Latest KFF Health News Stories
Violence-Related Setbacks Keep Derailing Global Ebola Response Efforts
The virus has taken advantage of the response teams’ violence-related limitations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As of Saturday there have been 358 confirmed and probable cases in this outbreak, and 213 of those people have died, making it the third largest Ebola outbreak on record.
New Drug May Offer Hope To Parents As Life-Threatening Peanut Allergies Become More And More Common
However going through the drug-induced desensitization process was not easy on patients.
Nearly 88 percent of Americans are expected to eat turkey Thursday. Many want to know which brands to avoid as the yearlong outbreak spreads to 35 states. Without a source or supplier of the products that are making people sick, officials say the best advice for consumers is to handle raw turkey carefully.
As Lifespans Increase, Baby Boomers Finding Themselves Caring For Both Aging Parents, Adult Children
The number of 60-somethings with living parents has more than doubled since 1998, to about 10 million. Meanwhile, the boomers are also more and more bearing the burden of adult children who have had health setbacks or other financial crises. In other health care costs news: insurance discounts for walking, waivers to help people with costs, and direct-to-consumer marketing.
Republicans Dismayed By Scope Of FDA Crackdown On Tobacco Products
The FDA has been aggressively targeting electronic tobacco products and flavored cigarettes in an effort to curb an emerging epidemic of teenagers vaping, but some conservatives think the administration has gone too far. “I am concerned the FDA’s proposed actions could limit adult Americans’ access to e-cigarette products that help them quit a more dangerous habit. I am also concerned about regulatory overreach,” said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.).
Earlier this year in Brockton, Mass., Veterans Affairs investigators found two nurses fast asleep during their shifts, even though the facility knew it was under scrutiny and inspectors were coming to visit. The six big veteran advocacy groups are demanding the VA take swift action to improve quality of care at the agency’s nursing homes. In other veterans’ health news: a class action lawsuit and a troubling trend in the military’s readiness.
A new report found that Kaleo, a Virginia pharmaceutical company, raised the price of its opioid overdose reversal drug by more than 600 percent in 2016 as a way to “capitalize on the opportunity.”
The company will raise the price of 41 of its drugs — about 10 percent of its portfolio of treatments. Trump administration officials did not take kindly to the announcement. The move illustrates the “perverse incentives of America’s drug pricing system,” said a spokeswoman for Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. In other drug cost news: brand-name price hikes drive up spending; an analysis looks at EpiPen’s cost-value ratio; the FDA wants more funding so the agency can review influx of gene therapy products; and more.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has fielded complaints for years about flaws with its inspection system, particularly with respect to its complicated scoring algorithm that struggles to tell the difference between unsafe properties and decent ones. An investigation by The Southern Illinoisan and ProPublica reveals the dangerous conditions that low-income families, seniors and people with disabilities are living in.
Volunteers Comb Through Camp Fire Rubble As Number Of Missing People Climbs To Around 1,000
Over the weekend, the death toll rose to at least 77. Hundreds of search-and-recovery personnel are involved in the effort, going to homes when they receive tips that someone might have died there. In other news from the fires: Malibu’s “Rehab Riviera” scrambles to evacuate addiction treatment patients; air quality in California remains dangerous and scientists warn that such toxic smog will only become more common; fire survivors return to their homes; and more.
Success Of Medicaid Expansion Ballot Measures Has Advocates Eyeing Possibilities For 2020
Advocates for expansion used ballot measures in the 2018 elections to circumnavigate the Republican legislatures of three states. Now, they’re hoping to replicate that success in other states through the 2020 elections. They haven’t named their targets, but here are six states they might be eyeing: Florida, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming.
First Edition: November 19, 2018
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Playing On Fear And Fun, Hospitals Follow Pharma In Direct-To-Consumer Advertising
Hospitals are increasingly advertising medical services directly to patients to enhance their national brands. They think the image building improves their ability to negotiate with health plans and brings in wealthier patients.
In Throes Of Turkey Salmonella Outbreak, Don’t Invite Illness To Your Table
There’s no federal requirement that your holiday bird be free of salmonella, so consumers bear the burden of keeping food safe.
Gun Control Vs. Mental Health Care: Debate After Mass Shootings Obscures Murky Reality
More than half of mass shooters have serious mental health disorders, experts say, but the vast majority of mentally ill people are not violent. Some clinicians suggest strategic interventions, including closing loopholes in background checks to buy firearms and allowing family members to confiscate guns under temporary court orders for relatives at risk of doing harm.
New Congress To Tackle Burning Health Care Issues, Including Drug Prices
KHN’s Sarah Jane Tribble discusses the twists and turns with CBS News.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.
Mujeres aplauden la decisión de Michelle Obama de hablar de su aborto espontáneo
En su libro de memorias, la ex primera dama relata la dolorosa experiencia que tuvieron que vivir con Barack Obama al perder un embarazo.
Editorial pages focus on these health care topics and others.
Opinion pages focus on the FDA’s new regulations on vaping and plans to ban menthol cigarettes.