Latest KFF Health News Stories
Although the Trump administration promises that it will protect popular provisions of the Affordable Care Act even if the law is struck down, officials have yet to provide a detailed plan on how they would accomplish that without the less popular parts. HHS Secretary Alex Azar bore the brunt of congressional Democrats’ frustration during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Thursday.
Although seniors are warned about the Medicare data schemes, a report found that they tend to let their guard down when they think they’re talking to a trusted source like a pharmacist.
Florida Aims To Increase Regulation Over Vape Shops
The American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association oppose Florida’s new legislation, saying it’s not enough to solve the issue. Vaping news comes out of Oregon, as well.
Uncertain Of Where Democratic Candidates Stand On Gun Control?: Here’s A Breakdown By Candidate
The Los Angeles Times reports that all the Democratic presidential hopefuls agree something needs to be done to change a culture of gun violence, but its story dives deeper to display the candidates’ differences. Other gun control news is reported out of Florida, as well.
The legislation would ban abortions after 20 weeks and require care for infants born after failed abortions, respectively. Democrats framed the latter as misleading and unnecessary as there are already protections for living children. Abortion news comes out of Virginia, Wisconsin and Iowa.
VA Secretary Robert Wilkie fired a well-liked top official within the agency in the midst of a controversy over sexual assault allegations from a House staffer. All of this comes as the VA prepares to embark on an ambitious health plan to improve veterans’ access to care. Meanwhile, veterans are demanding an investigation into radium exposure.
Japan wants to start moving people who are 80 or older with underlying medical conditions or windowless cabins off the cruise ship. The news didn’t come as a relief to those who are going to remain stuck aboard the ship where cases are climbing daily. “People in the ship’s surroundings are kind of in a cesspool of probability of being infected,” said Dr. Peter Katona, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, Los Angeles. Other global news on the outbreak focuses on the economic fallout, increased evacuation attempts, and more.
Coronavirus Highlights Humans’ Psychological Shortcomings In Assessing Danger
How the world is reacting to the outbreak of the coronavirus, which has killed far less people than the common flu, illustrates the unconscious biases in how human beings think about risk, as well as the impulses that often guide our responses — sometimes with serious consequences. “We’re hearing about the fatalities,” said said Paul Slovic, a University of Oregon psychologist. “We’re not hearing about the 98 or so percent of people who are recovering from it and may have had mild cases.” In other news: the “thermometer guns,” the infection rate, the symptoms and treatment for coronavirus, and more.
While the 15th American to test positive for the coronavirus was an evacuee from China, public health officials are braced for human-to-human transmission in the longterm. “This virus is probably with us beyond this season, beyond this year, and I think eventually the virus will find a foothold and we will get community-based transmission,” said CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield. Meanwhile, the U.S. said it will help North Korea fight the virus.
Meanwhile, Chinese officials report that at least 1,716 health care workers tested positive for the coronavirus so far, and that six of them have died. Political unrest continues to ripple through the top echelons of the Communist Party as frustration mounts against the government.
First Edition: February 14, 2020
NOTE TO READERS: KHN’s First Edition will not be published Feb. 17. Look for it again in your inbox Feb. 18.
Facts Vs. Fears: Five Things To Help Weigh Your Coronavirus Risk
As the numbers of coronavirus fatalities and infections rise, the threat posed by the outbreak in China can seem frightening. But public health officials say the risk in the United States is low. Experts discuss some important issues that can help U.S. residents understand how the epidemic is unfolding.
Changing Clocks Is Bad For Your Health, But Which Time To Choose?
State legislatures are considering new bills proposing a permanent time standard instead of the spring-forward and fall-back clock changes. Most people want to stop adjusting clocks, but scientists and politicians are at odds over which time is better for society and our health.
Would ‘Medicare For All’ Cost More Than U.S. Budget? Biden Says So. Math Says No.
Biden’s statement misses the mark because of messy math.
‘An Arm And A Leg’: What We’ve Learned And What’s Ahead For The Show
For this bonus episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” Dan Weissmann gives up the host’s chair and answers questions from reporter and colleague Sally Herships.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Live from D.C. With Rep. Donna Shalala
President Donald Trump’s proposed budget includes billions of dollars in health spending cuts, Congress gets back to work on surprise medical bills, and health care remains a top issue for the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. Rep. Donna Shalala (D-Fla.), a former Health and Human Services secretary, joins the panel at a special taping before a live audience in Washington, D.C. Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call and Joanne Kenen of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
Coronavirus Tests Public Health Infrastructure In The Heartland
While Missouri has yet to have a confirmed case of coronavirus, the threat of the disease is siphoning resources from an already stretched-thin public health system.
Para combatir el COVID-19, usan drogas contra el VIH, la malaria y el Ébola
Cuando surge un nuevo virus y pone en peligro a un gran número de personas, los científicos a veces recurren a medicamentos ya existentes que pueden readaptarse.
Opinion writers weigh in on these health care issues and others.
Research Roundup: Medicaid Work Requirements, Gender’s Role In Care, Air Pollution, And More
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.