Latest KFF Health News Stories
Editorial pages weigh in on these health care topics and others.
The opioid epidemic has taken place over a shorter time span than what fell under the Big Tobacco settlements in the 1990s, and hasn’t resulted in as many deaths. Meanwhile, Oklahoma’s chief medical examiner testified in the case that could set a benchmark for the thousands set to follow. In other opioid news: bankruptcy committees, WHO guidelines, wrong-full death lawsuits, and more.
Media outlets report on news from California, Connecticut, Iowa, Tennessee, Ohio, New York, Illinois, Arizona, Minnesota, Georgia, Washington and Missouri.
UnitedHealth’s $4.3B Purchase Of Physician Group Approved By FTC With Conditions
The FTC alleged the UnitedHealth-DaVita deal would create a monopoly in the Las Vegas area and that the combination would have resulted in higher health-care costs and weaker competition for on quality, services and other amenities.
As Missouri’s last-remaining abortion clinic fights to stay open, one in Illinois is hiring more staff and considering adding extra hours. The fates of the two show how states are drifting further apart on the issue of abortion even as their neighbors go the opposite way. Abortion news comes out of Rhode Island and Michigan as well.
While President Donald Trump said recently that air quality in the U.S. is the best in the world, his claim is far from true. Ten other countries outrank the United States., including several in Europe. Microscopic pollution from power plants, car exhaust and wildfires causes the premature deaths of 100,000 American every year. Other public health news examines the debate over an injection to improve women’s sexual desire, a vaccine’s potential to lower risk of Type 1 diabetes, 9/11 responders and prostrate cancer, research on the next pandemic, the air industry’s response to food allergies, smartphones’ ability to reshape bodies, the toll suffered by surgeons’ moods, and more.
Black Public Health Leaders Condemn Medical College Decision To Accept Juul’s $7.5M Funding
The grant from the e-cigarette company set off a debate about the challenges of taking corporate money and not becoming biased in the funder’s favor. Leaders of Meharry Medical College in Tennessee said the grant allows them to open a public health center to study issues impacting African Americans. Opponents argue that African Americans are targeted with menthol cigarettes and have a higher death rate from smoking. In other news on vaping, a pen exploded and fractured a teen’s jaw.
A Look At The Court Cases That Carved Out Protections For LGBTQ Community Over The Years
The New York Times reviews the history of LGBTQ rights in the courts. Meanwhile, a study on homophobia reveals a disconnect between perception and reality.
By contracting directly with health plans and employers, Amazon-PillPack would essentially become its own pharmacy benefit manager, which, given Amazon’s distribution capabilities, could quickly shake up the nation’s prescription drug market. Court documents in a case about personnel revealed the strategy that many in the industry fear. In other pharmaceutical news: a drug-price watchdog group with ties to pharma; Merck’s expansion into cancer treatments; and more.
Philanthropists Bernard and Lisa Selz pumped millions into the anti-vaccination movement in recent years. The Washington Post looks at how the couple plays an outsized role in the debate. Meanwhile, a new report finds that mistrust of vaccinations around the world grows at the same time that government confidence declines.
Medicaid Work Mandate In Arkansas Didn’t Boost Employment And Left Thousands Dropped From Insurance
A new study may undercut one of the Trump administration’s key arguments that work requirements would cut unemployment rates. “It should certainly be a warning sign that there’s potential for large coverage losses, potential for significant confusion,” said Benjamin Sommers, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health and the study’s lead author. Arkansas’s results are closely watched as other conservative states consider more restrictions to their Medicaid programs.
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs Diane Foley defended the Trump administration’s recent changes to the Title X family planning funding in front of Congress. But when asked about their “grave concerns” that money was going toward abortions, Foley was unable to cite instances when it occurred. The rule change set off a firestorm, and has been blocked for now by the courts.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) previously held his tongue on the issue, saying he was going to wait for a formal proposal from the White House. But now he says he’s “studied it long enough” to think that the plan will hurt innovation.
Under the revised bill from Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.), when a patient is seen by a doctor who isn’t in their network, insurance would pay them the “median in-network rate,” meaning the rate would be similar to what the plan charges other doctors in the area for the same procedure. The health committee had presented three options on the surprise billing front in its discussion draft, including an arbitration arrangement that’s favored by other lawmakers.
The measure far exceeds President Donald Trump’s budget request for domestic programs, attracting a White House veto threat, and denies him his full Pentagon budget increase. It also contains policy “riders” related to abortion and other hot-button issues that drove away potential GOP supporters. Lawmakers face a series of deadlines this fall, the first of which is to avert a repeat of this year’s partial government shutdown.
It’s Easy To Promise To Cure Cancer On The Campaign Trail, But Actually Doing It Is Not
Both President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden have said in recent days that if they’re president, they will cure cancer. Although the pledges may seem like any other campaign trail boast, experts say it can give the public false hope that hurts the path toward cures in the long run. Meanwhile, ethical questions are being raised about Biden’s cancer-fighting organization.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Stem Cell Company Persuades Employers To Steer Workers Toward Controversial Therapy
Regenexx, which runs a string of clinics, says stem cell injections can save employers a lot of money, but critics say there’s no proof.
1 In 6 Insured Hospital Patients Get A Surprise Bill For Out-Of-Network Care
On average, 16% of inpatient stays and 18% of emergency visits left a patient with at least one out-of-network charge, most of those came from doctors offering treatment at the hospital, according to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Study: Arkansas Medicaid Work Requirement Hits Those Already Employed
More than 95% of the Arkansas residents targeted by the state’s Medicaid work requirement were already working or met the criteria to be exempted from the mandate, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine.