Science File

Kai Humphrey, 9, has been learning from home for more than a year. He badly misses his Washington, D.C., elementary school, along with his friends and the bustle of the classroom.

This story is part of a reporting partnership that includes NPR and Illinois Public Media. It can be republished for free.

“I will be the first person ever to have every single person in the world as my friend,” he said on a recent Zoom call, his sandy-brown hair hanging down to his shoulder blades. From Kai, this kind of proclamation doesn’t feel like bragging, more like exuberant kindness.

But when Kai’s school recently invited him back, he refused. That’s because his worry list is long, topped by his fear of getting covid-19 and giving it to his 2-year-old sister, Alaina. She was born with a heart condition, Down syndrome and a fragile immune system. To her, the disease … Read the rest

It’s 7:30 a.m. on a school day. Two parents are racing to get their three young children dressed, fed, packed for the day, into coats and out the door when 6-year-old Hallel runs downstairs, crying.

This story is part of a partnership that includes WBUR, NPR and KHN. It can be republished for free.

Ari, Hallel’s father, is the first to ask “What’s wrong?”

The answer launched a journey these parents never envisioned, described by words they’d not heard and questions they never thought they’d ask. (We’re using only first names for the family members in this story due to Hallel’s age.)

The journey started with a “let’s pretend” game. Hallel’s little sister Ya’ara wanted to play “parents.” Ya’ara decides that she’ll be the mommy, and Hallel will be the daddy. Hallel protests. Ya’ara insists: Hallel is a boy, and therefore must play the daddy.

“But that doesn’t feel right,” … Read the rest

KHN senior correspondent Julie Appleby discussed changes in insurance coverage for covid-19 care on Newsy on Thursday.

• Click here to watch Appleby on Newsy
• Read Appleby’s “Time to Say Goodbye to Some Insurers’ Waivers for Covid Treatment Fees”

KHN senior correspondent Mary Agnes Carey discussed Connecticut’s legislative efforts to pass a “public option” insurance plan on WNPR’s “Where We Live” on Wednesday.

• Click here to hear Carey on WNPR

KHN correspondent Aneri Pattani joined Spotlight PA’s Ed Mahon to discuss their investigation into the lack of oversight at Pennsylvania addiction treatment facilities on WURD’s “Wake Up With WURD” on May 3.

• Click here to hear Pattani on WURD
• Read “Addiction Treatment Providers in Pa. Face Little State Scrutiny Despite Harm to Clients” by Pattani and Mahon

KHN senior Colorado correspondent Markian Hawryluk discussed the pause on Colorado’s potential public option plan on KUNC on May 3.

• Click here to hear

Pamela Valfer needed multiple covid tests after repeatedly visiting the hospital last fall to see her mother, who was being treated for cancer. Beds there were filling with covid patients. Valfer heard the tests would be free.

This story also ran on Fortune. It can be republished for free.

So, she was surprised when the testing company billed her insurer $250 for each swab. She feared she might receive a bill herself. And that amount is toward the low end of what some hospitals and doctors have collected.

Hospitals are charging up to $650 for a simple, molecular covid test that costs $50 or less to run, according to Medicare claims analyzed for KHN by Hospital Pricing Specialists (HPS). Charges by large health systems range from $20 to $1,419 per test, a new national survey by KFF shows. And some free-standing emergency rooms are charging more than $1,000 per test.… Read the rest