Latest KFF Health News Stories
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Is It A Feminist Right To Want More Sex? One Company Thinks A Pill Is The Answer
The savvy “Right to Desire” campaign relies on feminist messages and social media to raise patient awareness about low libido. Addyi, the only drug currently approved to treat it, has shown limited effectiveness.
Surprise! Fixing Out-Of-Network Bills Means Someone Must Pay
Despite the broad agreement on the need to address surprise bills, insurers and health care providers oppose the other side’s preferred solutions.
State Bans Pesticide Linked To Developmental Problems
California officials announced a ban on chlorpyrifos, a widely used pesticide that has been linked to lower IQs, lower birth weights and other developmental issues in children, even as the federal government fights to protect it.
California prohíbe pesticida vinculado a problemas de desarrollo
Varios estudios han relacionado la exposición prenatal al clorpirifos con bajo peso al nacer, reducción del coeficiente intelectual, trastorno por déficit de atención y síntomas del autismo en niños.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ ‘Conscience’ Rules, Rx Prices and Still More Medicare
Joanne Kenen of Politico, Jen Haberkorn of the Los Angeles Times and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss the latest news about the Trump administration’s effort to allow health care practitioners and organizations to refuse to provide care or refer patients for services that violate their conscience or religion. Also this week, the administration orders TV ads for prescription drugs to include list prices. And Tennessee wants free rein from the federal government to run its Medicaid program. Plus, Rovner interviews Joan Biskupic, author of a new book on Chief Justice John Roberts, about the behind-the-scenes negotiations that led to the 2012 ruling upholding the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.
Market Muscle: Study Uncovers Differences Between Medicare And Private Insurers
Findings released Thursday by the Rand Corp. highlight how reimbursement rates vary nationally and the impact the charges have on the nation’s high cost of health care.
Price Check On Drug Ads: Would Revealing Costs Help Patients Control Spending?
As part of his plan to tamp down drug pricing, President Donald Trump wants pharmaceutical companies to provide cost information in drug ads — just like side effects.
Opinion writers weigh in on these health topics and others.
Editorial writers weigh in on these health care topics and others.
Research Roundup: Short-Term Insurance Plans; Antibiotics; And The Individual Market
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
Media outlets report on news from New York, California, Missouri, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Georgia, Maryland, Ohio, Florida and Maine.
Mississippi vowed to take steps to help prisoners better prepare for life outside bars, send offenders to drug courts for treatment rather than to prison, and to help keep offenders guilty of technical probation violations from returning to prison, among other things. But none of that has happened.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s sister, brother and niece wrote an op-ed piece that denounces Kennedy’s stance on immunizations. “On this issue, Bobby is an outlier in the Kennedy family,” they wrote. Kennedy is chairman of the board of Children’s Health Defense, a groups that’s website links to information and videos that blame vaccines for food allergies and claim that vaccines against diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus are killing people. Other news on vaccinations comes out of California, Kentucky, Texas and Oregon.
Walmart will also no longer sell “fruit- and dessert-flavored electronic nicotine delivery systems” and other devices for vaping. The decision comes amid a national push by states and federal officials, as well as Congress, to curb teens’ consumption of tobacco products.
Stories Of Student Heroes Taking Down Mass Shooters Shines Light On Grim Reality Young People Face
The most recent school shooting was marked by a story of how teenager Kendrick Castillo lunged at the gunman and helped thwart the attack. He was killed in the process, a story that is becoming more common as students are faced with their new normal. Other gun safety news comes out of Florida and New Hampshire.
Studying genome and molecular activities in patients is better than conventional medicine when it comes to detecting potential health problems, according to Michael Snyder, chair of the genetics department at Stanford University. But other researchers express doubts about costs and other issues. Public health news also looks at disaster preparedness, antibiotic resistant infections, drug safety in pregnant women, weedkiller and cancer, obesity and diabetes.
White Patients 35 Times More Likely To Receive Addiction Medication Than African-American Ones
The findings on the racial disparity of treatment are critical as research revealed earlier this year showed a spike in the number of African-American deaths tied to fentanyl. Other news reports on the epidemic looks at needle exchanges and safety concerns for police, as well.
Last year stood as the best financially for insurers in the individual market since 2011, with monthly average individual market gross margins per member more than doubling from $78 in 2017 to $167 in 2018. In other health industry news: the Elizabeth Holmes trial, health care claims, the False Claims Act, public health and TV shows, apps and more.
News out of state legislatures comes from New Hampshire, California, Missouri, Texas and North Carolina.