Latest KFF Health News Stories
UnitedHealth Group Dodges Blame for System Failures In Wake Of CEO Killing
In the first public appearance since Brian Thompson’s slaying in early December, UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty addressed the public’s discontent, skirting responsibility and blaming drug companies and hospitals for the health care system’s failures.
Arkansas Hopes To Reinstate Work Requirements For Medicaid
When Arkansas previously enacted work requirements in 2018, more than 18,000 people lost coverage. Also in the news: New Hampshire tackles the issue of exorbitant, unexpected ambulance bills; San Francisco’s public health director will step down; Montana seniors struggle with homelessness; and more.
First Edition: Friday, Jan. 17, 2025
Note to readers: the First Edition will not be published Monday, Jan. 20, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Look for it again in your inbox Tuesday. Here are today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial writers delve into these public health issues.
Research Roundup: The Latest Science, Discoveries, And Breakthroughs
Each week, KFF Health News compiles a selection of the latest health research and news.
CMS Retracts Medicare Advantage Enrollment Report For Corrections
Meanwhile: Medicare Advantage enrollees aren’t seeing expected savings on supplemental care; Inflation Reduction Act’s annual prescription cap will provide significant savings; Georgia wants to change Medicaid eligibility requirements; and more.
Wisconsin Supreme Court Weighs Clash Over Conversion Therapy For LGBTQ+
Justices are examining whether a GOP-led legislative panel overreached its authority when it blocked the ban that forbids professionals from counseling people to try to change their sexual orientation or gender identity. More news comes from Massachusetts, New York, Colorado, and elsewhere.
First Covid, Now Wildfires: Calif. Teens Say Their Mental Health Is Suffering
The disaster has again disrupted the education and nutrition of thousands of children. In Pasadena alone, five school sites were destroyed or severely damaged, leaving 14,000 students with no clear plan. And it’s not just students: Almost half of Pasadena’s district employees lived in the evacuation zone, the Los Angeles Times noted.
NIH Director To Step Down After Only One Year In The Role
National Institutes of Health Director Monica Bertagnolli will resign Friday. The Hill reports that while the agency has typically held bipartisan support, residual Republican dissatisfaction over the handling of the pandemic “has pushed NIH squarely into partisan crosshairs.” Also in the news: a conservative effort to oppose Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination; Trump’s plans for HHS; and more.
FDA Prohibits Red Dye No. 3, Which Is Linked To Cancer In Rats
Food safety advocates, who had urged the ban for decades, do not anticipate difficulties in the transition and hope this will lead to more bans on synthetic dyes. Also in public health news: baby formula, processed meats, and more.
New Rule From DEA, HHS Will Allow Some Opioid Treatment Via Telehealth
Roll Call reports that the newly finalized rule will allow for health care providers who have not seen a patient in person to prescribe six months’ worth of buprenorphine via telehealth. Also in pharma news: FDA’s proposed nicotine crackdown; FDA’s fast-track approval process for drugs; insulin prices; and more.
Industry Leaders Back Policy Allowing Interstate Health Care Professionals
Texas is being encouraged to join existing interstate compacts, which would allow health care workers from nine professions to practice in other states and out-of-state workers to come to Texas. Other health industry news is on furloughs, contract deals, updates on the J.P. Morgan conference, and more.
First Edition: Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: GOP Plan To ‘Make America Healthy Again’ Would Have The Opposite Effect
Opinion writers discuss these public health topics.
After 2 Deaths, Philips Recalls Software That Mishandled Some EKG Readings
Another 109 people reported injuries after using the remote cardiac monitoring software, Modern Healthcare reported. Other pharmaceutical and tech news is on the FDA’s drug approval system and a rapid diagnostic test for bloodstream infections.
FTC Finds Top Three PBMs Took In Billions From Inflated Drug Costs
During a roughly five-year span, CVS Health, Cigna, and UnitedHealth benefited the most from increasing prices for generic drugs that treated illnesses such as HIV and cancer. Some of the price hikes topped 1000%. Other news is on the price of drugs under Trump; how the shift to online therapy has worsened disparities in care; and more.
FDA Wants Easier-To-See Nutrition Labels On Most Packaged Foods, Drinks
The proposal would require brands to list sodium, sugar, and fat on the fronts of packages in an effort to help people make better choices. Also in the news: A possible overhaul in how obesity is defined.
A Drink A Day Might Be Fine. More Than That? Not So Much, Study Finds.
The risk of premature death increases when people consume a couple of drinks a day, an HHS report says. A trade group disagrees, arguing the report is “rife with bias and conflicts of interest.” And in other health news, a federal judge has temporarily blocked a new warning label on cigarettes.
Insurers Won’t Be Required To Cover Free OTC Birth Control After All
The Biden administration ran out of time to expand contraception coverage under the Affordable Care Act, The 19th reports. It’s not likely the incoming Trump administration would support such a mandate. More news is about abortion pill stockpiles, an OB-GYN mobile van, Meta’s LGBTQ+ policy, and more.
Biden Team Begins Cooperation With Trump Officials On Bird Flu Response
“We sent them all of the information on our work,” a Biden health official told NBC News. Public health officials raise concern that a lack of coordination could imperil the response to the emerging H5N1 threat. Other news is on the current norovirus wave and MIS-C recovery.