Latest KFF Health News Stories
Trump Administration Backtracks On Immediately Enforcing Changes To Family Planning Funding
The clinics now have two months to comply with the rule changes, which critics say directly target Planned Parenthood. The department had said last Monday that it would require immediate compliance. That caught clinics off guard and led Planned Parenthood and other providers to say they would defy the order.
The Trump administration issued a regulation last year allowing short-term health care plans to last up to 12 months instead of three. The plans don’t have to adhere to the health law’s strict regulations, so critics blast them as being “junk insurance.” U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, however, ruled that the plans aims to “minimize the harm and expense” for individuals who might otherwise decide not to purchase insurance because of high premiums.
Health care is one of the dividing issues for the crowded 2020 Democratic field, but the candidates’ stances on the issue underscore how different their philosophies can be. Meanwhile, those candidates who support “Medicare for All” are still grappling with the issue of how to pay for it. And The New York Times fact checks President Donald Trump’s rhetoric on the Democrats’ plans.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
How The Eastern Cherokee Took Control Of Their Health Care
An innovative hospital run by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina showcases an alternative model of health care that could have lessons for other tribal communities and beyond.
Biden’s ‘Incremental’ Health Plan Still Would Be A Heavy Lift
The proposal is far from minimal and includes several provisions that Congress has failed repeatedly to enact, including some that were part of the original Affordable Care Act debate.
A Conservative Group Paints Trump’s Drug-Pricing Experiment As ‘Socialist.’ Is It?
The Americans for Tax Reform commercial takes too broad a brush against an initiative under consideration by the administration that would be part of the president’s promise to curb high drug prices.
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.
Empleadores buscan nuevas formas de abordar la salud mental de los trabajadores
Mientras que un diagnóstico de cáncer puede generar solidaridad en el trabajo, admitir un trastorno psicótico puede provocar juicio, miedo y evasivas entre los compañeros.
¿Tu médico te ha preguntado sobre el cambio climático?
La Organización Mundial de la Salud llama al cambio climático “el mayor desafío para la salud del siglo XXI”, y una docena de sociedades médicas estadounidenses instan a la acción para limitar el calentamiento global.
Editorial pages express views about the future of health care.
Longer Looks: Reclaiming Medicare For All; Breaking American Health Care; And The ACA’s Court Battle
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Media outlets report on new Alaska, Kansas, Ohio, Maryland, California, Texas, Virginia and Connecticut.
Prominent Vaping Researcher Asks For Study Linking E-Cigarettes To Heart Attacks To Be Retracted
The spat is over a study that claimed adult vaping was “associated with” a doubled risk of heart attack. Brad Rodu, a University of Louisville professor, says that when he obtained the federal data, he found the majority of the 38 patients in the study who had heart attacks had them before they started vaping. In other news, Juul has hired a prominent researcher known for his work on nicotine and the adolescent brain.
Several unpublished studies getting attention at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference this week point to new research on people who have gone on to develop Alzheimer’s after having seizures. News on the disease also looks at how exercise might help and potential links to infections.
The researchers argue that the evidence used to approve the product — called Abilify MyCite — was not only weak, but failed to demonstrate the technology improves adherence, a key point if the goal is to improve health outcomes. In other public health news: neuron research, seasickness, surgery, scooter safety, broken heart syndrome, and more.
Around the country, cities are mobilizing outreach teams, armed with supplies of water, to check on residents living on the streets or in housing without air conditioning. “We are treating this as the emergency it is,” said Josh Kruger, communications director for the Philadelphia Office of Homeless Services. In the District of Columbia, where the heat index is supposed to reach 115 this weekend, the mayor has declared a state of emergency and is keeping shelters open round the clock so people can try to cool off.
The report by consulting giant Deloitte found that an estimated 1.5 million residents lack health insurance and that Georgia trails other states, even those that also have not expanded Medicaid, in covering low-income residents. Medicaid news comes out of Iowa, Florida and Alaska, as well.
The case centers on 80,000 events Novartis held between 2002 and 2011 that federal prosecutors allege amounted to kickbacks masquerading as educational meetings.
Lauren Sullivan had been trying to appeal UnitedHealth’s initial refusal of the drug for her 21-month-old daughter, Daryn. The girl was running out of time to receive the treatment before her second birthday in October, when the drug has to be administered. The company also approved claims for three other patients. In other news, UnitedHealth beats expectations for the quarter, prompting company to boost earnings guidance.