Latest KFF Health News Stories
As Gaza’s Hospitals Overflow, Doctors Warn Of Risks From Supply Shortages
The “impossible” situation faced by physicians in Gaza is explained by news sources, including the difficulty of evacuating hospitals, and issues from fuel and basic supplies shortages. Meanwhile, a lack of clean water in Gaza is spurring health worries for the population.
Most Hospital Websites Omit Or Bury Information About Abortion Services
A study of 222 hospital websites sampled found that nearly 80% don’t mention abortion. Other abortion access news reports on the long-term costs of denied procedures, election initiatives, and traveling doctors.
Independent Pharmacies Form LLC To Recover Fees From PBMs
This new effort against pharmacy benefit managers comes from the National Community Pharmacists Association, which represents nearly 20,000 pharmacies. The aim is to recover direct and indirect remuneration fees. Also: The FDA plans to ban hair straighteners with formaldehyde.
Teva Alleges Colorado’s Epinephrine Pen Cost-Limiting Is Unconstitutional
Teva Pharmaceuticals’ argument in a new lawsuit is that a new program aimed at making epinephrine auto-injectors affordable violates its rights. Also in the news: expanded involuntary medication of jail inmates in Marin County; Philadelphia’s mayor signs order protecting gender care; more.
Industry Experts Hint Rite Aid Bankruptcy Could Signal Services Pivot
The company’s bankruptcy filings over financial issues and opioid-related lawsuits have some experts considering that its restructuring could be an opportunity for a strategy shift into health care services like telehealth. The impacts of Rite Aid’s woes on local retail pharmacies are also in the news.
Data Show Thousands Upon Thousands Of Pros Leaving Health Industry
Over 145,000 left the industry from 2021 through 2022 a report says, threatening health services access and quality. A debate over the status of the nursing staff shortage is also in the news. Also in the media: skepticism over prior authorization cuts from Cigna and UnitedHealth.
Anti-Covid Drug Paxlovid Expected To Cost More In 2024, Sparking Worries
The new price isn’t set yet but is expected to be higher than the $530-per-course fee currently paid by the government. A higher price has triggered experts’ concerns about accessibility. Other covid news reports on Florida’s newly released data, vaccines, the impact on dogs, and more.
FDA Proposes Banning Menthol In A Sea Change Anti-Cigarette Effort
The goal is to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, winning praise from health experts. The tobacco industry, predictably, hates the idea. Meanwhile, big tobacco firms are turning to nicotine-infused substances like tea to skirt flavored heated tobacco bans that are on the way in Europe.
Regulations Take Aim At Misleading Medicare Ads As Enrollment Opens
New Biden administration rules crafted to combat deceptive Medicare marketing tactics face their first big test this enrollment season. Other open enrollment news relates to coinsurance changes, Medicare Advantage, and more.
Long Covid Study Points To Depleted Serotonin As Possible ‘Brain Fog’ Cause
University of Pennsylvania scientists are exploring the neurocognitive difficulties that are attributed to long covid and have found a potential link to both interferons and serotonin levels. Other news on the condition looks at treatments and workers’ comp cases.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
More Maternity Units Closing Amid Staff Shortages And Rising Costs
The closure of maternity units in three Alabama hospitals is part of a trend in parts of the country that are leaving pregnant women with a dangerous lack of medical services.
Viewpoints: GOP Tying PEPFAR Extension To Abortion Agenda; Women Need Us To Continue AIDS Fight
Editorial writers discuss PEPFAR, cancer, health care strikes, and more .
Biden Administration Invests $500 Million Into Future Anti-Covid Vaccines, Tech
The ProjectNext Gen investment is aimed at three different vaccine candidates, including intranasal versions. Meanwhile, covid indicators in the U.S. are trending downward, and researchers find a link between the nose and why children usually don’t get too sick from catching the virus.
Atrium Health, Big Collector Of Medical Debt, Stops Suing Patients
The Charlotte Ledger and North Carolina Health News report that the hospital system has quietly stopped suing patients for unpaid medical bills, earning praise from critics who object to health system debt collection habits. Separately, Allina Health physicians have voted to unionize; UnitedHealth Group sees profits jump; and more.
Doctors Write Letter Warning Of Risks From Low Blood Transfusion Rates
Preventable deaths and risks to national security are said to be the result of health care facilities and emergency vehicles lacking equipment for transfusions. Among other news, a study pinpoints possible better treatments for Raynaud’s disease; ways around the U.S. vape ban; and more.
Emergency Doctors’ Group Withdraws Its ‘Excited Delirium’ Paper
Though previously rejected by most other medical organizations, the American College of Emergency Physicians has now disavowed its 2009 report on”excited delirium” syndrome that was subsequently used to justify police custody deaths.
California Health Workers Will Get $25-Per-Hour Minimum Pay Soon
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill late Friday; wages will be gradually raised to $25 per hour over several years. California is the first state to enact minimum pay for health industry workers. In other news, Kaiser Permanente and union workers have reached a tentative deal to avert further strikes.
Medicare Coverage Expanded For More Brain Scans To Detect Alzheimer’s
The goal of the expanded coverage is to detect a brain plaque associated with Alzheimer’s disease, which is the target of new Alzheimer’s drugs. Meanwhile, a neuroscientist whose studies are linked to an experimental Alzheimer’s treatment has been faulted for errors in his research after an investigation.
Falling Sales, Opioid Lawsuits Drive Rite Aid Into Bankruptcy
More than a thousand federal, state, and local lawsuits, sales losses, and problem mergers are reportedly behind the pharmacy giant’s bankruptcy filing. Also in the news, the tragic deaths of dozens of toddlers in Missouri and Kansas from fentanyl overdoses