Health Care

400 Stories

A life-saving machine developed in the 1970s is finding renewed purpose post-pandemic

Heart and lung bypass machines have been around for more than 50 years. For much of that time they were used primarily to help patients survive while they waited for an organ transplant. But in the last 10-15 years, and especially since Covid, they are being used as a last-ditch effort to stabilize patients whose lungs or hearts are failing.
- Stephen Howie
Pay twice as much for health insurance? That’s the prospect some Washington residents face

A clash over health care tax credits is at the center of the ongoing federal shutdown. Democrats want those subsidies extended. But many Republicans want to let them expire. That leaves thousands of Washington residents who rely on the subsidies to pay for health insurance with tough choices: pay the new rate, purchase catastrophic coverage, or forgo health insurance altogether.
- Ruby de Luna
Rep. Jayapal laments 'terrible choice' between shutdown, looming health care cuts in WA

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Seattle) said Friday that her party faces a "terrible choice" between forcing the federal government shutdown that began Oct. 1 or allowing Republican-backed cuts to health benefits to take effect.
- Amy Radil
Washington won’t have any free Covid shots for the uninsured until mid-October

Washington state has a program for uninsured people to get free vaccines. But that program doesn’t yet have any of the latest Covid boosters, and they’re not expected until mid-October.
- Eilís O'Neill
'Vaccines are the best protection we have.' West Coast states issue their own guidance ahead of feds

The alliance released its recommendations just ahead of the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee meeting this week; that committee plans to discuss and vote on new Covid vaccine guidelines on Friday.
- Eilís O'Neill
Seattle’s Fred Hutch marks 50 years of groundbreaking cancer research

The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center is celebrating a big birthday Friday. The center opened its doors 50 years ago, on Sept. 5, 1975. Since then it has evolved from a scrappy lab doing what some considered risky science into one of the top cancer centers in the world.
- Gabriel Spitzer
Confused about your eligibility for the Covid shot? In Washington state, you’re covered

Thanks to a standing order signed by the state health officer Thursday, anyone in Washington state can get the Covid-19 vaccine without consulting their doctor.
- Eilís O'Neill
Slashed funding, tighter restrictions could hurt hundreds of thousands WA residents on Medicaid

Every parent’s goal for their children is to teach them life skills that help them launch into adulthood — but that gets complicated when a child has a disability. Many of those families rely on Medicaid, a federal program, for support. Now, one Bellevue family is worried about what the Trump administration’s recent safety net cutbacks could mean for their son.
- Ruby de Luna
Religious groups pressure retail pharmacies, including Costco, not to carry abortion drug

Religious organizations have ramped up their pressure on retail pharmacies to not carry mifepristone — the first of two drugs used in most medication abortions and to manage some miscarriages.
- Eilís O'Neill
Washington’s safety net clinics face ‘perfect storm’ of federal threats

Clinics across Washington that focus on serving low-income patients are bracing for a dual threat from the federal government.
- Jake Goldstein-Street/Washington State Standard

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