health care

The vial of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. The White House says Thursday that the U.S. will commit 17 million additional doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to the African Union.

United States commits another 17 million COVID vaccine doses to the African Union

7:23pm October 14, 2021

by Jonathan Franklin

The U.S. donation from its domestic supplies comes on top of the 50 million doses previously donated to Africa, which world health officials say is 500 million doses short of its goal.

Colorado now requires gender-affirming care to be covered by private health insurance

5:43pm October 14, 2021

Colorado now requires private health insurance plans to cover gender-affirming care for trans people like facial bone remodeling and hormone therapy. Health advocates say it's a very big deal.

Hospitals in Idaho, like St. Luke's Boise Medical Center in Boise, remain full after the summer delta surge pushed many to their limits.

With hospitals crowded from COVID, 1 in 5 American families delays health care

5:13pm October 14, 2021

by James Dawson

Putting off surgeries or routine treatments for serious illnesses has become common during the pandemic, a new NPR/Harvard poll finds.

Registered nurse Christie Lindog works at the cardiovascular intensive care unit at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center in Tarzana, Calif., on Sept. 2.

Health & Safety

Hospitals brace for an onslaught this winter, from flu as well as COVID

2:23pm October 08, 2021

by Will Stone

America's hospitals are already strained from the delta surge. Now they fear they'll be further overwhelmed by pent-up demand for services and a potentially bad flu season.

Colorado's UCHealth hospital system is requiring any prospective organ transplant recipients to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Here, a man receives a COVID-19 vaccine in Thornton, Colo., earlier this year.

People who want organ transplants must get the COVID-19 vaccine, a hospital says

2:10pm October 07, 2021

by Bill Chappell

The UCHealth hospital system in Colorado says unvaccinated patients won't be eligible for an organ transplant, citing the "significant risk the virus poses to transplant recipients."

Dr. Scott Gottlieb led the Food and Drug Administration from 2017 to 2019. His new book discusses successes and failures of the U.S. response and how to plan ahead for future pandemics.

Why the U.S. pandemic playbook was no match for COVID

8:44am October 06, 2021

by John Henning Schumann

In his new book, former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb lays out what it will take for the U.S. to be ready to face future health crises.

Matthew Crecelius, a traveling contract nurse who has worked in a dozen hospitals since the pandemic began, says that he can recall numerous instances where health care worker burnout has had a direct impact on patient care.

Health & Safety

Health workers know what good care is. Pandemic burnout is getting in the way

1:23pm October 02, 2021

by Yuki Noguchi

The pandemic has intensified burnout among health care workers. They say it's eroding their passion for the job and the quality of patient care. Here's how some of them are trying to solve it.

Democratic lawmakers are proposing a way to offer low-income adults Medicaid in states that have so far refused to expand the program. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., spoke about the issue during a press conference with fellow lawmakers at the U.S. Capito

Democrats' spending bill includes plan to get free health care to uninsured Americans

5:00am October 01, 2021

by Phil Galewitz

There are more than 2 million uninsured adults in states that didn't expand Medicaid. Congressional Democrats have a plan to cover them — if they can find money for it in the massive spending bill.

Cox Medical Center in Branson, Mo., is implementing a personal panic button system for hundreds of its employees. Assaults of hospital staff tripled from 2019 to 2020, the hospital says.

Health & Safety

A Hospital Gives Its Staff Panic Buttons After Assaults By Patients Triple

6:23pm September 30, 2021

by Deepa Shivaram

From 2019 to 2020, assaults on hospital staff by patients tripled at Cox Medical Center in Branson, Mo. Now personal panic buttons are being implemented to alert hospital security more easily.

Travis Warner of Dallas got tested for the coronavirus at a free-standing emergency room in June 2020 after one of his colleagues tested positive for the virus. The emergency room bill included a $54,000 charge for one test.

The Bill For His COVID Test In Texas Was A Whopping $54,000

5:00pm September 30, 2021

by Aneri Pattani

A businessman from Dallas got a PCR test for the coronavirus at a suburban emergency room. The charge for his test was "egregious" but not illegal, say health care analysts. Here's what happened.