Latest KFF Health News Stories
Experts suggest there are several factors at play including the fact that mass violence events tend to have a “contagion effect.” But psychologists also say that it might be a heightened awareness from the general public at the root of the arrests. “I think people are on edge and there’s more concern in communities, more concern among police,” Vanderbilt University professor Jonathan Metzl tells USA Today.
Significant Delays, Unanticipated Headaches Throw $16B VA Medical Records Project Off Track
A host of glitches have surfaced as the massive undertaking to digitize health records for veterans tries to get off the ground. Many critics who have been skeptical of the Trump administration strategy from the start worry that the delays foretell even bigger issues on the horizon. Meanwhile, emails reveal the frustration VA staffers felt over the interference from President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago friends.
Many big insurers are planning bigger footprints in the exchanges for next year despite all the political and legal uncertainty still surrounding the health law. In other health insurance and industry news: the quality of coverage from insurers offering ACA plans, the financial effects of public ire over high health prices, premiums that are leveling off, and more.
There’s a rift in the Democratic party about how sweeping the next steps in health care reform should be, but it’s a long, bumpy road between that debate and actually implementing a plan. Meanwhile, in the month following the release of her health plan, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) has taken a bruising from her critics who say her proposal is based on political calculations rather than conviction.
First Edition: August 23, 2019
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Addiction Clinics Market Pricey, Unproven Treatments To Desperate Patients
An amino acid infusion called NAD is not approved by the FDA to treat addiction. Yet patients with addiction can be desperate enough to try it, at prices as high as $15,000.
Years Ago, This Doctor Linked A Mysterious Lung Disease To Vaping
In an exclusive interview, a West Virginia physician says that back in 2015 he had a sense a patient’s illness “probably wasn’t the first case ever seen nor would it be the last.” Was it a sentinel event?
Readers And Tweeters Take Dialysis Providers To Task: Nowhere But In The USA
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Dialysis Industry Spends Big To Protect Profits
Dialysis companies are fighting a bill in the California legislature that could disrupt their business model. Their weapons: campaign cash and a sophisticated public relations campaign.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: All About Medicare
Before “Medicare for All,” there was just Medicare, the federal program that provides insurance to 60 million Americans. This week, KHN’s Julie Rovner talks to Tricia Neuman of the Kaiser Family Foundation about how Medicare works and whom it serves. Then, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post and Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner join Rovner to talk about some current Medicare issues being debated in Washington, D.C.
Opinion writers weigh in on these health topics and others.
Editorial pages focus on health issues impacting illegal and legal migrants.
Research Roundup: Veterans Health Care; Hospital Acquired Infections; And Exchange Enrollment
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
Media outlets report on news from New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Florida, Colorado, Wisconsin, Louisiana, California, Texas, District of Columbia, Georgia, Missouri and Wyoming.
With the growing use of consumer DNA tests, many have been left reeling by the news that the sperm donors that their mothers selected are not their fathers. “You build your whole life on your genetic identity, and that’s the foundation,” said one woman. “But when those bottom bricks have been removed or altered, it can be devastating.” In other public health news: Lyme disease, gene editing, a blood test for Alzheimer’s, employee wellness programs and more.
The program is aiming to catch dangerous dental problems before they can result in costly emergency room visits for the Medicaid recipients. Experts were muted in their praise. “It’s a very primitive first step for people who don’t have dental care,” said Dr. Louis DePaola, the associate dean at the University of Maryland’s School of Dentistry. Medicaid news comes out of Minnesota as well.
Dr. Donald Rucker, the chief of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, said protecting privacy and patients’ rights is a “delicate balancing act.” In other news at the intersection of health and technology: robotic nurses and artificial intelligence’s role in drug development.
Planned Parenthood Braces For Fallout From Title X Decision With Fundraisers, New Fees And Warnings
Clinics across the country are expecting to lose millions in federal funding after Planned Parenthood rejected money that came with a condition the organization deemed a “gag rule.” The women’s reproductive health care provider plans to lean heavily on donors to make up the funding gap while staff members assess how they’ll cope. Other news on abortion comes out of Ohio and Tennessee, as well.
Stories of the fatal decision to skip or ration insulin have filled headlines in recent months, but new government data shows just how many people are taking those dangerous measures because of high costs. In other pharmaceutical news: Gilead’s stand-off with the government over Truvada, tips for shopping abroad for cheaper meds, and more.
Federal and state officials say it does not appear that an infectious disease is responsible for the illnesses, while noting numerous ingredients in e-cigarette aerosol could harm the lungs. News on e-cigarettes also looks at bans against vaping in public places, a new industry probe over health concerns and more.