Latest KFF Health News Content

Latest KFF Health News Stories

What Happens In The Body When We Gain Weight, And Why Is It So Hard To Lose?

Morning Briefing

In a small study, researchers found that 318 genes worked differently after most subjects had gained even a little weight. In other public health news: hope for fixing brain damage caused by strokes, a look at the mitochondria, and the spread of aid-in-dying laws.

In Midst Of Opioid ‘Epidemic Of Historic Proportions,’ Cities Mull Controversial Safe-Injection Facilities

Morning Briefing

Philadelphia is looking into the idea of creating a facility to allow people to safely use their drugs in the hopes of preventing fatal overdoses. Research suggests opening just one site in the city could save nearly 80 people a year. “We have an obligation to do everything we can to prevent those people from dying,” Philadelphia Health Commissioner Thomas Farley says.

This Year’s Flu Is Particularly Scary. Here’s What You Need To Know About It.

Morning Briefing

The Washington Post talks with health officials to get the low down on this year’s flu, which has been the most widespread in more than a decade. Meanwhile, outlets look at flu deaths in Florida and New Hampshire.

Advocates’ Plea Over NAFTA Trade Talks: Don’t Favor Drugmakers Over Patients

Morning Briefing

The groups argued against expanding monopolies that would thwart generic competition; rules that would restrict government rights to control prices; and maintaining so-called investor-state disputes which, under international trade treaties, allow companies to initiate claims against foreign governments.

Philip Morris’ Smokeless Tobacco Stick Shouldn’t Be Marketed As Safer Than Cigarettes, FDA Panel Says

Morning Briefing

The panel was voting on marketing language for the product, which heats sticks of tobacco but doesn’t burn them. The members said that the company’s studies did not show that the device reduces deadly diseases tied to smoking.

Va. Senate Panel Again Rejects Medicaid Expansion — But Issue Is Far From Dead

Morning Briefing

Republicans have fought such measures for more than four years, but both Republicans and Democrats say attitudes have changed and consideration of the matter is just beginning in the legislative session. State Sen. Steve Newman, a Republican who chairs the Education and Health Committee, says, “We are entering round one.”

States Becoming Battleground For Health Law As Some Seek To Bolster It While Others Unravel It Further

Morning Briefing

Blue states are taking steps to protect certain guarantees created under the health law to protect patients, while Idaho just told insurers they don’t need to follow some of the regulations stipulated through the Affordable Care Act.

Podcast: ‘What The Health?’ CHIP (Finally) Gets Funded

KFF Health News Original

In this episode of “What The Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post discuss the short-term spending bill passed by Congress that reopened the federal government and funded the Children’s Health Insurance Program for six years. The panelists also discussed the health programs still awaiting funding, and the intersection of religion and women’s health services at the Department of Health and Human Services.