Latest KFF Health News Stories
Cholesterol Drug That Works Differently Than Widely Prescribed Statin Pills Approved By FDA
Esperion’s drug, called Nexletol, lowers low-density lipoprotein, colloquially known as “bad cholesterol,” by 17% over the course of 12 weeks of treatment. “This is a nice alternative” to statins, but those medicines will still be the first choice, said Dr. Christie Ballantyne, Baylor College of Medicine’s cardiology chief.
HHS Tries To Ease Electronic Health Records’ Administrative Burden On Clinicians
HHS’ strategy identified four main areas that contribute to administrative burden: clinical documentation; health information technology usability; public health reporting requirements, and federal health IT and EHR reporting requirements. Meanwhile, in face of complaints, HHS officials continue to talk up interoperability rules.
To Understand The Complexities Of Unions’ Feelings Toward ‘Medicare For All’ Look Back To The 1990s
A 6-year strike in the 1990s ended with a health care deal with which other workers were envious. If “Medicare for All” is enacted, does that mean those efforts were for naught? Meanwhile, despite the warning from the powerful Culinary Union against Sen. Bernie Sanders’ health plan, Sanders easily secured victory in Nevada’s caucuses over the weekend.
Opioid-Overdose Death Toll Continues To Rise In West Due To Availability Of Potent, Illicit Fentanyl
However, rates in other parts of the country, including Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Maine, are dropping. More news on the national drug epidemic covers medicated-assistance recovery, treatment business partners, Purdue Pharma payouts, and a wrongful-death lawsuit.
Yucca Mountain, in the desert about 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, was conceived as a permanent storage place for the nation’s radioactive waste, which is currently scattered across dozens of holding sites around the country. Now President Donald Trump is promising Nevadans that he won’t make them house the waste in their “backyards.” That doesn’t always match, though, with what his administration is pushing.
Sharp Spike Of South Korea Cases, New Patients In Italy Signal Outbreak Is Picking Up Global Steam
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, resisted the notion Friday that the outbreak was at a tipping point. But he did tell reporters that the “window of opportunity” to stop spread of the virus is shrinking.
China’s top legislature approved a draft decision on Monday to delay the annual parliament session set to take place in Beijing in March. Chinese President Xi Jinping said the epidemic was “the fastest spreading, with the most infected and was the most difficult to prevent and control” since the founding of the People’s Republic.
So far there has been no community spread of the disease in the United States, which means no cases in which the source of the infection is not known. But looking ahead, community spread within the country is very possible and maybe even likely, said Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Other stories on the outbreak and the United States focus on self-quarantines, scientists’ work understanding the virus, drug shortages, the politics of an epidemic, and more.
Supreme Court Lifts Final Barrier To ‘Public Charge’ Immigration Policy Going Into Effect On Monday
The Supreme Court on Friday lifted a lower court injunction against the rule, which will allow immigration officials to consider whether a green card applicant would ever make even temporary use of public safety nets like Medicaid. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote a scathing dissent in which she said the Trump administration has abused its ability to seek the Supreme Court’s decision when a lower court issues a stay against one of its policies.
First Edition: February 24, 2020
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Congressional Candidates Go Head-To-Head On Health Care — Again
The California Democratic members of Congress who flipped seven Republican seats two years ago made health care a major campaign issue, criticizing their opponents for voting to repeal the Affordable Care Act. As the Democrats defend their seats in this year’s elections, they are coming back to health care — but the issues are different.
Getting To The Heart Of Presidential Fitness: How Much Do We Need To Know?
A recent cardiac health dust-up between former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Sen. Bernie Sanders, both vying for the Democratic presidential nomination, focuses attention on this question.
Hormone Blocker Shocker: Drug Costs 8 Times More When Used For Kids
Two drug implants are nearly identical. The one for children has a list price of $37,300. For adults, the list price is $4,400. One dad fought for his daughter to be able to use the cheaper drug.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
Opinion writers weigh in on these health topics and others.
Longer Looks: Dementia, Science In The Courts, Phages And More
Each week, KHN finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Opinion writers weigh in on issues pertaining to coronavirus.
Media outlets report on news from Michigan, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Colorado, Illinois, Georgia, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire.
There are multiple reasons that only about 15% of patients receive drugs to help them overcome their addiction, but experts say a prominent one is rooted in outdated beliefs about treatment. “Medications are also rejected in part because they have been stigmatized as not being truly ‘clean’ or ‘trading one addiction for another,’ which is a false representation of the role of medications for opioid use disorder treatment,” said Dr. Michael Barnett, a researcher at the Harvard.
In A Season Featuring Two Waves Of Flu Strains, Vaccine Is Doing OK At Protecting Americans
The flu vaccine is particularly hard to get right, and overall average around 40%. The current seasonal flu vaccine protects about 45% of recipients.