Latest KFF Health News Stories
FDA Targets Paid Social Media Influencers In Trying To Curb Youth Vaping Epidemic
The agency sent letters to companies that used paid social media influencers to pitch nicotine solutions to their online followers. The posts in question didn’t include a mandatory warning that the vaping liquids contain nicotine. The letters came as part of a broader push to address climbing rates of teen vaping.
Fetal tissue research has been crucial to many scientific breakthroughs, and scientists are worried that the Trump administration’s new restrictions may lead to an outright ban. Meanwhile, The Washington Post looks at the decision-making behind the change.
The state’s health department claimed that the clinic violated laws and regulations, including a requirement that doctors give patients a pelvic exam at least 72 hours before an abortion, even if the patient is receiving a nonsurgical medication abortion. But the employees at the clinic have said that giving a pelvic exam before a medication abortion is unethical. Other abortion news comes from Illinois, Kansas, Alabama and Michigan.
An Uneasy Truce: Democrats Have Voted For Bills That Included The Hyde Amendment For Decades
Former Vice President Joe Biden caused a ruckus on the 2020 campaign trail after first indicating his ongoing support for the Hyde amendment — which blocks federal money from paying for abortions — and then reversing himself. But a review shows that many Democratic lawmakers have technically voted for it as well. “Well, look, sometimes in a large bill you have to vote for things you don’t like,” said 2020 presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) Meanwhile, news outlets look at Biden’s pivot, as well as the history of the controversial Hyde amendment.
The differences in poll results — even from the same respondents who answer questions on aspects of abortion different ways when they’re worded differently — reveal Americans’ struggle with the complex moral and ethical issues, even as the political conversation is dominated by people who have made up their minds. Meanwhile, a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll shows strong support for Roe v. Wade, but also an interest in having restrictions on abortions.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
How Measles Detectives Work To Contain An Outbreak
Across the nation, public health departments are redirecting scarce resources to try to control the spread of measles. Their success relies on shoe-leather detective work that is one of the great untold costs of the measles resurgence.
Mini-Biographies Help Clinicians Connect With Patients
Some Veterans Affairs hospitals around the country use writers to record patients’ life stories, then place a short biography in each vet’s medical record. The My Life, My Story program gives clinicians another way to get to know their patients.
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.
Cómo impacta a la ciencia las nuevas normas del gobierno sobre el uso de tejido fetal
El anuncio de que el gobierno federal está cambiando su política sobre el uso de tejido fetal humano en la investigación médica podría retrasar importantes avances.
FAQ: How Does New Trump Fetal Tissue Policy Impact Medical Research?
The scientific use of tissue from aborted fetuses has frequently been a hot point of contention between anti-abortion forces and researchers. It heats up again as federal officials announced this week they were ending NIH research using the tissue.
Mejores servicios de salud mental… ¿una falsa promesa?
Aunque hoy en día hay más leyes que protegen a las personas con problemas de salud mental, falta un camino por recorrer para equiparar el tratamiento mental al físico.
Editorial pages focus on these health topics and others.
Longer Looks: The Abortion Debate; Rejecting Gender Binaries; And The Origin Of ‘Medicare For All’
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
The New England Journal of Medicine presents three opinion pieces this week on the current measles epidemic.
“It’s like cold water being thrown in one’s face after all this good work,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, co-chairman of a statewide homeless task force. Other cities in the state also saw increases. California ranks No. 1 in the nation with its homeless population of 129,972.
Media outlets report on news from New York, Virginia, Connecticut, California, Arizona, Illinois, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Florida, Minnesota and Texas.
It’s Not Just Cancerous Cells That Are Mutated, Study Finds. Our Normal Tissue Is ‘Quite Messy,’ Too
The research upended a common belief that “normal” cells are simply replicas of each other. Instead, even non-cancerous cells pick up a lot of mutations along the way. The discovery could help to better detect cancer. In other public health news: stress, parasites, the HPV vaccine, preparing for death, and more.
But the state took no action on restricting gun sales or implementing “red flag” laws adopted by other states as gun violence increases. The Texas State Teachers Association opposed expanding the program arming teachers. News on gun safety is from Florida and Virginia, as well.
The agency is seeking ideas on issues including the streamlining of CMS reporting requirements; easing prior authorization procedures; enabling of better data sharing; improving quality reporting; addressing overly burdensome policies for rural providers; and simplifying rules for beneficiaries dually enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid. Other news on CMS, Medicaid and Medicare focuses on: a Social Security error, concerns over an API, and enrollment numbers in Georgia.