparing to distribute it — even though they don’t know when it will be approved or which ones will ultimately get […]

October 8, 2020

California-based lab test manufacturer GenMark Diagnostics announced Thursday that the Food and Drug Administration granted emergency authorization for its rapid molecular test that can distinguish between more than 20 different viruses and bacteria, including the coronavirus. Flu and Covid-19 patients […]

October 7, 2020

Within one day, President Donald Trump announced his COVID diagnosis and was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment. The flurry of events was stunning, confusing and triggered many questions. What was his prognosis? When was he […]