Latest KFF Health News Stories
Watchdog Finds FDA Properly Conducted Review Of Abortion Pill When Relaxing Guidelines
The FDA’s decision to lower the dosage to 200 milligrams from 600 milligrams, decrease the number of visits a woman must make to her doctor to two from three, and extend the amount of time to take the drug from seven weeks to 10 weeks had drawn fire from anti-abortion activists and Republicans.
Former CVS Executive To Lead HHS’ Efforts To Curb High Drug Prices
Daniel Best will lead the HHS’ initiatives to tackle drug prices, a key talking point in President Donald Trump’s campaign and presidency. Meanwhile, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has mapped out his plan to get more biosimilars to the marketplace, and students want UCLA to ease access to a prostate cancer drug developed on campus.
New CDC Chief Embraces Science, Vows To Tackle AIDS Epidemic And Opioid Crisis In Emotional Speech
“I’m a little nervous. I’m an outsider,” CDC Director Robert Redfield said in an address to the agency during his second day on the job. “I didn’t grow up here in CDC, but I hope you accept me as a member of the family and accept my wife, because we’re here to serve side by side with you.”
Walmart In Preliminary Talks To Buy Humana Amid Flurry Of Acquisitions, Mergers In Health Industry
If there’s a deal—and if regulators and shareholders approve it—Walmart would transform overnight into one of the nation’s largest health insurers.
David Shulkin has been outspoken about his belief that he’s been targeted by political foes within the agency. But there’s an unspoken rule in Washington that ousted cabinet secretaries should go quietly into the night. Shulkin is taking a different approach.
Although Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson, President Donald Trump’s physician and pick to lead the embattled Department of Veterans Affairs, has been praised for his expertise as a doctor, critics point out that he does not have much management experience.
Whether to privatize care for veterans has become a hot-button topic, especially since billionaire conservative brothers Charles and David Koch turned their attention to the cause. Former Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin earned the esteem of veterans’ groups for fighting against that tide, but with a new secretary poised to take over, the future is unclear.
Time’s Running Out: The Frail In Puerto Rico Face End Of Hurricane Relief Programs
Some of the safety-net programs set up after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico are being disbanded.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
‘Aggressive’ New Advance Directive Would Let Dementia Patients Refuse Food
Supporters call it the strongest move yet to document a patient’s advance wishes in cases of severe dementia. Critics say it would deny basic care to society’s most vulnerable.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ VA Secretary Out, Privatization In?
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Sarah Kliff of Vox.com, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo discuss President Donald Trump’s firing of David Shulkin, the secretary of Veterans Affairs, and Shulkin’s claim that he was forced out by those who want to privatize VA health care.
Longer Looks: Opioids And Prisons; Lie Detectors; And Legal Marijuana
Each week, KHN finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Opinion writers focus on these and other health topics.
Media outlets report on news from Texas, Maryland, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Ohio, Massachusetts, Washington, Georgia and Kansas.
Kansas Regulators Move To Take Over 15 Insolvent Nursing Homes, Protect Hundreds Of Residents
The operator of the nursing homes, New Jersey-based Skyline Health Care, told the state it cannot make upcoming payroll. Skyline’s financial troubles also persist in Nebraska, which moved last week to take over 21 nursing homes across the state.
‘Red Flag’ Bill To Seize Guns From People Who Are An Imminent Threat Moves Forward In Delaware
Meanwhile, in Virginia, lawmakers urge county leaders to enforce ordinances about not driving with a loaded shotgun or rifle.
The number is at least twice what facility leaders had originally estimated.
Link Between SIDS And Rare Genetic Mutation Leaves Some Families More Vulnerable Than Others
The paper stressed, though, that genetics is just one of the factors that can lead to sudden and unexpected infant deaths. In other public health news: tumors, the flu, weight-loss surgery, melanoma, and hearing loss.
Possible Merger To Create Nation’s Largest Owner Of Hospitals Now Shelved
Ascension and Providence St. Joseph Health are putting talks on hold to focus on internal restructuring.
Vermont’s Heralded Drug Prices Transparency Bill Disappoints Nearly Two Years In
“We took a first step toward transparency, but it wasn’t substantial enough to give us anything of true value,” said Vermont state lawmaker William Lippert. In other news FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb wants to get biosimilars to the market faster, and Democrats prepare to use high drug prices as a campaign message.