Latest KFF Health News Stories
As one of the sharper dividing lines between the 20 candidates that will face off over two nights this week, health care is all but guaranteed to crop up in the debate. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is reportedly being advised to draw a contrast with former Vice President Joe Biden, and health care has been a sore subject between the candidates in recent weeks.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
In The Battle Of The Fitness Trackers, The Most Steps Might Not Win
Fitness trackers took off about a decade ago, and it’s not unusual for devoted walkers to log several miles a day. But is such a feat necessary?
‘If You Like Your Plan, You Can Keep It.’ Biden’s Invokes Obama’s Troubled Claim.
The health policy landscape is very different than it was when Barack Obama made this pledge as part of his pitch for the Affordable Care Act. But the words still might be risky for Democratic presidential primary hopeful Joe Biden.
Inspector Paints A Rosy Picture Of Migrant Detention Centers — In Contrast To Audits
A KHN review of dozens of inspection reports filed over the past year by the Nakamoto Group reveals disturbing patterns about the company’s audits, including a general willingness to accept accounts of the facilities that the company is paid to scrutinize, and to discount detainees’ complaints.
Democrats Favor Building On ACA Over ‘Medicare For All’
Asked to choose between building on the Affordable Care Act and replacing it with a national Medicare for All plan, 55% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents said they would expand the existing law, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll released Tuesday.
Ahora te verá la Dra. Alexa: ¿Está Amazon preparado para venir al rescate?
Amazon se ha asociado con numerosas compañías de atención médica, incluyendo varias en California, para permitir que los clientes y empleados usen Alexa para ayudarlos con la atención médica.
Editorial pages weigh in on these health care topics and others.
Media outlets report on news from Alaska, Iowa, Oregon, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, Illinois, Vermont, Florida, Missouri, California, Georgia, Minnesota and Maryland.
Negative Effects Of Physician Burnout Go Beyond Doctors’ Own Health–It Increases Racial Bias As Well
Patients who are not white face bias when they seek care, but new research shows that can worsen due to doctor burnout. Residents with more symptoms of burnout had higher scores on the measures of explicit and implicit racial bias. In other health disparity news: genetic counselors, pediatric research and a dearth of studies on sunscreen.
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.