Latest KFF Health News Stories
All the teen patients had recently started vaping and tested negative for infectious disease. Some have needed assistance in order to breathe. Scans and X-rays showed inflammation or swelling throughout both lungs. Any long-term effects are not known, doctors said. In other news on e-cigarettes, WHO claims the product isn’t helping fight cancer.
You can make a diagnosis of acute Lyme disease by seeing the characteristic rash, erythema migrans, which at its most classic looks like a target. But it doesn’t always look like that, and it can be hidden in the hair, and it doesn’t show up nearly as clearly on darker-skinned people. In other public health news: the term “concentration camps,” gender bias, ACL tears, HIV prevention, gene-editing, and more.
Rev. Deanna Hollas speaks about gun violence as another mass shooting in California leaves three dead and at least 15 injured. Among those killed was a 6-year-old boy.
Seven officers have died by suicide so far this year, including five since June. After one of those deaths last month, Commissioner James O’Neill referred to the deaths as a “mental health crisis” that the NYPD and “the law enforcement profession as a whole must take action.”
An InsideClimate News and NBC News investigation found that despite acknowledging the risks of climate change, the military continues to wrestle with finding a sustainable, comprehensive strategy for how to train in sweltering conditions.
The study published In JAMA warns about guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists that include opioid use after painful deliveries. While only 2% of women went onto to have persistent-use problems, that’s a meaningful number, said Rishi Desai, an epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. News on the epidemic comes from Tennessee, New Hampshire, Washington, Kansas, Missouri and Massachusetts, as well.
Pfizer In Talks To Merge Its Off-Patent Drugs Business With Mylan To Create Generic Drug Giant
The deal, if completed, could be announced as early as Monday. The deal would bring together two businesses whose sales have slowed since former big sellers lost patent protection and began facing lower-priced competition. In other pharmaceutical news: black box warnings, antibiotics, and biotech’s burning questions.
House Democrats May Have Had Busy Year, But There’s Little Progress To Show Their Constituents
House Democrats have passed legislation on gun control, immigration and health care, yet the measures die in the Senate. As they head home to face constituents during recess, it’s unclear if that message will translate. “I go home and people say, ‘How come your party isn’t helping me with the cost of inhalers or EpiPens, or health care in general?’” said Rep. Elissa Slotkin, Democrat of Michigan. In other news from Capitol Hill: surprise medical bill votes, mental health clinics and cannabis products.
Johnson & Johnson Wants Its Day In Court For Cancer-Warning Lawsuit
The plaintiffs want the case dismissed, but Johnson & Johnson is worried the firm will file the suit again but this time with more defendants.
Clinic operators say they may have to return or destroy IUDs, hormonal patches, NuvaRings and birth control pills if they leave the federal family planning program. And since Title X also serves people who want to become pregnant, stocks of hormone treatments might have to be tossed as well.
CMS Denies Utah’s Request For More Generous Support To Expand Its Medicaid Program
The federal government will pay for 70 percent of the expanded program, but that’s less than what other states that expanded the program have received. Utah is different from other states that expanded health insurance because it decided to extend eligibility to a more limited number of residents than is permitted under the health law. Medicaid news comes out of Florida and North Carolina as well.
“Medicare for All” plans have become something of a litmus test among progressive voters, but a look at how Medicare currently operates–and the treatments it does and does not cover–reveals the pitfalls that await if a proposal like that is ever passed. Meanwhile, candidates get tripped up by private insurers’ role in a new health system. And while many are painting the picture of a health system in crisis, the numbers provide a more nuanced reality.
Bernie Sanders Hops A Bus Bound For Canada As A Way To Highlight Sky-High Insulin Prices In The U.S.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) led a group of people buying insulin across the border into Canada where a vial of the drug costs about a tenth of what it does just an hour away in Michigan. Sanders has long hammered the point that corporate greed is driving prices sky-high.
Kamala Harris Unveils Health Plan That Would Expand Medicare But Keep Private Insurers In The Fold
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), a 2020 presidential hopeful, splits the difference between the plans from rivals Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Vice President Joe Biden. Her plan would give consumers a choice of joining a government plan modeled on Medicare or choosing from insurance policies modeled on those in Medicare Advantage, and would be run by private insurers rather than the government. “If they want to play by our rules, they can be in the system. If not, they have to get out,” Harris said of the insurance companies. Her shifting position on whether they would be included in her health plan has brought her criticism in the past.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Creator Of Brain Exam That Trump Aced Demands New Training For Testers
Geriatricians are outraged over a new requirement to pay for training in order to administer the MoCA test, a widely used tool to screen for cognitive problems. The test’s creator said he was worried about accuracy and liability.
New Protocol For HIV Prevention Drug Reduces The Number Of Pills Required
Health officials and AIDS advocates in San Francisco have endorsed a new regimen for PrEP medication: to be taken only immediately before and after sex, thus reducing cost and potential side effects. The standard regimen is one pill a day for an open-ended period.
Doctor Alexa Will See You Now: Is Amazon Primed To Come To Your Rescue?
Amazon, along with a host of other technology companies, is working on ways to use its smart speaker devices to bring a range of health care services into your home.
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.
Tu guía para entender las cuentas médicas
Kaiser Health News te brinda este conjunto de herramientas fáciles de usar, para ayudar a los pacientes a comprender el entretejido de la facturación médica, qué hacer si se recibe una cuenta médica sorpresa y cosas que debes tener en cuenta antes de recibir atención médica.