Latest KFF Health News Stories
Officials have been warning teenagers for years that vaping is dangerous, and yet the message is only starting to sink in with the recent illnesses. Although now some are scared, others still think it won’t happen to them. In other vaping news: the black market, political pressures of cracking down on e-cigarettes, the unintended consequences of banning vaping, state bans, and more.
The four victims could be an emotionally persuasive force that was missing when the state attorneys general first made the deal with Purdue Pharma. In other news on the opioid crisis: the role of genetics, treatment scams, fentanyl-laced pills and the next wave of drugs.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said the episode made him “more determined than ever to fight alongside you to make health care a human right.” The heart attack is likely to heighten scrutiny on age in a primary where the top candidates are all in their 70s. Meanwhile, both Sanders and rival candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) struggle to answer questions about how the middle class will be affected by “Medicare for All.”
Would-be immigrants will need to show they’ll be covered by health insurance within 30 days of entering the country or have the financial resources to pay their medical bills, President Donald Trump announced. The rule would apply to the spouses and parents of U.S. citizens. That could have an impact on families who are trying to bring their parents to the U.S., and is the latest sign that the Trump administration is trying to move away from a family-based immigration system.
In Politically Charged Term, Supreme Court Will Weigh In On Abortion, Guns, LGBTQ Rights And More
The Supreme Court on Monday starts a new term, during which cases on a wide-range of hot-button issues will be heard. Their decisions are expected to land next June when the 2020 presidential race is heating up. One of the cases that will be closely watched is a challenge to a Louisiana law that imposes restrictions on abortion doctors. While it’s similar to a law the high court ruled unconstitutional in 2016, the make-up of the justices looks different now than it did then.
The work done by William Kaelin Jr., Peter Ratcliffe and Gregg Semenza is paving the way for promising new strategies to fight anemia, cancer and many other diseases.
First Edition: October 7, 2019
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Federally Funded Obria Prescribes Abstinence To Stop The Spread Of STDs
Obria, a Christian medical chain, was awarded federal family planning funds for its California clinics for the first time this year. Clinics receiving Title X funds are expected to treat and prevent sexually transmitted diseases. Obria’s prohibition against condoms means its prevention efforts rest on abstinence, even as STD rates surge.
Extent Of Health Coverage Gains From California Gig Worker Law Uncertain
The new law reclassifies many independent contractors as employees, requiring they be offered a range of benefits. But that could have unintended consequences, experts warn.
Opinion writers weigh in on these health topics and others.
Research Roundup: Medicaid Work Requirements, The 2020 Election And Food Insecurity
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
Media outlets report on news from Nevada, Michigan, California, Kansas, Connecticut, Oregon and Georgia.
Supreme Court Announces It Will Take Abortion Case From Louisiana
The court’s decision to hear the contentious abortion issue could have ripple effects on the presidential election next year. The Louisiana case involves a requirement that doctors who perform abortions have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. In other news, a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood against a group that secretly filmed employees begins, Kansas residents seek to change the state’s constitution to help end abortions there and Jackson, Miss., officials move to try to cut down the noise around a clinic offering abortions.
The Medicaid programs in North Carolina, Tennessee, Alaska and Kansas are in the news.
CVS Coverage Plan For New Drugs Tied To Outside Pricing Review Draws Criticism From Advocacy Groups
Also, market news is on Johnson & Johnson’s new information officer from Bayer and why lifesaving drugs might be missing from flights.
Judge Dan Polster said in an order Wednesday that he did not intend to honor Ohio’s request to stop the trial, agreeing that the counties’ case doesn’t get in the way of the state’s. Also, attorneys general from 24 states say Purdue Pharma should not be allowed to pay out bonuses during its bankruptcy proceedings. News on the epidemic is from Connecticut, Massachusetts and Florida, as well.
ProPublica reports on the case of Darryl Young, who never woke up from heart transplant surgery at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Sept. 2018. Audio recordings reveal conversations of how his medical team strategized to keep him alive over concerns about the transplant program’s survival rate. Other hospital news comes out of Maine, California, Georgia and Colorado.
FTC Orders E-Cigarette Companies To Provide Marketing And Sales Information
The request from the Federal Trade Commission asks six companies to turn over data by January dealing with the sale and promotion of their products for the years 2015 to 2018.
Health officials say that the rush to ban vaping products could harm public health by making e-cigarettes less accessible than cigarettes, which experts agree are more dangerous. Also news on anti-vaping efforts in New York, New Jersey, Utah and Maryland.
If the measles outbreaks had continued past Oct. 2, the country would have lost the status dating to 1999. The Wall Street Journal reports on the immunization status of schools across the country. Rates have fallen in some communities to as low as 50% in small, private schools.