Latest KFF Health News Stories
Opinion writers weigh in on these health topics and others
Media outlets report on news from Illinois, California, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Kansas and Texas.
New Voice Analysis Technology May Take Tricky Guesswork Out Of Diagnosing PTSD
While some veterans try to hide their symptoms of PTSD, a new voice analysis algorithm might help doctors spot and diagnosis those people who need care. “We thought the telling features would reflect agitated speech. In point of fact, when we saw the data, the features are flatter, more atonal speech. We were capturing the numbness that is so typical of PTSD patients,” said Dr. Charles Marmar, a psychiatry professor at NYU. In other health and technology news: artificial intelligence, kids’ screen time, apps and personal data, and an email breach.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said the new allegations “demonstrate the callous indifference” with which Stamford-based Purdue Pharma and its former president, Richard Sackler, approached their work. Other news on the opioid epidemic comes from Florida and Ohio, as well.
“This unwarranted legislation will create confusion and could be harmful to women’s health,” said Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly. However, the Legislature seems to have the votes to override the veto if lawmakers want to once they return from break. Abortion and family planning news comes out of Tennessee and New Hampshire, as well.
Some patients with developmental disabilities are unable to endure even regular dental exams or cleanings without general anesthesia. But most dentists don’t offer it and getting insurance to cover it for routine dental work is often a struggle. In other public health news: sugary drinks, skipping breakfast and permanent daylight saving.
President Donald Trump’s absence in the national conversation about the measles outbreaks has prompted some debate in the public health community about whether he should be playing a more active role. Meanwhile, another 71 cases were reported last week, bringing this year’s total to 626.
Government Officials Desperately Scour Country To Find Somewhere To Hold Detained Immigrants
A national spotlight has been on the health and care of immigrants who are in U.S. custody, even as facilities face mounting pressure of an influx of detainees. In one initiative examined earlier this year, Department of Homeland Security officials looked at housing migrant children at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
At a hearing on Monday to set the date of a trial for Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and her deputy Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, Judge Edward J. Davila appeared sympathetic to the lawyers’ plight. “It’s only millions of pages,” Davila said wryly. “What’s the problem?” Davila discussed the potential of a start in April of next year, but delayed the decision until July.
Despite Massive Carnage From Rout, There Are Signs That Investors Aren’t Panicked About Health Care
Option prices for the $18.1 billion Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund have increased over the past few days, diverging from those on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust. But they’re not yet pricing in “an extreme level of fear that would be consistent with a capitulation in sentiment,” experts say. Meanwhile, despite all the volatility in the field, nearly all large health insurance companies gave their CEOs pay raises in 2018.
Pharma Pumps Near Record-Breaking Amounts Of Money Into Lobbying As Pressure Over Prices Ramps Up
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America trade group, which represents 37 drug companies, spent $9.91 million in the first quarter. But while some companies have increased their lobbying spends by eye-popping amounts, others are tightening their wallets.
The Trump administration rule, which may come as soon as next week, could weaken or eliminate an anti-discrimination provision enshrined in the health law. The provision says patients cannot be turned away because they are transgender, nor can they be denied coverage if they need a service that’s related to their transgender status. Meanwhile, a new study suggests that transgender adults have a higher risk of poor health than those who are cisgender.
HHS Secretary Alex Azar says the new primary care experiment will transform the U.S. health system, and “move [the nation] toward a system where providers are paid for outcomes rather than procedures, and free up doctors to focus on the patients in front of them, rather than the paperwork we send them.” This new initiative is the most sweeping attempt to date to change primary care. While the program is voluntary, the administration hopes that as many as one-fourth of all primary-care doctors will participate.
Total Medicare costs are expected to grow from 3.7% of gross domestic product in 2018 to 5.9% by 2038. Lawmakers have been struggling to come up with a solution for the country’s eroding entitlement programs, which have been at the center of a political tug of war between Republicans and Democrats for years.
Cancer Is Especially Dangerous For Immigrants In South Texas. Here’s Why.
When an undocumented immigrant in a Texas border county gets a cancer diagnosis, it can be a death sentence because of a lack of public hospitals.
Opinion writers weigh in on these health topics and others.
Media outlets report on news from Washington, Massachusetts, Idaho, Utah, Florida, Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri, California, Colorado and New Hampshire.
The current season began the week of Thanksgiving, a typical start time, but in mid-February, a nastier strain started causing more illnesses and driving up hospitalizations. In other public health news: over-treatment, suicide, exercise, depression, cholesterol, autism, abuse, and more.
“There’s a growing awareness that the traditional design of emergency-department care isn’t well suited to frail, older adults,” says Kevin J. Biese, an emergency-medicine physician who heads the new Geriatric ED Accreditation Board of the American College of Emergency Physicians.