Latest KFF Health News Stories
First Edition: January 29, 2018
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Opioid Crisis Hits Home: Uncle’s Overdose Spurs Medicaid Official To Change Course
Andrey Ostrovsky, who until last month was chief medical officer for Medicaid, quit his job so he could more directly fight the stigma of drug addiction.
My Grandmother Was Italian. Why Aren’t My Genes Italian?
Popular DNA ancestry tests don’t always find what people expect. That’s because of how DNA rearranges itself when egg meets sperm — and the quirks of genetic databases.
Family Crisis Or New Joy? Get Paid Time Off For It
California’s family leave program allows people to get time off to care for a new child or sick relative. The wage replacement rate rises this year.
Treating Domestic Violence As A Medical Problem
Health care professionals increasingly collaborate with anti-abuse advocates to identify victims and ensure they get the help they need. One women’s center is opening a shelter on the campus of a large public hospital in Los Angeles.
Opinion writers from around the country look at these topics and other health care issues.
Research Roundup: Diabetes And Breast Feeding; Hospital Closures; And Diagnostics
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
Media outlets report on news from Massachusetts, Kansas, Minnesota, Florida, Wisconsin and New Hampshire.
Large New England Health Systems Take Definitive Steps Toward Merger
Partners HealthCare of Boston and Care New England Health System of Providence said an “important milestone has been reached” in talks that started last year.
What Happens In The Body When We Gain Weight, And Why Is It So Hard To Lose?
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.
Mosquitoes Love How We Smell, But Even Just Swatting At Them Can Deter Them From Snacking On You
Scientists found that mosquitoes may learn to associate vibrations from swatting with a person’s smell, which can turn them off from trying to feed in that environment if there is a friendlier one nearby.
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.
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
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.
Special Counsel Report Slams VA’s Slow Response To Whistle-Blower Complaints About Manchester Clinic
The Office of Special Counsel says the Department of Veterans Affairs dismissed complaints and only reacted once the media started reporting on the state of care at the clinic.
In States That Are ‘Toss Ups’ In 2018, Voters Care More About Economy, North Korea Than Health Care
Immigration also ranks higher, according to a new poll. Nationwide, however, health care still dominates as the top concern for voters.
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
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.”
At least nine other states, mostly Republican-led, have proposed changes to Medicaid similar to Kentucky’s: Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin.
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.