Latest KFF Health News Stories
A coalition that includes major drugmakers like Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson is running ads featuring workers in hard hats and hiring former labor officials and well-known union lobbyists to deliver their message. Many see the pairing between pharma and the unions as an odd one, because members often struggle with the high costs of drugs. Meanwhile, the White House contends that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s drug plan will hurt innovation.
A Look At The Role Consulting Powerhouse McKinsey Played In Shaping Immigration Detention Policies
A ProPublica investigation reveals that the money-saving recommendations the consultants came up with–including proposed cuts in spending on food for migrants, as well as on medical care and supervision of detainees–made some career ICE staff uncomfortable. Other news on the administration focuses on Agent Orange and food stamps.
Government To Provide PrEP To Uninsured Americans To Further Its Goal Of Eradicating HIV Epidemic
Some American cities with high HIV rates already have programs that pay the costs of PrEP for the uninsured, but the new program — called Ready, Set, PrEP — marks the first time the government is supplying the drug to patients not enrolled in Medicaid, the Veterans Health Administration or any other federal health program.
FDA Nominee Advances Through Committee, But Concerns Over How He’d Handle Vaping Epidemic Linger
Dr. Stephen Hahn is a noted oncologist from Texas and was nominated by President Donald Trump to replace former FDA Chief Scott Gottlieb. He would be stepping into the job as the F.D.A. is confronting several crises, among them, the continuing outbreak of vaping-related lung diseases. Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah) both aired concerns during the vote about Hahn’s commitment to tackling e-cigarettes.
Since At Least 1970s FDA Downplayed Health Concerns About Talc, Investigation Finds
An investigation from Reuters reveals that over the past 50 years, the FDA has relied upon–and often deferred to–industry even as outside experts and consumers repeatedly raised serious health concerns about talc powders and cosmetics.
Biden Uses Health Care To Take Jabs At Rivals Warren, Buttigieg In Iowa
Former Vice President Joe Biden says that Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s “Medicare for All” plan is out of step with what Democrats want and that South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg is riding the coattails of Biden’s public option proposal. Buttigieg pushed back on the accusations.
First Edition: December 4, 2019
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Built For Counterterrorism, This High-Tech Machine Is Now Used To Detect Fentanyl
Public health officials are adopting a law enforcement tool, the mass spectrometer, to instantly identify potentially deadly levels of opioids in local drug supplies.
HHS Hands Out Free HIV Prevention Drugs. Do You Qualify?
Called “Ready, Set, PrEP,” the federal program will provide medication that can reduce the chances of getting AIDS to at-risk patients who don’t have insurance.
An Atlanta Nonprofit Brings Medical Care And Connection To The Homeless
“Street medicine” programs seek out people living in back alleys and under highways. It’s a public health approach designed to build trust and eventually connect homeless patients to other services.
Anthem Blue Cross Gets Flagged And Fined More Than Other Insurers
Anthem Blue Cross has received a disproportionate share of violations and fines from California’s largest health insurance regulator, mostly related to its mishandling of patient grievances.
Candidatos apuestan fuerte por la salud. ¿Es lo que los votantes realmente quieren?
Una nueva encuesta revela que los votantes sí quieren que se hable de salud. Pero la pregunta del millón es: ¿apoyarán en las urnas un “Medicare para Todos”?.
Opinion writers weigh in on these health issues and others.
Opinion writers focus on ways to improve health care.
Media outlets report on news from Idaho, Georgia, New York, Colorado, Illinois, Florida, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and Washington.
State fire investigators had previously determined that PG&E equipment started the Camp Fire, which killed 85 people. But the new report goes beyond that, alleging numerous serious violations of state rules for maintaining electric lines and specific problems with upkeep of the transmission line that started the fire.
Too often suicide attempts and deaths by suicide, especially among the young, become family secrets that are not dealt with in ways that might helps others, according to mental health specialists. Public heath news is on rising prediabetes rates among the young, HIV treatment efforts, millennials stepping up as caregivers, and chewing gum coming to the rescue, as well.
Quartz Countertops Can Be Perfectly Safe If Made Following Regulations. But That Can Be A Big If.
The dust that can arise when the countertop is cut wrong can lead to severe lung disease or even death. In other environmental health news: air pollution, climate change and superfund sites.
Glitch With Diabetes Monitors Drives Home Dangers Of Depending On Technology
One of the selling points of these particular diabetes monitors is that they allow people other than the person with diabetes — like the parent of a young child — to receive alerts when blood sugar drops too low. But in recent days, those alerts stopped working.
Rhode Island is the only state in New England, and among a minority nationally, that allows non-paramedics to intubate patients. The practice has led to 12 patient deaths in the past two years, as air is pumped into their stomach instead of their lungs. But first responders say limiting who can intubate patients would result in more deaths.