Latest KFF Health News Stories
The Small Rural Towns Where Millions Of Painkillers Flooded In Just As Economy Was Bottoming Out
After the release of new data about just where the billions of pain pills went to during the start of the opioid crisis, media outlets take a look at the places that were hardest hit. “There’s not a lot to do,” said Dennis Boggs, 45, a chef at Burger King in a small Virginia town. That’s his explanation for the drug use. “It gives them something to do around here.” Meanwhile, rare criminal charges are brought against an Ohio opioid distributor.
It used to be in popular culture that abortion was always portrayed as an agonizing decision that led to serious mental health complications for the women if they opted for the procedure. Now, even as the abortion wars heat up in state Legislatures, on the screen, it’s being toned down. “You’re definitely seeing more of the matter-of-fact ‘I am pregnant, I don’t want to be, I’m going to have an abortion,’” said Gretchen Sisson, a sociologist at University of California, San Francisco.
Kevin K. McAleenan, the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, assured lawmakers at the hearing that the “vast majority” of families who are detained at the border are being kept together. Lawmakers used the hearing to criticize the agency, which has come under fire for the conditions in which the detainees have been held as well as allegations of a toxic culture that’s supported by high-ranking officials.
Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) raised concerns about the cost of the fund, which has been thrust into the national spotlight after comedian Jon Stewart lambasted House lawmakers for the delays in shoring up the payments.
In making the ruling on chlorpyrifos, the EPA said in a statement that the data supporting objections to the use of the pesticide was “not sufficiently valid, complete or reliable.” The agency said “there is good reason” to continue allowing farmers to use chlorpyrifos, “given the importance of this matter and the fact that critical questions remained regarding the significance of the data addressing neurodevelopmental effects.”
A Decade-Old Experiment To Control Massachusetts’ Health Care Costs Is Actually Paying Off
Blue Cross’s payment program gives doctors a fixed amount of money to take care of their patients. When doctors stay on budget and improve care, they can earn bonuses. If not, they can be penalized. “This contributes to a growing sense that smarter ways of paying for health care are going be to an important part of the solution to rising health care costs,” said Katherine Baicker, dean of the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy.
Presidential hopefuls Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Vice President Joe Biden would take separate paths on how to address health care, with Sanders going for an overhaul approach and Biden favoring building on what exists. The two philosophies have come to divide a crowded pack of Democrats as the election season starts kicking into gear, and in the past few days Sanders and Biden have been publicly swiping at each other over the issue. Meanwhile, governors are particularly worried about candidates’ rhetoric about getting rid of private insurers.
Prosecutors say Joseph Prince, a former Veterans Affairs employee, exploited his position of trust to steer patients to seven different home health agencies that subsequently kicked back money to Prince and his family.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Amid Teen Vaping ‘Epidemic,’ Juul Taps Addiction Expert As Medical Director
Dr. Mark Rubinstein, known for his research into youth vaping, has left UCSF to become executive medical officer at Juul Labs, the nation’s leading producer of e-cigarettes. Juul says the hire will help them reduce teen vaping. Critics see Big Tobacco tactics.
Has Your Doctor Asked You About Climate Change?
Some physicians say connecting the consequences of climate change — heat waves, more pollen and longer allergy seasons — to health helps them better care for patients.
Employers Urged To Find New Ways To Address Workers’ Mental Health
Pressure is growing on employers to better address the mental health needs of workers. Some big companies have begun to offer options such as peer support groups, and California has adopted a new law that calls on employers to act.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Biden Doubles Down On Obamacare
Presidential candidate Joe Biden unveiled a health plan intended to provide a more moderate alternative to his competitors’ “Medicare for All” plans. It would build on the Affordable Care Act but would go much further. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this, plus Planned Parenthood’s very bad week, the U.S. House vote to repeal the health law’s “Cadillac tax” on generous health plans, and the reduction in deaths from opioids.
Medicamentos comunes pueden generar síntomas similares a los de la demencia
Se estima que 1 de cada 4 adultos mayores toma medicamentos anticolinérgicos, una amplia gama de drogas utilizadas para tratar alergias, insomnio, incontinencia urinaria, mareos, asma y Parkinson, entre otros.
Opinion writers weigh in on these and other public health issues.
Editorial pages focus on the debate about the future of health care.
Research Roundup: E-Cigarettes; Surgical Safety; And Health Care Affordability
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
Media outlets report on news from California, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Illinois, Virginia, Florida, Minnesota, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio, Arizona, Wisconsin and New Hampshire.
Lawyers for the families are set to argue that the U.S. government intended to inflict emotional distress on them. They plan to make that assertion under a law that allows individuals to sue the U.S. government for negligence and misconduct. “The government clearly intended to inflict emotional distress,” said Erik Walsh, a lawyer with the Washington, D.C.-based law firm Arnold & Porter. News on the border crisis also looks at: how an asylum ban could worsen overcrowding; many teens in Florida released to families; and an agent’s alleged harassment of a mother, as well.
To fight isolation, a health problem that a former surgeon general said can be as debilitating as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, several groups are working to create in-person connections. A group started by one former lonely heart in San Francisco invites strangers to talk over tea and has caught on in more than a dozen other cities. Public health news also focuses on: higher rates of memory loss reported among LGBTQ Americans; winners and fairness issues; sleep-tracking devices; drugs that bring on memory loss in older adults; Netflix’s decision to re-edit “13 Reasons Why”; critics of “Neuralink’; coping with the heat wave; a new way to diagnose pancreatic cancer; why STI’s are more common; mosquitoes; ticks in unsightly places; and more.