Latest KFF Health News Stories
The analysis is “the latest in a long, long line of studies showing the harm done to children when they are consigned to the chaos of foster care,” said Richard Wexler of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform. In other public health news: smoking, chronic loneliness, tech and wildfire safety, ancient DNA, a fly’s brain, hospice care, and more.
At Height Of Feud Between Azar And Verma, White House Advisers Drew Up List Of Replacements
Advisers were braced for HHS Secretary Alex Azar or CMS Administrator Seema Verma to abruptly leave the Trump administration as they waged an increasingly public and personal feud last year. The issue has since seemed to simmer down. In other HHS and CMS news, a new study looks at what Medicare paid for undelivered post-op visits in 2018.
The county unveiled new online resources, but it is still limited by what it can offer Missouri doctors who don’t have the luxury of a statewide database like the rest of the country. Opioid news comes out of Massachusetts and Ohio, as well.
House Lawmakers To Haul Juul, Other Companies Into Hearings To Grill Them On Youth Vaping Epidemic
Many of the companies are also subjects of multiple congressional investigations into marketing and business practices that allegedly target young people.
More than half a dozen states are considering legislation that would penalize doctors for performing certain treatments for transgender patients. The speed and number of state bills has mobilized activists, suicide prevention groups and civil rights organizations. In 2018, the American Academy of Pediatrics released a policy statement that recommended giving youths “access to comprehensive gender-affirming and developmentally appropriate health care,” while noting the benefits and risks of using hormones that delay puberty.
Public health officials in Huntington, West Virginia, began making changes after a bit of national shaming. Small but concerted efforts have started to change the tide for the town. In other food health news: a look at how Michael Bloomberg got New York City to eat its veggies, food stamps in Baltimore, and more.
Although Johnson & Johnson posted better than expected earnings, its sales fell short of estimates. Some of the company’s most lucrative medicines face competition from generics and biosimilars. Other news on the health industry focuses on short-term plans, mergers, a teeth-straightening business, a hospital’s efforts to retain patients, and more.
The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and 18 of its member organizations are teaming up with Civica Rx, a nonprofit that is already selling drugs used in hospitals to health systems. The move comes not long after California Gov. Gavin Newsom floated a similar proposal, in which the state would contract with outside manufacturers to sell generic drugs under a California label.
The country has made big leaps in preparedness since the anthrax scare of 2001, but the United States still has a ways to go. Meanwhile, health officials scramble to contain the coronavirus after diagnosing the first U.S. patient with the illness. And a top NIH official says human trials for a vaccine could begin within three months.
Media outlets offer broad coverage of the virus that China is working to contain during a busy travel season. Although the illness has caused at least 17 deaths so far, most of those patients were older men with previous health ailments.
Trump To Become First President To Speak In Person At March For Life Event
Although in the past, President Donald Trump described himself as “pro-choice,” since he ran his 2016 campaign he’s ardently courted supporters within the antiabortion movement. The announcement comes just a few days after the Susan B. Anthony List and its affiliated super PAC said it would spend $52 million to help the president’s reelection.
The funding for Texas was cut during the Obama administration after the state Legislature excluded Planned Parenthood from the Healthy Texas Women program. Other conservative states are watching the outcome of the decision as they consider excluding abortion providers from their programs as well.
“At the right time, we will take a look at that. You know, that’s actually the easiest of all things, if you look,” President Donald Trump said in response to a question whether cuts to programs like Medicare and Social Security were on the table. The statement was a departure from the last election when Trump tapped into the popularity of the two programs while wooing voters.
First Edition: January 23, 2020
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
In-Home Teeth-Straightening Business Is Booming ― But Better Brace Yourself
SmileDirectClub and similar startup companies say they provide these services at what can be thousands of dollars less than office-visit teeth straightening, but proof is lacking and patients can be left with no recourse if problems arise.
Patients Want A ‘Good Death’ At Home, But Hospice Care Can Badly Strain Families
Fewer Americans are dying in a hospital, under the close supervision of doctors and nurses. That trend has been boosted by an expanded Medicare benefit that helps people live out their final days at home in hospice care. But as home hospice grows, so has the burden on families left to provide much of the care.
Opinion writers tackle these and other health issues.
Media outlets report on news from Colorado, Washington, Virginia, California, Pennsylvania, Utah, Mississippi, Missouri, Georgia, Tennessee, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Illinois, Iowa, and Michigan.
Long-Anticipated Vertical Merger Guidelines From FTC And DOJ ‘Don’t Say Much,’ Some Complain
“They don’t really do much new, and they don’t refer at all to healthcare or use any healthcare-related examples,” said Douglas Ross, a veteran antitrust attorney. The guidance update from the agencies comes as concerns mount over the growing consolidation of hospitals and physician practices. In other news on the health industry and costs: Medicare payments for acupuncture, an interview with the Gates Foundation CEO, the cost of teeth aligner treatment, and more.
Two starkly different pictures were painted of the parent of the patient at the heart of a lawsuit against Boston Children’s Hospital. Other hospital news comes out of Florida, Louisiana and North Carolina.