Latest KFF Health News Stories
Where there’s a potential health crisis, there comes a way to make money from it. Companies are popping up with at-home sperm tests, sperm health scores and sperm cryobanking services. In other public health news: Zika’s destructive power, physician-assisted suicide, brain injuries in soldiers, eating disorders, and more.
Lowering Blood Pressure Can Help Stave Off Alzheimer’s, ‘Breakthrough’ Study Finds
This would be the first time a single change could result in lowering people’s chances at getting the disease.
Despite Concerted Efforts To Curb Opioid Crisis, Kentucky Overdose Deaths Rise 11.5 Percent In 2017
“We are in a crisis state,” Republican Gov. Matt Bevin said. “While we are putting money at it and while we are drawing attention to it, until we start to truly address this and look at underlying causes of these things and what is leading to this it is not going to be addressed.” Meanwhile, Medicare is pushing a new rule to reimburse hospitals more for non-opioid pain management drugs.
In defense of its “zero-tolerance” policy separations, Trump administration officials have argued that immigrant parents made the decision to leave their children in America. The new information reported by Politico could undermine that position.
Part of the problem with letting Medicare negotiate drug prices has always been that the government has no power in the talks. But the bill would let HHS give a competitive license to another company to make a generic version of the drug. Few see the measure gaining traction at the moment, though. Lawmakers also advanced legislation that would eliminate pharmacist “gag clauses.”
The drug showed success with patients who had the highest dosage for over 18 months, but there will need to be more studies before experts get really excited. “I don’t know that we’ve hit a home run yet. It’s important not to over-conclude on the data. But as a proof of concept, I feel like this is very encouraging,” said Dr. Reisa Sperling, director of the Center for Alzheimer Research and Treatment at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
With About Three Months Until Midterms, Democrats Press Hard On Health Care To Nab Swing Voters
Democrats see the Republicans’ failure to repeal and replace the health law at the same time they were chipping away at its protections as a huge vulnerability that candidates can attack. Meanwhile, a new poll shows that the public will hold the Trump administration and the GOP-led Congress responsible for any pain they feel from premiums this year. And, Anthem reports better-than-expected profits.
CMS Administrator Seema Verma said a “Medicare-For-All” system would divert attention away from seniors, and warned that people would be giving up complete control of their care to the government. Verma gave the speech in California, where the issue is a hot-button topic in the gubernatorial election.
Top Trump Health Official Takes Swipes At ACA, Single-Payer In Enemy Territory
After a San Francisco speech focused mostly on Medicare, Seema Verma fielded questions that underscored the administration’s differences with California on other key health care issues.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
How Soon Is Soon Enough To Learn You Have Alzheimer’s?
Only about half of people with Alzheimer’s symptoms get a diagnosis, partly out of fear of an incurable decline, doctors suspect. But Jose Belardo says facing the future allows him to plan for it.
No Gaps In Understanding: Here’s Your Primer On Medigap Coverage
Seniors often don’t realize that private insurers are required to offer Medigap policies, or supplemental insurance, only when people first sign up for Medicare.
¿Llegó el momento de la colonoscopía? Asegúrate que el instrumental esté esterilizado
Las infecciones por duodenoscopios contaminados pueden ser fatales. Qué hacer para ayudar a garantizar que el instrumental médico esté esterilizado.
Resurge polémica por popular maniobra para salvar a alguien que se está ahogando
El hijo y la hija del doctor Henry Heimlich, fallecido en 2016, están lanzando una campaña sobre la popular maniobra luego de una controversia de décadas.
Editorial pages focus on these and other health topics.
Opinion writers weigh in on Medicaid issues.
Perspectives: Roche Promises It Won’t Hike Prices Again In 2018 — Right After It Hiked Prices
Read recent commentaries about drug-cost issues.
Pulling Back The Curtain On Drug Price Hubbub Reveals Some Veiled Threats From Trump Administration
News outlets report on stories related to pharmaceutical pricing.
Media outlets report on news from Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, California, Texas, Ohio, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Illinois, Georgia, Kansas and Minnesota.
The technique would be geared toward fetuses with debilitating or fatal genetic diseases. Beyond the science involved, ethical concerns about tinkering with human life are at the forefront of many researchers’ minds. In other public health news: sedating patients, exercise, shingles, painkillers, diets and more.