Latest KFF Health News Stories
A weekly round-up of stories related to pharmaceutical development and pricing.
Washington State Law On Behavioral Care Balances Parental Rights, Teens’ Autonomy
Many states have rules that keep parents from knowing about or consenting to certain types of care for their children, including mental health and drug and alcohol treatment. Washington state, however, has revised its policies.
Compression Garments Can Ease Lymphedema. Covering Costs? Not So Easy.
Private insurance plans vary in coverage for compression garments, and some fall short of meeting patients’ needs. Although Medicaid programs cover some of these expenses, Medicare does not.
Monstruoso marketing de millones de dólares impulsa el uso de mamografías 3D
La investigación de KHN muestra que el dinero de la industria ha delineado políticas, a la opinión pública y a la atención al paciente en torno a las pruebas 3D.
A Million-Dollar Marketing Juggernaut Pushes 3D Mammograms
Companies are aggressively touting 3D mammograms, although there’s no evidence they save lives.
Para la “Generación Juul”, la adicción se presenta rápido y es difícil de superar
El uso de cigarrillos electrónicos entre adolescentes se ha duplicado desde 2017, según el Instituto Nacional sobre el Abuso de Drogas.
For Boomers Reframing Aging, Age-Proofing A Home Won’t Come Cheap
More baby boomers look forward to aging in place — in their homes, rather than in a care facility. But the costs of retrofitting a house is likely prohibitive for many Americans.
For Generation Juul, Nicotine Addiction Happens Fast And Is Hard To Shake
One in 4 high school seniors report vaping in the previous month. Teens talk about how quickly vaping became ingrained in teen culture and how hard it is to quit vaping nicotine.
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.
Each week, KHN finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Editorial writers weigh in on these health care topics and others.
Media outlets report on news from California, Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Missouri, and Iowa.
CMS Administrator Seema Verma spoke of her concerns about drugs that cost upwards of $2 million. That kind of innovation doesn’t mean anything if people can’t afford the treatment, Verma said. In other news from CMS, the agency announced it would crack down on nursing home inspectors.
CDC officials say they’re not sure why younger people who are having less sex are acquiring more STDS, but a new bill moving through the House to increase spending on STD prevention could help. Public health news is on CBD, pros and cons of genetic tests, limiting sports time for teens, childhood obesity, insecticides, getting young kids hooked on sugar, smart aging, and dementia, as well.
An analysis by ProPublica reveals that more than 2,500 physicians received at least half a million dollars apiece from drugmakers and medical device companies in the past five years alone. More than 700 of those doctors received at least $1 million. In other news on the health industry, costs and insurance: workers’ benefits, refunds from insurers, out-patient surgery policies, universal coverage, and more.
Numerous women who had the once-popular, hammock-like devices implanted claim they caused severe pain, bleeding, infections and other complications. About 25,000 U.S. women with complications have sued Johnson & Johnson, the company said. Those lawsuits aren’t affected by the settlement.
Earlier this year, the agency that oversees Border Patrol said its agents averaged 69 trips to the hospital each day across the country. Although hospitals have typically been treated as “sensitive locations” that are generally free of immigration enforcement, the rule is discretionary and ambiguous when an enforcement action begins before a trip to a hospital or when an immigrant is already in custody.
Judge Dan Polster, who is overseeing the nationwide opioid case against drug companies and distributors for their alleged role in the epidemic, wants the sides to come to a resolution before it goes to court. The trial is set to kick off on Monday if talks fall through. While the negotiations center around the major players — AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson — plaintiffs’ lawyers say they hope such a deal would have a domino effect on the remaining defendants.
Juul Temporarily Halts Online Sales Of Flavored E-Cigarettes, But Critics Say That’s Far From Enough
Data shows “that 64 percent of high school e-cigarette users now use mint or menthol flavors and this number is growing all the time,” said Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. However others said Juul’s decision to halt sales of flavors like manjo, crème, fruit and cucumber would hurt adult smokers. Meanwhile, the cases of the vaping-related lung illness continue to climb.
Pelosi’s Signature Drug Plan Marches Forward Even As Speaker Clashes With Trump On Other Issues
Lawmakers bickered over the pros and cons — “jaw dropping savings” that come with a warning that some pharma companies may not develop as many new drugs — but in the end House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s drug plan passed out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee as well as the Education and Labor Committee. There had been a chance that Pelosi could get President Donald Trump on board as he’s previously supported the proposals in the plan. But that became less certain in recent days with the impeachment proceedings.