Latest KFF Health News Stories
‘We Take It For Granted’: Researchers Try To Unlock Mysteries Of The Placenta
Doctors have few tools to examine the placenta during pregnancy and there is only so much that can be understood by studying one post-birth.
These Tiny ‘Ticking Time Bombs’ Are Pumping Lead Into Drinking Water
Even when a city’s water system has been tested for lead levels, it can still get into residents’ drinking water through service lines — which are pipes that carry water from the main service line into homes.
Through Training, Paraplegics Able To Jumpstart Long-Dormant Nerve Networks
The study in Brazil focused on helping paraplegics regain some brain function following a stroke through repetition and practice to improve quality of life.
Intense Fear Skews Public Perception Of Radiation’s Health Effects, Analysis Finds
There is a tendency to overestimate radiation’s risks, the author of a newly released paper says.
Privacy Concerns Stoke Distaste For Drug Monitoring Programs In Midst Of Opioid Crisis
Because of one lawmaker who battled against a prescription drug monitoring program, Missouri is the only state without one. But the sentiment could be spreading as privacy threats to health data loom large. Meanwhile, the number of babies born addicted to opioids triples, Ohio lawmakers try to find ways to better educate students on the opioid crisis, and people look for ways to fight pain without pills.
DOJ: Mississippi Violating Civil Rights Of People With Mental Illness
The agency has sued the state for “unnecessarily and illegally” forcing people into institutions by failing to provide other options. In other news, crisis intervention teams teach prison staff how to defuse volatile situations with inmates with mental disorders, a patients’ rights group calls for a federal investigation of a New Hampshire state prison and legislation geared toward tracking mental health services for foster kids takes a step forward in California.
What Happened To $10B Gilead Allegedly Owes In Taxes? Group Asks Feds To Investigate
The Americans for Tax Fairness wants the Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department to take action against the drugmaker following a report released by the group that shows the company may have shifted billions into offshore accounts to avoid paying taxes.
In Battle Of Insurance Titans, Companies Eye Walmart’s ‘Ruthless’ Tactics To Hold Down Costs
In other marketplace news, outlets report on companies as well as doctors who are opting out of the traditional health insurance models in favor of alternatives while a Texas hospital settles its fight with Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
CMS Report Details Stability Of Health Law Marketplaces, Undercutting Insurers’ Complaints
Insurers fired back, though, saying the report — which showed costs remaining basically flat between the first two years of the Affordable Care Act — was not reflective of what they have experienced.
Agency Shuffle: Karen DeSalvo To Step Down As Top Federal Health IT Coordinator
Dr. Vindell Washington will take over the job as head of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. DeSalvo will continue in her other role at the Department of Health and Human Services as acting assistant secretary of health.
Administration Dips Into NIH Funds As Congress Refuses To Budge On Zika
Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell announced that the administration is moving $81 million away from biomedical research and other health programs to continue Zika vaccine development funding, which would run out by the end of the month otherwise.
First Edition: August 12, 2016
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
More Small, Midsized Firms Choose To Pay Workers’ Medical Costs Directly
Many expected that the federal health law would push these employers in this direction. An analysis by the Employee Benefit Research Institute finds evidence that these predictions are coming to fruition.
Administration Paints Rosy Future For Obamacare Marketplaces
Report portrays Affordable Care Act’s individual market as improving with rising enrollments of healthier, lower-risk consumers, a performance that clashes with recent complaints from some large insurers.
Los niños de menos ingresos pierden exámenes de visión cruciales, aunque tengan seguro
Investigadores estiman que miles de niños sufren dos afecciones oculares debilitantes porque no tienen los examenes apropiados cuando son más chicos.
Researchers Identify A Key Weapon of Zika Virus
University of Southern California scientists determined the virus uses certain types of protein to interrupt the brain development of fetuses. The finding is a step toward the possible development of an intervention that could prevent the infection from leading to microcephaly.
Should Big Insurance Become Like Walmart To Lower Health Costs?
Evidence shows dominant insurers hold down hospital prices. Big insurers seeking to get bigger want to take that idea to the extreme.
Viewpoints: Medicaid’s Shortcomings; Mixed Messages Regarding Pain And Opioids
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Longer Looks: Noticing Cardiac Arrest; Bug Hunting; And The Science Of Cupping
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Outlets report on health news from Texas, Delaware, Ohio, Minnesota, Florida, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, California, Colorado and Georgia.