Latest KFF Health News Stories
Massachusetts Struggling To Cope With Opioid Crisis: ‘These Issues Are So Big And Overwhelming’
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) surveyed more than 80 organizations that provide prevention, treatment, and recovery services for people with substance use disorders.
Gilead Gambles On Kite’s Cancer Therapy, Scooping Up Drugmaker In $11B Deal
The move is a departure from the path currently being followed by the pharmaceutical industry where the pace of acquisitions had largely slowed this year.
Aetna Violated Patients’ Privacy With Envelopes Revealing HIV Status, Lawsuit Alleges
The company sent letters to the patients to notify them about a change in pharmacy benefits, but the words “filling prescriptions for HIV” were able to be seen through the large window on the front of the envelope.
As N.H. Weighs Future Of Medicaid Expansion, Report Highlights Higher Costs For Enrollees
New Hampshire opted to use federal funding for the Medicaid expansion to enroll 43,000 people on private insurance plans on the health law’s marketplace. The report found that those enrollees tended to be on high-cost plans and cost more than the average marketplace customer, even though they were on average younger than the usual customers.
Governors Keeping Details Of Blueprint To Stabilize Marketplace Close To Chest For Now
Govs. John Kasich (R-Ohio) and John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) announce they’ve come up with a bipartisan plan, but they aren’t releasing the details yet. Meanwhile, a sweeping ad campaign focusing on repeal-and-replace efforts is being launched against Republicans. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention releases numbers on how many Americans are uninsured.
Transgender Military Ban Unconstitutional, Civil-Liberties Groups Claim In Lawsuits
The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland files its suit in Baltimore on behalf of six currently serving transgender service members, while Lambda Legal and OutServe-SLDN file a separate suit in Seattle.
Stem Cell Clinic Raid Is Part Of FDA’s Crackdown On Industry’s ‘Unscrupulous Actors’
The California clinic has been using smallpox vaccine on seriously ill cancer patients. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb says he is launching a new working group at the agency “to pursue unscrupulous clinics through whatever legally enforceable means are necessary to protect the public health.”
Quality Of Care In NICU Linked To Race Of Babies, California Study Finds
African-American and Hispanic babies had lower quality of care than Asian American or white infants. But the results weren’t all clear cut. In other public health news: double mastectomies, coffee, nicotine, NFL funding for medical research and more.
Battered By Harvey, Houston’s Hospitals Become ‘Islands Of Humanity’ In Midst Of Storm
The flood waters are straining Houston’s medical system, but hospitals and providers are doing what they can to help victims. And while much of the focus at the moment is on immediate concerns, widespread public health dangers loom on the horizon.
First Edition: August 29, 2017
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Mayo Pain Expert: Holistic Approach Helps Patients Ditch Opioids
Painkillers were never designed to be used over the long term, says the head of the Mayo Clinic’s pain rehabilitation center. Instead, patients should try other approaches, including relaxation therapies. But getting insurers to cover them might take coaxing.
Polémica por ensayo de una vacuna contra el herpes en el extranjero
El ensayo clínico de una vacuna contra el herpes común fuera de los Estados Unidos ha generado una controversia médica y una investigación gubernamental.
A selection of opinions on public health issues from around the country.
Opinion pages include thoughts on current state legislative issues and activities as well as on how politics in Washington could play out locally.
Opinion writers offer their thoughts on where Obamacare stands now and what should happen next as well as a number of other policy issues. Those include Medicare and Medicaid buy-in ideas, health data privacy and security, and hearing aids.
Media outlets report on news from Missouri, Ohio, Georgia, Idaho, California, Minnesota, Massachusetts and Maryland.
In Tumultuous Health Care Landscape, Some Doctors Are Opting To Freelance
The perks of working as a freelance doctor are enticing: phsyicians often earn more on an hourly basis, they don’t have to wait for insurance reimbursements to get paid — and they decide when and where they’ll work.
Despite Massive Payout In J&J Talc Case, Experts Divided Over Whether Powder Causes Cancer
The National Cancer Institute concludes “the weight of evidence does not support an association between perineal talc exposure and an increased risk of ovarian cancer.” But experts aren’t ruling out that the link might be proven someday. In other public health news: a skin lightening procedure and buying happiness.
NYC Postpones New Calorie Labeling Regulations To Comply With Federal Schedule
The Food and Drug Administration had delayed implementation of the new rules for a year–until 2018. New York City had planned to go ahead with the regulations, but will now wait.
Hep C Could Be Eradicated But Not Without Reining In The Opioid Epidemic, Experts Say
“We have two public health problems that are related — it’s called a syndemic — and we can’t address one without addressing the other,” says James Galbraith, an emergency room physician.