Latest KFF Health News Stories
Grocery Pharmacy Consolidations Forcing Mom-And-Pop Drugstores To Close
Smaller pharmacies can’t compete with the big chains, so they’re heading toward a status as relics. In other pharmaceutical news: Americans’ tough choice when insurers don’t cover a certain drug, hospitals create their own drugs, and a battle over a preterm birth drug.
Nearly a month after discovering the first cases, Chinese health officials have made little progress in stopping its spread. Experts say China’s skills in certain basic public-health tasks, such as outbreak investigations, are uneven. So what does all that mean for China’s investments in becoming a world leader in health? Meanwhile, Chinese scientists are testing an HIV drug to treat coronavirus symptoms. And media outlets take a look at the science behind the outbreak and response.
Quarantines of the level China instituted on the Hubei province lock in the sick and the healthy together, are nearly impossible to maintain, stress governmental resources, and sow a distrust with the government at a crucial point in the crisis. “This is just mind-boggling,” said University of Michigan medical historian Howard Markel. The death toll from the illness in China climbs to 80.
U.S. Coronavirus Count Has Ticked Up To 5, But Experts Say You Really Shouldn’t Be Panicking
The total number of confirmed cases in the United States now sits at five. But experts say it’s unlikely Americans are in any real danger right now. “Don’t panic unless you’re paid to panic,” said Brandon Brown, an epidemiologist. “Public health workers should be on the lookout. The government should be ready to provide resources. … But for everyone else: Breathe.”
President Donald Trump cemented his relationship with the anti-abortion movement when he became the first sitting president to speak in person at the annual March for Life last week. On the same day, his administration announced that it would give California 30 days to lift a requirement that insurers cover abortion or that federal funds would be cut off from the state. Gov. Gavin Newsom dismissed the threat.
First Edition: January 27, 2020
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Call For FDA To Withdraw Preterm Birth Drug Divides Doctors and Insurers
A study ordered by the Food and Drug Administration failed to prove that Makena, the only drug approved to prevent premature birth, is effective. While a panel of experts has recommended withdrawing the drug’s approval, many doctors are wary.
Medi-Cal Benefits Eliminated A Decade Ago, Such As Foot Care And Eyeglasses, Are Back
Budget cuts in 2009, sparked by the Great Recession, eliminated many needed health care services, like regular foot care for people with diabetes to minimize the risk of amputation. The restored benefits also include eyeglasses, speech therapy and hearing exams.
Listen: The Hidden Cost Of Health Systems Gobbling Up Rural Hospitals
Corporate health systems have been purchasing community hospitals, and that can have both positive and negative implications for patients in rural areas.
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.
Something Far Deadlier Than The Wuhan Virus Lurks Near You
There is a virus that has already sickened at least 13 million Americans this winter, hospitalizing 120,000 and killing 6,600 people. You may even know of it.
Opinion writers tackle these and other health issues.
Media outlets report on news from California, Georgia, Iowa, Florida, Mississippi, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Texas, Michigan, Oregon, North Carolina, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Missouri.
Longer Looks: Psychology And Western Cultures; Food Deserts; The Gun Show; And More
Each week, KHN finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Ban On Using Campaign Funds For Health Insurance Hurts Working-Class Americans, House Candidate Says
Nabilah Islam, a progressive Democrat from Georgia, says that the ban on using fund for health insurance and other living expenses makes running for Congress cost prohibitive and keeps working-class Americans from running.
Critics of the legislation say that it perpetuates myths about abortions and that there are already safeguards in place for protecting infants. News on abortion laws comes out of Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia, as well.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said supporters of the health law should not panic over the delayed timeline as the cases marches slowly toward the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, in California, the number of new enrollees on the state’s exchange surges past last year’s numbers.
Federal prosecutors have said that Insys, based in Arizona, embarked on an intensive marketing plan — including paying doctors for sham educational talks and luring others with lap dances — to sell its under-the-tongue fentanyl spray, Subsys, which was federally approved to treat patients with cancer. Meanwhile, McKesson has reached a settlement with its investors over allegations it missed suspicious opioid shipments.
More than 450 lobbyists were deployed on behalf of the industry last year, and PhRMA broke its all-time annual lobbying record. In other pharmaceutical news: patient groups’ deep ties to the industry and trade wars.
U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams says that it’s shocking to see the statistics that many smokers are not even warned that they should quit the habit. The report also noted that vulnerable populations in particular are not getting the help they need to stop smoking.