Latest KFF Health News Stories
Cómo el movimiento #MeToo está cambiando la educación sexual en las escuelas
La temporada legislativa de 2019 ha generado una cosecha de proyectos de ley que planean, o ya han modificado, la forma de hablar sobre educación sexual en las escuelas, tanto en estados azules como rojos.
Opinion writers weigh in on these and other health topics.
A selection of articles about health care from around the country, including North Carolina, New York, Louisiana, California, Florida and Massachusetts.
Louisiana Residents Can Go Online To Get Immunization Records As Part Of HHS-Backed Pilot Program
“This program will serve as a way to improve immunization rates throughout the state, reduce the administrative burden of immunization records requests for health care providers and empower patients to take greater control over their health,” said Dr. Alex Billioux, assistant secretary of the Office of Public Health. News on immunizations comes from Texas and Kansas, as well.
News from state legislatures comes from California, Minnesota and North Carolina.
Participation in Ohio Medicaid has dropped nearly every month the past two years, but numbers remain steady in SNAP and food bank enrollments. “We know roughly half the people who left Medicaid, it was for something related to the improvement in the economy,” Ohio Medicaid Director Maureen Corcoran said. News on Medicaid is from Louisiana, as well.
Some patients rushed to the University Medical Center Of El Paso needed more than one surgery after being hit with bullets from an AK-47 style rife. Life-saving treatment still continues. News on gun violence comes from Ohio, California, Massachusetts and Missouri.
Newark Residents Promised Bottled Water Over Worries Of Dangerous Lead In Public System
After an EPA letter cited insufficient home filters distributed by city, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said bottled water will be provided to residents with lead service lines. Meanwhile, the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in Oregon has also been coping with unsafe drinking water for months. In other environmental health news: heat islands impact cities in summer and the EPA refuses to require cancer-warning labels on Roundup weedkiller.
Opioid Crisis Prompts Law Enforcement, Libraries To Embrace Experimental Solutions
A controversial program in western Massachusetts designates a wing of the county jail for court-ordered addiction treatment for men who have not committed a crime. Meanwhile, a number of libraries nationwide add social workers to their staffs to help the growing number of patrons with drug addiction or mental illness. In other news on the drug epidemic: an alleged online opioid drug dealer goes on trial.
Kaiser Permanente’s Net Income Soars To $2B In Second Quarter
The not-for-profit health system cites strong equity returns and an accounting change as reasons behind the strong jump. Other hospital and health system news comes out of California, Connecticut, Minnesota and Louisiana, as well.
Among the selling points — the benefits of rural life.
U.S. Removed From Canada’s List Of Countries It Uses To Control Drug Prices
In addition to the United States, Switzerland was also kicked off the reference list the Canadian government will use to regulate prescription drug costs. Meanwhile, Allscripts, Rite Aid and Novartis are in the news. And Stat interviews the FDA’s digital health chief about artificial intelligence devices.
HHS Sets Timetable For New Rules On Reproductive Health Care Funding
The changes to the Title X program will bar federally funded family clinics from referring women for abortions.
Major Medical Groups Push For Tempered Gun Control
And, in the wake of the recent spate of mass shootings, public opinion polling indicates that Americans believe gun violence is a problem and support more restrictions on guns.
Dems Seek To Make Curbing Gun Violence A Central Issue Of Campaign For The White House
Candidates gathered at a forum organized by gun-control advocates that was held at the Iowa State Fair, which attracts about 100,000 visitors a day. Iowa also will hold the nation’s first presidential nomination caucuses in February 2020.
Para ahorrar dinero, pacientes y cirujanos se encuentran en Cancún
El turismo médico no es un fenómeno nuevo. Pero sí lo son las compañías que contratan médicos estadounidenses para que viajen al exterior a operar a pacientes de los Estados Unidos.
First Edition: August 12, 2019
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
How #MeToo Is Changing Sex Ed Policies — Even In Red States
Liberalized sex education policies are being considered in more states, even traditionally conservative ones, as more female lawmakers take office and legislators react to the #MeToo movement.
Class-Action Lawsuit Seeks To Let Medicare Patients Appeal Gap in Nursing Home Coverage
Medicare beneficiaries under observation care in the hospital can face higher costs for treatment and are not covered for nursing home care when discharged. A federal trial in Hartford, Conn., will determine whether the government’s ban on appeals involving observation care coverage is fair.
To Save Money, American Patients And Surgeons Meet In Cancun
The patient is from Mississippi. The surgeon is from Wisconsin. They meet in a Mexican resort for knee replacement surgery. Because the care costs so much less than in the U.S, the patient’s health plan pays her $5,000.