Author

Phil Galewitz

Phil Galewitz, Senior Correspondent, covers Medicaid, Medicare, long-term care, hospitals and various state health issues. He has covered the health beat for more than two decades. He is a former board member of the Association of Health Care Journalists. He has a BA in health planning and administration and a master’s in public administration with an emphasis in health policy from Penn State University.

Health

Over The Objections Of Drugmakers, Trump Admin Expected To Finalize Plan To Allow States To Import…

Phil Galewitz Sep 18, 2020

Six states, Colorado, Florida, Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico and Vermont, have passed laws allowing them to seek federal approval to buy drugs from Canada to give their residents access to lower-cost medicines. Photo credit Shutterstock…

Health

Test Sites Quickly Attract Thousands for COVID-19 Vaccine Study

Phil Galewitz Aug 9, 2020

During the next two months, vaccine makers hope to recruit 60,000 Americans to roll up their sleeves to test the two vaccines, one made by Pfizer and BioNTech, a German company, and the other by biotech startup Moderna. Photo credit…

Finance

The COVID-19 Downturn Triggers Jump in Medicaid Enrollment

Phil Galewitz Jul 28, 2020

Medicaid enrollment was 72.3 million in April, up from 71.5 million in March and 71 million in February, according to the latest enrollment figures released last week by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The increase…

Health

As Long Waits for Results Render COVID Tests ‘Useless,’ States Seek Workarounds

Phil Galewitz Jul 23, 2020

Montana said Wednesday that it is dropping Quest Diagnostics, one of the nation’s largest diagnostic testing companies. Instead, the state is enlisting Montana State University’s lab to process up to 500 tests a day and has finalized a…

Finance

Shingles Vaccination Rate Soars But Leaves Many Behind

Phil Galewitz Jul 9, 2020

A report shows low-income adults and those who are Black or Hispanic are far less likely to get vaccinated than whites. About 39% of non-Hispanic white adults were vaccinated for shingles by 2018, compared with about 19% of Hispanic and…

Health

As COVID Testing Soars, Wait Times For Results Jump To A Week – Or More

Phil Galewitz Jul 9, 2020

Cars line up at city COVID-19 drive-through testing center. Sugar Land, Texas. Editorial credit: michelmond / Shutterstock.com CALIFORNIA - Elliot Truslow went to a CVS drugstore on June 15 in Tucson, Arizona, to get tested for the…

Business

Hospital Taps Small Craft Brewery For Financial Aid To Buy Masks, Gloves

Phil Galewitz Jun 16, 2020

Water's End Brewery in Woodbridge, Virginia, partnered with Beltway Brewing in Sterling, to make PPE, a West Coast-style IPA. Money raised from the sale of PPE goes to Inova Health System’s Emergency Preparedness Fund. Photo credit: Phil…

Health

Coronavirus Crisis Opens Access To Online Opioid Addiction Treatment

Phil Galewitz Apr 23, 2020

Under the national emergency declared by the Trump administration in March, the government has suspended a federal law that required patients to have an in-person visit with a physician before they could be prescribed drugs that help quell…

Health

Amid Pandemic, FDA Seizes Cheaper Drugs From Canada

Phil Galewitz Apr 20, 2020

While seizures at the nation’s international mail facilities have periodically spiked during the past two decades, the latest crackdown is distressing many older customers whose goal is to stay home during the coronavirus pandemic. Image…

Economy

‘It’s Not Over Until It’s Over’: 5 Things To Know About Hitting The Peak

Phil Galewitz Apr 17, 2020

Lowering the number of new cases is important, but it doesn’t mean the virus is disappearing. It suggests instead that social distancing has slowed the spread of the disease and elongated the course of the pandemic, said an infectious…

Health

Furor Erupts: Billions Going To Hospitals Based On Medicare Billings, Not COVID-19

Phil Galewitz Apr 11, 2020

States such as Minnesota, Nebraska and Montana, which the pandemic has touched relatively lightly, are getting more than $300,000 per reported COVID-19 case in the $30 billion, according to a Kaiser Health News analysis. Image by F.…

Health

To ‘Keep The Lights On,’ Doctors And Hospitals Ask For Advance Medicare Payments

Phil Galewitz Apr 10, 2020

“Healthcare providers are making massive financial sacrifices to care for the influx of coronavirus patients,” Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma said in a statement. Photo credit: C-SPAN WASHINGTON,…

Health

Retiree-Rich Palm Beach County Leads Florida In COVID-19 Deaths

Phil Galewitz Apr 8, 2020

Health experts attribute the Palm Beach county’s high mortality rate to three factors: a large elder population, its lack of available testing, and frequent travel among residents and visitors to and from the New York metro area, the…

Finance

Medicaid Nearing ‘Eye Of Storm’ As Newly Unemployed Look For Coverage

Phil Galewitz Apr 3, 2020

The Labor Department reported Thursday that more than 6.6 million people signed up for unemployment insurance during the week that ended March 28. Many of these newly unemployed people may turn to Medicaid for their families.…

Health

Under Pressure, Florida Governor Finally Orders Residents To Stay Home

Phil Galewitz Apr 1, 2020

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced an executive order to limit Floridians movements outside of their home in response to the coronavirus pandemic. He also shared his concerns regarding cruise ships with outbreaks on board docking in…

Economy

With Coronavirus Rare In Rural Florida, Experts Dispute Way Forward

Phil Galewitz Apr 1, 2020

On Monday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a stay-at-home order for residents of South Florida until April 14, saying the action makes sense for the region because of the number of cases concentrated there. Photo credit: C-SPAN. …

Health

In West Palm Beach, Drive-Thru COVID-19 Testing Gets Off To Rocky Start

Phil Galewitz Mar 17, 2020

Cars line up outside FoundCare, a community health center in West Palm Beach, Florida, for drive-thru COVID-19 testing Monday. Photo credit: Phil Galewitz, Kaiser Health News. WEST PALM BEACH, FL - A much-needed drive-thru…