Latest KFF Health News Stories
Mobile Addiction Treatment Van Tries To Offer Help When Former Inmates Are Most At Risk
The van parks outside Baltimore Central Booking and Intake Center with a sign advertising its services to try to help people right as they’re released from jail.
Profit Mining The Opioid Crisis: The Dark Underbelly Of Lucrative Addiction Treatment Industry
The opioid epidemic has sparked a huge growth in the extremely profitably addiction treatment industry — but there is little regulation around these centers that are making a lot of money off sick and needy patients. The New York Times offers a deeper look.
U.S. Health System To Be Further Strained As Undocumented, Uninsured Immigrants Age
Few undocumented residents are able to obtain help for chronic aging issues before their problems become bad enough to send them to the ER, where they are guaranteed emergency care. The financial burden of treating an aging, uninsured population in the coming years will put stress on a system that is already struggling with high costs.
HHS Nominee’s Senate Hearing Set For Next Week
Alex Azar, who has been tapped to replace former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, has been criticized for his close ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
Tension Heats Up On Capitol Hill Over Drug Discount Program As Cuts Go Into Effect
Hospitals and big pharma are waging a war over the 340B program, which requires pharmaceutical companies to give steep discounts to hospitals and clinics that serve high volumes of low-income patients.
With Hatch’s Retirement, Pharma Will Lose A Friend In Congress
News that Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) will retire after this year sent ripples through the health care industry.
A Top House Republican Doesn’t Concede Defeat On Health Law Repeal
Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) said that getting rid of the health law and tackling Medicaid regulations would be top priorities for the coming year. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton has called on Congress to fully re-fund the CHIP program, saying that the lawmakers’ short-term solution isn’t good enough.
First Edition: January 3, 2018
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Pharmacists Slow To Dispense Lifesaving Overdose Drug
Laws in California and most other states allow pharmacists to provide naloxone to patients or their friends without a doctor’s prescription. But many don’t do so, citing lack of demand and awareness among patients, their own fears of insufficient compensation and the challenges of treating opioid users.
‘Put The Fire Under Us’: Church Spurs Parishioners To Plan For Illness And Death
Pastor Gloria White-Hammond wants to get all 600 congregants to write down their end-of-life wishes and discuss them with their families.
Viewpoints: Predicting 2018’s Key Policy Debates; The U.S.’s Health Care Spending Habit
A selection of opinions on health care from news outlets around the country.
Media outlets report on news from California, Maryland, Illinois, Ohio, Colorado, Arizona, Minnesota, Texas, Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
Kicking Off 2018 With A Bong: Recreational Pot Now Legal In California
Many cannabis dispensaries in the state opened Jan. 1 with longer-than-usual lines, though some owners expressed disappointment with the numbers. Meanwhile, a new study looks at increasing prenatal exposure to marijuana in California. And more “pot churches” are opening.
Minn. Hospital Seeks To Add 100 Beds, 1,000 Employees
In other hospital news, some hospitals score high quality marks while one with a tarnished reputation works to regain trust. Outlets also report on developments in Rhode Island, Louisiana and Texas.
Type Of Book You Read To Your Baby May Be Just As Important As Book Reading Experience Itself
Not all books are created equal when it comes to boosting babies’ brains. In other public health news: a secret psychiatry experiment; suicide at colleges; excessive screening; the hazards of rushing off to the gym in the new year; Zika; needle-phobia; and much more.
Flu Activity Increased Sharply In Week Before Christmas
This flu season is expected to be particularly vicious and peak early.
Mass Shootings, Fires Shine Spotlight On Emotional Toll Health Care Workers Pay Every Day
Hospitals are starting to recognize how much their workers can be affected by not only events of mass violence but just the day-to-day duties of working in an high-pressure, high-stakes environment.
Some caution that the huge amount of data could bring more confusion than clarity.
States Beef Up Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs Amid Opioid Epidemic
In the past, few providers took advantage of the systems that were put in place to track prescribing practices. Now states want to use them as a key tool to fight the crisis. Media outlets also report on news from New England, Maryland, Minnesota and Illinois.
Health Care Market Has Become ‘Too Big, Too Important’ For Tech Companies Not To Want A Piece
Technology companies are revolutionizing the health landscape as they vie for a piece of the $3-trillion-a-year pie.