Latest KFF Health News Content

Latest KFF Health News Stories

2013 Explosion In Texas That Killed 15 Prompted New Safety Rule For Storing Chemicals. The EPA Just Weakened It.

Morning Briefing

EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler says the decision to weaken the Obama-era rule has to do with fears that terrorists could use the information required by the stricter rule to create a roadmap of where dangerous chemicals are stored. However, his predecessor suspended the rule in his first month on the job because companies complained it was too much of a burden on them. Meanwhile, prosecution of polluters has fallen to a quarter-century low during the Trump administration.

DOJ To Unveil Plan To Combat Chronic And Underreported Violence Against Native American Women

Morning Briefing

A report released last year found that there were 5,712 cases of missing and murdered indigenous girls in 2016, but only 116 of those cases were logged in a Justice Department database. The proposal includes a plan to hire coordinators across the country who would be responsible for developing protocols for a more coordinated law enforcement response to missing persons cases.

‘I Begged And Pleaded For More Time’: Ohio Struggles To Safely Return Kids To Families In Face Of Opioid Epidemic

Morning Briefing

Ohio counties wrestle with how best to reunite families separated because of drug use following the deaths of at least a dozen children between 2014 and 2018 who were returned to their parents or caregivers. Meanwhile, a deal with drugmaker Insys and groups impacted by the opioid crisis continue to work toward a bankruptcy deal. And other news related to the national drug epidemic comes out of California and Maryland.

Revamped Tool To Help Medicare Patients Pick Prescription Plans Steering Them Toward More Expensive Coverage

Morning Briefing

The Medicare plan finder’s issue stems from a significant change the agency made for 2020. The plan with the lowest premium now gets automatically placed on top, with the monthly premium displayed in large font. Medicare’s previous plan finder automatically sorted plans by total cost, not just premiums, because they are only one piece of information. Meanwhile, a new study shows that Medicare prescription plans are slower to cover new generics than private plans.

Another Vaping-Related Lung Disease Highlights The Unknown Dangers Of E-Cigarettes

Morning Briefing

The Canadian teen’s condition is in line with “popcorn lung” — named for factory workers who developed lung disease after breathing in heated flavouring — rather than the sticky lungs that have been seen with the EVALI cases, which are continuing to climb. In other news on the crisis: bans, Juul’s shrinking business, anti-vaping campaigns in the states and more.

Democrats Seek Reassurance That Trump Administration Has Addressed Technical Issues With ACA Enrollment

Morning Briefing

The Democrats wrote a letter to the Trump administration pointing to an analysis that found that as many as 100,000 fewer people signed up on the first day of enrollment this year because of the technical glitches. Meanwhile, KHN offers advice on navigating open enrollment season.

Drug Deals And Food Gone Bad Plague Corner Stores. How Neighbors Are Fighting Back.

KFF Health News Original

Corner stores that provide groceries for those using the federal food stamp program have become magnets for violence just outside St. Louis. Gunshots ring out under the cover of darkness, windows are postered over, and the quality of food doesn’t make a trip to the corner store worth the risk. Now local residents are putting their feet down.

Listen: Neighbors Take On Corner Stores Plagued By Violence, Spoiled Food

KFF Health News Original

KHN Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony appeared on America’s Heroes Group radio show, Illinois Public Media’s “The 21st” and St. Louis Public Radio’s news magazine “St. Louis on the Air” to discuss how people in low-income neighborhoods are fighting back against crime and spoiled food at their local corner stores.

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: The Health Care Campaign

KFF Health News Original

Health care is still a top issue in the Democratic primary debate for president, but the candidates’ complicated plans may be doing more to confuse than to educate voters. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Caitlin Owens of Axios and Julie Appleby of Kaiser Health News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more health news. Also, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week.