Latest KFF Health News Content

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Trump Administration Wants To Upend Time Limits For Detaining Migrant Children Set By Decades-Old Court Decree

Morning Briefing

The 1997 Flores settlement has helped govern the treatment of minors in federal custody for the past 20 years, and has survived numerous court challenges. The Trump administration, however, is proposing a new rule that would lift the 20-day limit established in Flores.

New Emails May Undercut Kavanaugh’s Earlier Deference To Precedent When It Comes To Overturning Roe V. Wade

Morning Briefing

Abortion rights was in the spotlight at Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s third day of hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Emails revealed Kavanaugh talking about the Supreme Court overturning Roe V. Wade, which was in contrast to his defense of precedent earlier in the week. Kavanaugh, though, said that he was reflecting “an accurate description of all legal scholars,” not expressing his own opinion. Meanwhile, the nominee’s use of “abortion inducing drugs” to describe contraception set off alarm bells with abortion rights advocates. Media outlets offer glimpses and insights into the rest of the day, as well.

Insulin’s Steep Price Leads To Deadly Rationing

KFF Health News Original

Alec Raeshawn Smith was 23 when diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, and 26 when he died. He couldn’t afford $1,300 per month for his insulin and other diabetes supplies. So he tried to stretch the doses.

The High Cost Of Hope: When The Parallel Interests Of Pharma And Families Collide

KFF Health News Original

Desperate for help in finding a lifesaving drug for a fatal genetic disease, families banded together to fund early research and then worked with drug companies on clinical trials and marketing. Yet, this small patient advocacy group is stunned by pharma’s pricing.

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Health Policy Goes To Court

KFF Health News Original

In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Mary Agnes Carey of Kaiser Health News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Alice Ollstein of Politico talk about the latest court challenge to the Affordable Care Act, nomination hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and news from the reproductive health front. Plus, Rovner interviews Chad Terhune about the latest KHN/NPR “Bill of the Month” installment.

Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop Settles ‘Unsubstantiated’ Vaginal Egg Health Claims For $145,000

Morning Briefing

Lawyers in the California consumer protection case said the advertising claims behind the eggs had the potential to “affect women’s health, but Goop said it settled solely over those advertising claims. The eggs — cited for preventing a myriad of vaginal problems — are not defective, Goop added, and two of the three types can still be purchased.

‘It Was Not Even A Close Call’: Judge Blocks Texas’ ‘Catastrophic’ Fetal Burial Law

Morning Briefing

U.S. District Judge David Ezra said Texas lawmakers who enacted the legislation — which would require hospitals, abortion clinics and other providers to arrange for the burial or cremation of fetal remains regardless of the patients’ wishes — provided no “viable system” for health care providers to dispose of fetal remains in accordance with the law.

Senate Opioid Package Hits Snag As Democrats Pump The Brakes Over Provision Benefiting PhRMA-Backed Group

Morning Briefing

The provision would authorize the government to give grants to groups that focus on addiction and substance-abuse disorders, but the only organization that fits the criteria is the Addiction Policy Forum, an advocacy group funded by PhRMA. In other news on the crisis: opioid taxes, skyrocketing fentanyl deaths, treatment alternatives, insurance coverage and more.

CVS-Aetna And Cigna-Express Scripts Deals About To Get Green Light From Antitrust Enforcers, Sources Say

Morning Briefing

The Justice Department has identified some competition concerns over CVS’ acquisition of Aetna, while sources familiar with the situation say that the Cigna-Express deal could be approved without the companies having to sell off any assets.