Latest KFF Health News Content

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Civil Trial Starts In Fatal Police Shooting Of New York Veteran With Mental Health Issues

Morning Briefing

In regional news, budget cuts in Connecticut force mental health professionals to brace for more challenges to providing care. And Virginia says its pilot program to provide greater access to mental health services is too costly to continue.

Trauma From Gun Violence A Long-Lasting Threat To Survivors’ Health

Morning Briefing

Children who are exposed to gun violence are more likely to smoke, drink, abuse drugs and engage in unsafe sex. In other public health news, researchers are trying to understand the effects of “culture of shaming” and how author Roald Dahl’s curiosity about medicine led to a breakthrough in stroke rehabilitation.

The Missing Piece In The Antibiotic Resistance Battle: How Superbugs Become Superbugs

Morning Briefing

Scientists receive a $10 million grant for the National Institutes of Health to try to answer that question, which remains blurry despite all the research done on antibiotic resistance. They will be looking for the specific genetic changes, or mutations, that enable any given type of bacteria to become a superbug. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms that a new superbug has been found in America.

Program Offers Medical Students Fast-Track Path To Become Family Physicians

Morning Briefing

Primary care shortages are plaguing the country, as many students choose higher-paying specialties because of massive loans. But one program helps burgeoning doctors balance their debt and their desire to practice family medicine. Meanwhile, Congress looks to tackle OB-GYN shortages when it returns after the elections.

Proposed Rule Lifting 16-Hour Shift Limit For First-Year Doctors Sparks Fiery Outcry

Morning Briefing

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education wants to relax the cap to avoid disruption of “team-based care.” However, critics called it a dangerous step backward. “Study after study shows that sleep-deprived resident physicians are a danger to themselves, their patients and the public,” said Dr. Michael Carome.

Emails Reveal Depth Of FDA Officials’ Discontent Over Sarepta Approval

Morning Briefing

Comments in the emails posted on the Food and Drug Administration website underscore the level of concern some agency officials raised that proper procedures were not followed and key data was downplayed in the approval process for Sarepta’s Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug.

Kansas Hospitals Shift From Neutral To Support Candidates Favoring Medicaid Expansion

Morning Briefing

The Kansas Hospital Association in past years has spread political contributions fairly evenly, but it is changing strategy this year and contributing to state candidates who support Medicaid expansion. Also, a look at the effect of increased state Medicaid spending and efforts to provide care to people who can’t afford treatment in states that didn’t expand Medicaid.

Democrats Applaud Medicaid Expansion Success As They Seek To Deflect Health Law Criticism

Morning Briefing

Millions of low-income people have gained coverage through the expansion of Medicaid, and Democratic candidates are eager to criticize Republicans who want to do away with the law and may jeopardize that coverage. Also in news on the health law, Georgia marketplace customers are having trouble finding medical specialists on some plans and a few questions to consider before buying a plan.

Republican Gubernatorial Candidates’ Abortion Rights Credentials Challenged

Morning Briefing

The Democratic Governors Association is running ads questioning whether Republican candidates in New Hampshire and Vermont are sincere in their abortion rights positions and trying to tie them to the Republican fights against Planned Parenthood.

¿El control de la natalidad discrimina a los hombres?

KFF Health News Original

Un estudio que mostró resultados positivos en términos de eficacia anticonceptiva masculina, pero fue interrumpido, ha generado un debate sobre posibles sesgos en la investigación de anticonceptivos.

Did Gender Bias Derail A Potential Birth Control Option For Men?

KFF Health News Original

A study that showed positive results in terms of contraceptive efficacy but may have been linked to depression has sparked debate about possible bias in contraceptive research. But the issues may not be so simple.

Seniors Suffer Amid Widespread Fraud By Medicaid Caretakers

KFF Health News Original

A government watchdog report finds widespread fraud — in some cases involving patients’ severe neglect and death — in a Medicaid program that sends non-medical assistants to elderly and disabled peoples’ homes.

Un sorprendente número de padres de California experimentaron abuso cuando niños

KFF Health News Original

Uno de cada cinco adultos de California, con niños viviendo en sus casas, fue golpeado, pateado o abusado físicamente cuando niño, y uno de cada 10 fue abusado sexualmente, según datos publicados por una fundación de salud infantil.