Latest KFF Health News Stories
Growing Number Of Alternative Pharmacies Lack Costlier Generics
A report quoted in Stat says that although alternative pharmacies are popular, many of the more expensive generic drugs may be missing from their shelves and that prices vary. Also: CVS will pay a $1.5 million Ohio fine over understaffing.
Judge Blocks Texas AG’s Demand For Trans Minors’ Medical Records
The block is temporary, but for now, Attorney General Ken Paxton cannot force the disclosure of medical records from an LGBTQ+ organization. Meanwhile, in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis blocked a bill limiting teens’ social media access.
FDA Allows Yogurt Makers To Say Products Lower Diabetes Risk
Yogurts can make a “limited” claim, CNN says, that the food may reduce type 2 diabetes risks — a decision that took five years to make. Separately, researchers find familiar smells could boost happy memories for people with depression.
Study Finds Medicare Advantage Patients Experience Worse Home Care
Compared to people with traditional Medicare, patients on Medicare Advantage had worse outcomes and less home health care. Also: how Advantage costs are rising; virtual mental health company Talkspace aims at Medicare; and more.
Attention Focused On State Supreme Court Races After Alabama IVF Ruling
Separately, The Washington Post reports on how the Alabama frozen embryo ruling’s impact on IVF services is motivating conservative Christian women to become angry, outspoken advocates in favor of the fertility treatment.
ACA’s Provision For No-Cost Preventive Services Faces Key Hearing
In the latest challenge to the Affordable Care Act, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear a case Monday that threatens cost-free preventive care services. The Biden administration is appealing a lower Texas court’s ruling related to HIV-prevention drugs, that if upheld would have larger implications for coverage.
Lawmakers Agree To Hike Medicare Doctor Pay By 1.68%
As part of the federal government spending bills released Sunday, Congress has agreed to bump up payments that doctors get from Medicare through the rest of 2024. A partial shutdown looms Friday if lawmakers can’t push through the package by then.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Rural Patients Suffer Under Stark Law; How ‘Moral Hazard’ Affects Addiction Treatment
Editorial writers discuss the Physician Self-Referral Law, drug addiction, and IVF.
Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
Each week, KFF Health News finds longer stories for you to enjoy. This week’s selections include stories on Castleman disease, Kawasaki disease, phage therapy, Tribeca Pediatrics, and more.
Funding For Health Measures Still In Limbo Amid Spending Deal Talks
Such programs were not a part of the stopgap funding measure passed by Congress yesterday, that will keep the government operating further into March. Providers and hospitals hope that extended money for community health centers or a reduction of the Medicare physician pay cut could still make a final spending deal.
RSV Shots: Health Officials Investigate Rare Cases Of Guillain-Barré Syndrome
The numbers are small, around two cases per 100,000 people who’ve been given the vaccine, and more data is required to properly quantify the risk. Meanwhile, Pfizer says its RSV single dose vaccine Abrysvo protects against the illness through two years.
Staff Shortages, Employee Burnout Are At Crisis Levels In Nursing Homes
Although the worst of the covid pandemic is over, problems it caused in the U.S. nursing home industry persist. CMS, meanwhile, reports that during the pandemic in 2021, health systems saw deepened racial disparities and worse care outcomes affect their quality measures.
FDA Found Quality-Control Issues In California Neuralink Lab
The brain implant company was cited for problems with record-keeping and quality controls for animal experiments, Reuters says. The company’s Texas facility was found problem-free. Also in the news, biotech companies worry about government oversight of biosecurity as it pertains to China.
Deaths Linked To Excess Alcohol Hit 488 Per Day During Pandemic: CDC
Excessive alcohol consumption drove a spike in deaths at the height of the pandemic, new CDC data show. Separately, the WHO is warning that effective anti-obesity medication isn’t going to be enough to solve a problem that affects over a billion people around the world.
Rural Emergency Hospital Program Gets Go-Ahead From Florida Senate
The goal is to ensure health care access in rural areas by creating a new type of health facility. Also in the news, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles launched a new Small Baby Unit; a shigellosis outbreak hits unhoused people in Santa Cruz; a Michigan study of marijuana health benefits; more.
Health Providers Struggle To Get Paid As Ransomware Attack Stretches On
Hospitals, health systems, and pharmacies that work with the UnitedHealth subsidiary are now feeling the effects of the cyberattack on Change Healthcare as payments are frozen. More patients are also experiencing difficulty in getting their medical prescriptions filled amid reports that the ransomware outage could last several more weeks.
Alabama Lawmakers Advance Bills To Shield IVF Clinics
Alabama’s House and Senate both passed similar bills Thursday that will be swapped and debated next week. The measures aim to address fallout from the state’s Supreme Court ruling granting “personhood” to frozen embryos. News outlets also examine the reverberations from that case outside of Alabama.
Judge Strikes Down 3 Montana Anti-Abortion Laws As Unconstitutional
Laws that included banning abortions after 20 weeks were struck down by District Court Judge Kurt Krueger. Meanwhile, Missouri accused Planned Parenthood of “trafficking” minors for abortions. The death of a pregnant Amish woman is among other news.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.