Latest KFF Health News Stories
FDA Approves First Drug To Treat Rare Form Of Muscular Dystrophy
The FDA, reacting to lobbying by patients and families, has approved a drug for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a rare and lethal disease.
Viewpoints: Obamacare’s Good News; Rising Deductibles Changing Job-Based Insurance
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Outlets report on health news from Michigan, California, Oklahoma, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Washington.
Home Health Companies Overbilled Massachusetts Medicaid, According To Audit
The companies are accused in the state audit of scores of violations in 2015, with some allegedly overcharging by millions of dollars, the Boston Globe reports. Also, West Virginia officials report on savings on inmates’ hospitalization costs through Medicaid, and Wisconsin health officials request an increase Medicaid spending.
Looming Threat Of Antibiotic Resistance Prompts Unprecedented Meeting At UN
Scientists are hopeful that any resolution coming from the high-level meeting will provide advocates with ammunition: “It gives people and organizations a hammer to hit them on the head to say, ‘You agreed to this and you are not doing it,’” says Ramanan Laxminarayan, director of the Washington-based Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy.
Study Linking ADD To Suicide In Young Children May Prompt New Prevention Strategy
Prevention has typically focused on depression, but for children under 12, attention deficit disorder is a bigger factor, a new study finds. Meanwhile, the Boston Globe looks at the high rate of depression and suicide among veterinarians.
Biden: Cancer ‘Moonshot’ Work Not Just A Passing Phase
The vice president talks with Stat about his lifelong commitment to improve cancer research, “cancer politics” and more.
Alternative PTSD Therapies Gain Popularity Over Traditional Treatment
Many veterans who have given up on medication or exposure therapy find solace in activities such as scuba diving and yoga. Meanwhile, Reveal has launched a series looking back on the VA scandal and what happened after it all came to light.
Feds Mull Rules To Criminalize Paying Bone-Marrow Donors Amid Exploitation Concerns
Some say technology has evolved enough to cut back on the biggest risks involved in the process, though.
Tough New Medical Research Rules Strive For Clarity In Previously ‘Opaque’ World
The new rules are designed to make it easier for researchers to understand what experiments must be included in the federal database. “This has been a very opaque world up until to now,” Food and Drug Commissioner Robert Califf said. “These are tremendous changes.”
Insurers Are Often Chastised For Poor Service But Some Are Working To Improve Reputations
Modern Healthcare looks at consumers’ frustrations with their insurance companies. Meanwhile, the rate of uninsured falls to an all-time low in Massachusetts, and Republicans on Capitol Hill gear up to fight any efforts to give insurers extra money for health law programs.
Anxious To Get Vulnerable Incumbents Back To Campaign Trail, Congress Buckles Down On Zika
Although the debate over the Planned Parenthood provision is defused, other sticking points arose over the weekend. Still, lawmakers hope to seal an agreement Monday.
Ohio’s Opioid Crisis: ‘If It Can Happen Here … It Can Happen Anywhere’
The Columbus Dispatch offers a look at different ways the opioid epidemic is hitting Ohio.
Investigation Reveals Drugmakers’ Deep Influence On Nation’s Response To Opioid Crisis
The Associated Press and The Center for Public Integrity find that drugmakers set in place a strategy to continue to profit off of doctors’ aggressive overprescribing, even as they claim to play an important role in curbing the epidemic.
Health Law Expanded Coverage For Ex-Inmates, But Gaps Remain
The health law’s Medicaid expansion and its requirement that employer medical plans cover dependents up to age 26 had a significant impact on coverage for this population. The portion of young adult ex-inmates without insurance fell from 40 percent to 32 percent.
First Edition: September 19, 2016
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
The Women’s Health Issue No One Talks About
Depression is common among American women, and antidepressant use is on the rise. Yet women tend to keep both a secret. Why aren’t we discussing this more?
Seattle Dentists, Clinics And A Hospital Partner To Provide Specialty Care For Teeth
A pilot project involving Swedish Medical Center and the Neighborcare Health network of community clinics offers care for uninsured adults or those on Medicaid.
In Battle Against Zika, Researchers Seek Foolproof Test For Infection
Most people who have been infected don’t have symptoms, so they don’t know they have the virus.
“Más en paz”: intérpretes, clave para facilitar los últimos días de los pacientes
Para los hispanos que no hablan inglés y que enfrentan una enfermedad terminal, los intérpretes en hospitales son clave para ayudarlos a comprender el proceso que están viviendo.