KHN

Gun sales are surging in California, where handgun-related FBI background checks this spring and summer were up 83% over 2019. Whether pro or con on gun control, experts agree the trend has been fueled by pandemic-related unrest.

Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

Some argue that vaccines capable of preventing any COVID-19 symptoms should qualify for widespread use, but others want much larger trials to prove the vaccines can reduce hospitalizations or deaths.

The Trump administration sought to shrink the federal-state health program for low-income Americans and give states more flexibility. But Democrats and the courts thwarted most of those efforts.

A California woman thought the discount on her coinsurance before an operation sounded too good to be true. Turns out, she was right.

The hunt for good cancer treatment often means miles on the road, time spent waiting and exhaustion from treatment and transit. “The further you have to travel to get care, the less likely that you are going to take that effort to do that,” said Boban Mathew, an oncologist in southeastern Kansas.

The volume of virtual medical appointments has exploded during the pandemic as patients and doctors have sought to avoid infection through in-person visits.

Voters in several states who live with visual impairments must rely on family and friends to fill out their mail-in or absentee paper ballots, compromising their privacy. More states are relying on mail-in and absentee voting to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

The administration seeks to have the Supreme Court overturn the federal health law but has not explained how it would ensure Americans’ health care coverage.

Colorado voters will decide whether to ban most abortions after 22 weeks of pregnancy, which would eliminate a haven for people seeking to end their pregnancies in the Midwest and Mountain West.

The state hospital association has endorsed Dale Folwell’s opponent after the treasurer sought to force them to accept lower reimbursements from the state employees’ health plan.

No private firms bid on the $30 million contract to set up and operate the state’s plan to bring in cheaper drugs. The setback is likely to delay by at least several months Florida’s effort to become the first state to import drugs under new federal regulations.

A Biden campaign ad out this month attacks President Donald Trump for pushing to slash Medicare benefits. A campaign spokesperson said the claim comes from the administration’s support for a legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act that seeks to nullify the entire law.

President Donald Trump was off the mark when he said Vice President Joe Biden’s health plan — which includes a public options — will terminate the private insurance of 180 million people.