Latest KFF Health News Stories
Medication-assisted treatment with buprenorphine, methadone and naltrexone is widely considered the most effective way to wean users off opioids, but a major barrier is getting people the treatment. “We can’t wait for addicts to come to us. We have to go to them and engage. And offer. And give support,” said Barbara Garcia, director of health for the city and county of San Francisco.
First Nonopioid Treatment To Ease Withdrawal Symptoms Approved By FDA
Regulators say that Lucemyra is not an addiction medicine but that it can be part of a longer-term treatment plan. “The physical symptoms of opioid withdrawal can be one of the biggest barriers for patients seeking help and ultimately overcoming addiction,” says Dr. Scot Gottlieb, the FDA’s commissioner.
House Sends VA Choice Expansion Bill To Senate
The funding for the program that allows veterans to seek care outside the Veterans Affairs system is set to run out at the end of the month. Top Senate lawmakers say they hope to pass the legislation before that deadline.
Vermont Legalizes Importation Of Drugs From Canada, But HHS Still Has To Approve Plan
The Trump administration has been vocal about its opposition to importing drugs from foreign countries as a way to lower costs, with HHS Secretary Alex Azar calling it a “gimmick.”
How Pharma Companies Build An Impenetrable Fortress Of Patents To Keep Generic Competition At Bay
“One of the barriers to competition that concerns me the most is when companies game the system by taking advantage of certain rules and laws,” FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has said. “They exploit loopholes in our system to delay generic entry. In these ways, they extend a drug’s monopoly beyond what Congress intended.” Meanwhile, despite any Medicare drug changes being a long shot, the pharmaceutical industry is worried.
High Premiums A Political Hot Potato As Rates For Next Year Start To Come Out
Democrats are planning to be “relentless” in making sure Americans know who is responsible for the high costs, but Republicans say liberal lawmakers should look in the mirror. Meanwhile, a coalition of state attorneys general from blue states was granted the right to intervene in the lawsuit that seeks to dismantle the Affordable Care Act.
“Every year I look at data and expect it will be the year that birthrates start to tick up, and every year we hit another all-time low” in the United States, says Kenneth M. Johnson, a demographer at the University of New Hampshire.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
What Explains The Rising Overdose Rate Among Latinos?
Opioid addiction is often portrayed as a white problem, but overdose rates are now rising faster among Latinos and blacks. Cultural and linguistic barriers may put Latinos at greater risk.
California’s Deadly STD Epidemic Sets Record
Rates of gonorrhea, syphilis and chlamydia in California have shot up 45 percent over five years, resulting in 30 syphilis-related stillbirths in 2017 alone, new state data show.
Revertir una sobredosis no es complicado, encontrar el antídoto sí lo es
En abril, el Cirujano General de los Estados Unidos, Jerome Adams, emitió un aviso instando a más estadounidenses a aprender a usar naloxona en una emergencia.
Editorial writers look at these and other health topics.
Read recent commentaries about drug-cost issues.
‘We’ve Gone From The Farm To The Pharm’: How The ‘Diabetes Belt’ Is Embracing This Insulin-Maker
News outlets report on stories related to pharmaceutical pricing.
Media outlets report on news from Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, California, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Texas, North Carolina,
Plaintiffs argued that Gov. Jerry Brown called the special session to deal with a funding shortage for public health programs and the assisted death law did not meet that criteria. Superior Court Judge Daniel Ottolia is giving the state attorney general five days to appeal.
Cherokee Nation’s Aggressive Program For Treating Hep C Eyed As Potential National Treatment Model
The tribe launched a screening program targeting those aged 20 to 65 because of their statistically higher chances of having the disease. More than 1,300 members tested positive, with a 90 percent cure rate among those who have started treatment. “It’s a trailblazing project for the entire country,” said CDC official John Ward. In other public health news: vaping, prostate cancer, antibiotics, the latest viral internet debate, and more.
State AGs Challenge Administration’s Proposed Funding Changes To Family Planning Services
HHS in February made favorable mention of “natural family planning” that includes the rhythm method and other strategies to avoid pregnancy without using birth control. It also said it would favor abstinence messages for adolescents.
Iowa’s Restrictive ‘Heartbeat Bill’ Challenged By Abortion Rights Advocates
The law would ban abortions as soon as embryonic cardiac activity is detected, which is usually at about six weeks, the same time women typically begin to feel the first signs of pregnancy. Experts have signaled out the legislation as one that might rise up to the Supreme Court to challenge Roe v. Wade.
Six More States File Suit Against Purdue Pharma Over Its Alleged Role In Opioid Crisis
U.S. state attorneys general of Nevada, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, North Dakota and Tennessee say Purdue Pharma violated state consumer protection laws by falsely denying or downplaying the addiction risk while overstating the benefits of opioids. These states are just the latest in a long line of local and state governments suing drugmakers over the epidemic.