Latest KFF Health News Stories
Artificial intelligence has the potential to better patient care while creating cost-efficiencies that would be impossible without it. But it could also worsen racial disparities, have profit outweighing patient care, or simply lead to mistakes that a human wouldn’t make. In other news at the intersection of health care and technology: video games, virtual reality for nursing home patients and ways to identify bacteria’s genetic makeup.
Significant Link Between Miscarriages And Air Pollution Adds Urgency For Cities To Address Problem
A study in China found that the way air pollution affects pregnancies goes beyond premature labor and low birth weights. In other public health news: organ donation, plant-based meat, hot flashes, urine tests, CBD products, and more.
It’s “not because they don’t want the positions, it’s not because they don’t work hard enough, it’s not because they’re not qualified for the positions,” says Julie Silver, a physician and director of Harvard’s leadership course. But at the very early stages of health careers, opportunities for mobility decline, in part because of strict credential requirements for jobs in clinical care and patient management. In other health industry news: Amazon’s efforts to control health spending on employees, Johnson & Johnson’s legal woes, executive pay at big insurers and more.
A shortage of a chemotherapy drug used to treat cancer in children highlights the serious perils of the rampant shortage problem facing the industry. “It’s our bread and butter,” said Dr. Yoram Unguru, a pediatric oncologist. “There is no substitution … You either have to skip a dose or give a lower dose — or beg, borrow or plead.” While the FDA has been trying to address the issue of shortages it’s fallen short in its efforts to grant addition approval of generics. Meanwhile, companies are trying other methods to combat the problem.
Trump Promised To Replace Health Law ‘Piece By Piece.’ What Does That Look Like Two Years Later?
NPR looks at the five biggest changes made beneath the Trump administration, including the zeroing out of the individual mandate and allowing the addition of work requirements to some states’ Medicaid programs.
How A Small-City West Virginia Lawyer Became One Of The Attorneys Leading National Opioids Lawsuit
Lawyer Paul Farrell Jr. helped mastermind the use of the “public nuisance” code that lies at the heart of the consolidated cases against the drug companies and distributors. “They broke it. So they need to fix it,” Farrell said. “I want them to stop killing people. I want mothers to stop giving birth to babies addicted to opium. … I want to stop going to funerals.” Meanwhile a new poll finds that nearly half of Americans have someone in their family affected by substance abuse.
“It’s infiltrated every social clique, every type of person knows someone — or maybe they are that person — who is vaping,” said Phoebe Chambers, a junior at a Maryland high school. Meanwhile, a study finds that although vaping has seen a sharp rise among young people, the same trend isn’t reflected in adults. In other news: an update on the deaths related to the vaping illness, local bans, and more.
‘Medicare For All’ Talk Likely To Be Center Stage At Dem Debate. But What About Other Health Topics?
While much of the health campaigning in the primaries has focused on how the different candidates will ensure health care coverage, there’s large swaths of the cost conversation that haven’t been touched — such as hospital spending, health care deserts and even decisions over drug development. Abortion, as well, has been one of the least talked about topics in the previous debates. Will that change at Tuesday night’s debate in Ohio when 12 Democratic presidential candidates take the stage?
First Edition: October 15, 2019
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Think ‘Medicare For All’ Is The Only Democratic Health Plan? Think Again
The Democratic presidential candidates have hit hard on health care, but generally the debates have centered on what kind of system candidates propose. The candidates’ ideas on many other issues, such as mental health and gun safety, have attracted much less attention.
California Governor’s Bill-Signing Marathon Offers Glimpse Of 2020 Issues
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed off on an array of health care bills that will significantly affect the lives of Californians, including many college students, pregnant women, schoolchildren and dialysis patients.
Opinion writers weigh in on these health care issues and others
Media outlets report on news from Oregon, Missouri, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Ohio, North Carolina, California, Iowa, Georgia and Hawaii.
In 1991, 5.9% of black teenagers reported attempting suicide, but in 2017, more than 10% of of black teenagers said they had. “It’s well documented that black youth access mental health treatment less,” said Michael Lindsey, author of the study. In other public health news: delivery company driving deaths, heart health, artificial intelligence, anxiety over flying, diabetes risk tests, and more.
The bill proposes that Medicare establish prices based on a price index on other nation’s sales. News on the industry looks at how Canada’s transparency on drug trials differs from the U.S., as well.
Nearly 60 rural Georgia hospitals must ensure their board members, CEOs and chief financial officers complete at least eight hours of classes by the end of next year or risk being fined and losing a valuable state tax credit. In other health industry and insurance news: dropped mergers, new partnerships, legal woes, DNA tests, surprise costs, and more.
Patients can choose to save money and find ways to gain new benefits by re-examining offerings from Medicare and Medicare Advantage, which are tweaked every year. News on the enrollment season is on how higher-rated plans influence decisions, as well.
Organ procurement before an investigation has long been legal, provided the coroner agrees. But a Los Angeles Times investigation finds dozens of cases where the coroner was left guessing at the cause of death because body parts were harvested early. As a result malpractice suits couldn’t be proven and even a murder charge had to be dropped.
Controversy Over Red Meat, Diet Soda Highlights Just How Complicated Nutrition Science Can Be
Does it ever feel like you get whiplash from all the latest nutrition guidance coming out? That’s because doing studies in this particular field is quite difficult when it comes to causation and correlation. “People like bumper sticker guidance,” said Dr. Walter Willett, a professor of nutrition at Harvard who has led studies tying meat to bad health. But nutrition doesn’t work like that.
Judge Robert Drain urged Purdue Pharma and the objecting states to take a break from court fights and talk about the advantages of standing down from suing the Sacklers, in exchange for cooperation from the family. Purdue called Drain’s order “an essential next step in preserving Purdue’s assets.”