Latest KFF Health News Stories
Opinion writers focus on these and other health care topics.
Editorial writers focus on President Donald Trump’s speech on lowering drug prices and Michael Cohen’s payment from Novartis.
Media outlets report on news from Texas, Puerto Rico, California, Seattle, Minnesota, Colorado, Tennessee, Louisiana and Missouri.
WHO Wants Countries To Remove Or Limit Trans Fats Over Next Five Years
The World Health Organization promotes a six-point blueprint called “Replace” to help governments implement regulations, create awareness and take other steps to eliminate trans fats in their countries.
Regulatory Action Lags Even As Carbon Monoxide Deaths From Keyless Cars Mount
Many people think that when they take the keys from the car, the vehicle turns off. But it remains on, and deadly gas can seep into their homes as a result. In other public health news: suicide, cancer, gene-editing, senior bullying, Ebola, sepsis and more.
Doctors Should Be Discussing Gun Safety With Aging Patients, Researchers Say
“No one would challenge you about discussing driving safety with a patient having memory trouble,” said Dr. Donovan Maust, a University of Michigan psychiatry professor.
Opioid Deaths Push Challengers To Run Against Incumbents Who ‘Sold Out’ To Drug Companies
As 2018 elections loom and the opioid crisis weighs heavy on voters’ minds, the Ways and Means Committee is expected to begin marking up bills intended to curb opioid abuse.
For ever woman who dies, there are 70 who come close. And the rate of severe complications from childbirth has been rising faster than the rate of women who died.
Vermont’s Successful Experiment To Lower Health Costs Closely Watched By Other States, Experts
Vermont’s program — that both incentivizes doctors to keep patients as healthy as possible and focuses on social factors that play a role in people’s wellbeing — is expected to be within 1 percent of meeting its financial target. Meanwhile, insurers look beyond just the doctor’s office, in an effort to cut costs.
The agency warns states that didn’t expand Medicaid that their requests need to include a plan to avoid the “subsidy cliff,” in which a person earns too much to keep their Medicaid coverage and too little to qualify for a tax credit on the insurance exchange. News on Medicaid comes out of Iowa, Michigan and Virginia, as well.
In Politically Charged Year, Democrats Talk Up Expanded Government Role In Health Care
Voters have signaled that health care will be a key issue in the elections, and Democrats hope that the tables have turned from previous election cycles when they were on the defense. Meanwhile, the federal penalty for the individual mandate may be gone, but that doesn’t mean everyone can eschew insurance.
Scientists Looking To Better Orchestrate Those Happy Accidents That Lead To Groundbreaking Drugs
Sometimes it’s a medication’s side effects that end up being the most beneficial and profitable, and researchers don’t want to just rely on luck anymore to discover those unforeseen purposes for the drugs. Meanwhile, activists in Massachusetts are calling for more affordable insulin, and a look at the EpiPen shortage.
Apart From A Few ‘Sacrificial Lambs,’ Pharma Emerges From Trump’s Speech Largely Unscathed
President Donald Trump’s long-anticipated speech on curbing drug prices focused on reducing inefficiencies in the current system, rather than taking swings at pharmaceutical companies. Trump had a few barbs for the industry, noting that “the drug lobby is making an absolute fortune at the expense of customers,” but the only proposal that specifically dealt with prescription drug pricing was a suggestion that a treatment’s cost be disclosed in its advertisements.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Sticker Shock Jolts Oklahoma Patient: $15,076 For Four Tiny Screws
A woman with foot pain was floored by the high cost of titanium screws used in her surgery. “Unless the metal [was] mined on an asteroid, I do not know why it should cost that amount,” she says.
First, Marijuana. Are Magic Mushrooms Next?
Advocates in Oregon and Denver are pushing ballot measures to allow possession of mushrooms containing the hallucinogenic ingredient psilocybin, as new research shows it may be useful in treating depression and anxiety. Supporters of a measure to decriminalize magic mushrooms in California ended their effort late last month.
L.A. County Unlawfully Terminated Thousands Of Medi-Cal Recipients, Court Rules
A judge orders the county to fix problem that harmed low-income seniors and people with disabilities, including those with serious health conditions.
Trump Vows (Again) To Lower Drug Prices But Skeptics Doubt Much Will Change
President Donald Trump’s much-awaited speech about slashing drug costs was long on rhetoric but short on specifics that will reduce prices.
Best Reads Of The Week With Brianna Labuskes
KHN’s newsletter editor, Brianna Labuskes, wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.
Why Did Novartis Pay Trump’s Lawyer $1.2 Million? Look At Its Drug Prices
Promises to control pharma prices threaten profits for Switzerland-based Novartis, which sells some of the costliest drugs in the world.