Latest KFF Health News Stories
The stem cell industry is regarded as unregulated and dangerous, but recently a judge granted FDA the authority to oversee a popular procedure at a bustling Florida clinic. While safety advocates cheered the decision, it’s unclear how much of an impact that will have on an industry that’s comprised of hundreds of such clinics scattered across the country.
There has long been an uneasy truce in Congress that Democrats don’t try to eradicate the Hyde amendment. They have voted for it over the past decades so that other important funding priorities get through. But with renewed national attention on the issue, there’s a growing cry to get rid of it.
The recent laws impair “our ability to build diverse and inclusive workforce pipelines, recruit top talent across the states, and protect the well-being of all the people who keep our businesses thriving,” the ad reads. While some business dip their toes into the turbulent waters of the abortion debate, there’s little consensus on how best to actually make change.
State Circuit Court Judge Michael Stelzer said Missouri’s health department has to make a decision whether to renew the license for the Planned Parenthood facility before the case can be properly reviewed. Stelzer says the department has until June 21 to make a decision on the license, but the injunction would remain in place until he issued another ruling.
As People Flock To Health-Sharing Ministries, Increase In Consumer Complaints Draws State Scrutiny
The ministries connect people with similar religious beliefs, and members then help pay for each other’s medical costs. Because the ministries aren’t regulated by state insurance commissioners, consumers have little recourse if their medical bill isn’t paid or is late. Meanwhile, the Senate health committee scheduled a hearing on health costs for next week.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
FDA Overlooked Red Flags In Drugmaker’s Testing of New Depression Medicine
In March, a chemical cousin of the anesthetic and club drug ketamine was approved for the treatment of patients with intractable depression. But critics say studies presented to the FDA provided at best modest evidence it worked and did not include information about the safety of the drug, Spravato, for long-term use.
Why Your Perception Of ‘Old’ Changes As You Age
Boomers are aging reluctantly but, for the most part, gracefully. Many even have found the secret to shaving a decade or more off their physical age.
Cómo trabajan los detectives del sarampión para contener un brote
Los departamentos de salud deben derivar fondos y oficiales para investigar a cientos de personas que han estado expuestas al contagioso virus.
Opinion writers weigh in on these health care topics and others.
Editorial writers weigh in on abortion issues.
Massachusetts Surgeons Tired Of Sewing Up Victims Of Gun Violence Look Toward Prevention
Massachusetts General Hospital will open the Mass General Center for Gun Violence Prevention, a center devoted to gun violence prevention. “We’re really good at asking patients about their safety. . . . Pediatricians do it all the time,” said Dr. Peter Masiakos, a pediatric trauma surgeon at MGH. “I think this is the opportunity that we have as health care providers to do the same thing for gun violence.” Other news on gun safety comes out of Rhode Island and Colorado.
Media outlets report on news from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Wisconsin, Arizona, Louisiana, California, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas.
The risk of developing hypertension was five times greater among those who slept less than five hours a night and three and a half times greater for those who slept between five and six hours–and that’s just one of the risks that have been linked to insomnia. In other public health news: surgeries in the elderly, pain, autism, supplements, sunscreen, and more.
Health Care Still Adds Jobs In May, But It Was A Significantly Weaker Gain Than Previous Month
Overall, hiring slowed down from April to May. In other news from the health industry: the CVS-Aetna merger, what happens when your longtime doctor moves and the rapid growth of a chronic disease-coaching company.
The decision to offer Medicaid to all young adults under 26 regardless of immigration status is another step toward universal coverage for California. But the deal falls short of what some advocates had hoped for.
The American Medical Association has not publicly gotten on board with “Medicare for All” plans. “The AMA is violating one of its most ethical principles: ‘Do No Harm,’ by being on the wrong side of history,” said Talisa Hardin of National Nurses United, a labor union for nurses. “We want the AMA to publicly show its support for Medicare for All.” Meanwhile, a potential horde of legal challenges facing any “Medicare for All” plans could potentially bleed the effort to death.
‘Troubling Situation’: Doctors Wrestle With How To Help Patients With Pain During Opioid Epidemic
A Washington doctor cut a patient’s oxycontin prescription by a third fearing he’d overdose. Later, she felt compelled to increase the prescription. In Tennessee, a pain clinic closed, leaving patients without pain prescriptions and unable to find new doctors to fill them. Other news on the epidemic looks at Idaho’s lawsuit against Purdue Pharma for its ”deadly marketing campaign.”
Most health officials say it’s dangerous that medical exemptions have tripled since 2015. But others don’t agree: “If there is a one in a million chance that my child will not be able to talk or walk, then I’ll take the risk of measles, thank you very much,” said Jane Orient, executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. More vaccination news looks at sleuths who uncover an outbreak’s origin and protection from shingles, as well.
The overuse of antibiotics in farm animals is one of the roots of the emerging resistance crisis. Drugmakers say they want to be part of the solution, but their actions tell a different story. In other pharmaceutical news: the lengths patients go to to pay for medication; a look at the middle men at the center of the pricing debate; and decisions over covering Viagra.