Latest KFF Health News Stories
States Navigate Ethical, Legal Minefield To Create ‘Crisis Standards Of Care’
Health departments across the country are developing guidelines for medical care during a public health crisis. In other news, patients are receiving CT scans even when their injuries do not warrant them, fewer than 1 in 4 high school students are getting tested for HIV despite CDC recommendations and a violence prevention program aims to address problematic issues in its patients’ lives.
McCaskill Calls For Treatment Centers, Monitoring Program To Fight Opioid Abuse
Sen. Claire McCaskill, at a field hearing in Jefferson City on Tuesday, called on lawmakers to rectify the lack of a drug monitoring program in Missouri. Elsewhere, Ohio announces new guidelines for prescribing painkillers, and New York extends its rebate for naloxone, an antidote for heroin and other opioid overdoses.
Relatives More Likely To Rank End-Of-Life Care Excellent When Patient Was In Hospice, At Home
A new study in JAMA surveys family members of terminally ill cancer patients, and found that they were more likely to rate the care as excellent when the patient was not in an intensive care unit. Another study in the same journal examines how treatment of terminal patients in the United States compares to other countries.
Dreary Biotech Landscape Could Lead To Cheap Deals For Big Pharma
Buying smaller companies with promising drug candidates is a way for larger biopharma companies to generate growth. In other pharmaceutical news, columnist Emily Bazar explains clinical trials, and in Indiana, a state Senate committee clears a bill allowing pharmacists to diagnose customers seeking cold medicine, and deem the treatment unnecessary.
Survey Finds That Most Americans Support Restrictions On Legalized Abortion
Eight in 10 Americans would restrict abortion to the first trimester, according to a new Marist poll commissioned by the Knights of Columbus. In other reproductive health developments, a new abortion battlefront takes shape over the custody of frozen embryos.
Election Exposes Health Care Divisions Among Democratic Candidates
As Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders debate their respective plans to fix weaknesses of the 2010 health law, Obamacare foes look to exploit that rift. In regional news, Clinton urges Georgia to expand Medicaid.
Supreme Court Refuses To Take Case Challenging The Health Law
The case argued that the law violated the Constitution because revenue-raising bills must originate in the House of Representatives.
After Insurer Outcry, Feds Offer Rules To Rein In Special Enrollment Sign-Ups
The government will be taking several steps to prevent consumers from gaming the insurance market by waiting until they are sick before getting coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
First Edition: January 20, 2016
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Want Into A Clinical Trial? Read This First.
Experimental drugs might help desperate patients, but don’t count on an easy cure.
For Hospitals, Treating Violence Beyond The ER Is Good Medicine And Good Business
Hospitals increasingly view violence as a health concern and are developing initiatives designed to improve long-term community health.
Even With ‘Skin In The Game,’ Health Care Shoppers Are Not More Savvy
High-deductible health plans don’t necessarily trigger comparison shopping or informed health care choices by consumers, according to a survey published in Tuesday’s JAMA Internal Medicine.
Viewpoints: Talking About Drug Prices; How Big Data Could Focus The Cancer ‘Moonshot’
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Health policy opinions and editorials express responses to campaign trail developments.
News outlets report on health care developments in Alabama, California, Ohio and Florida.
Neb. Lawmakers To Offer Bill To Expand Medicaid Modeled On Arkansas’ Private Option
The Nebraska legislature has refused in three previous attempts to expand Medicaid, but a new proposal would set up a plan that uses government funds to purchase private insurance for Medicaid enrollees. Also, Ohio is looking at some changes in its Medicaid expansion program.
Survey: 40 Percent Of Physicians Report Bias Toward Certain Patients
Doctors reported that factors such as emotional problems, weight, intelligence, language barriers and attractiveness determined how they viewed a patient. Other media outlets examine if a yearly physical is necessary, a new procedure for cataract blindness, and organ transplant numbers.
Drug Overdoses Causing Mortality Rates Not Seen Since AIDS Epidemic
In 2014, the overdose death rate for whites ages 25 to 34 was five times its level in 1999, and the rate for 35- to 44-year-old whites tripled during that period. Meanwhile, the research backs using medications to treat drug addiction, but clinics are not offering them to their patients; health insurers are taking steps to help battle the growing epidemic; and doctors look to treatments other than opioids to deal with chronic pain.
Abortion Rights Activists Say New N.C. Ultrasound Law Is Creating State ‘Stockpile’ Of Sonograms
But proponents contend that the law offers stronger oversight of the state’s prohibition of abortion after 20 weeks. Meanwhile, thousands turn out for a “March for Life” event in Chicago.
As ‘Precision Medicine’ Evolves, Vagueness And Hype Still Surround Concept
Doctors meet in Philadelphia to discuss the future of precision cancer medicine. Meanwhile, Obama administration policy developments on patient access to medical records, gun control steps and NIH’s cancer database all make headlines.