Latest KFF Health News Stories
Viewpoints: More Steps Backward In Women’s Reproductive Rights; Did Your Brain Forget On Purpose?
Editorial writers discuss reproductive rights, brain function, covid and more.
There Have Been Over 500 Mass Shootings In the US So Far In 2023
It’s just over 250 days into 2023. As of Saturday night there has been more than 500 mass shootings, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive, equating to around two per day. Separately, a new survey finds that Americans do want gun restrictions on those convicted of domestic violence.
Kansas Stops Allowing Gender Changes On Birth Certificates
Kansas’ Department of Health and Environment is citing a new law preventing the state from legally recognizing recognizing modified gender identities. Meanwhile, Tennessee’s first openly transgender political official has been elected.
Trump Calls Florida’s Six-Week Abortion Ban ‘A Terrible Mistake,’ Says He Wouldn’t Sign 15-Week Ban
In an interview that aired Sunday, former President Donald Trump refused to say what time frame he would support but said he would “negotiate something” with Democrats so that “both sides are going to like me.” It was unclear how or if his statement would affect conservative voters.
Making An Appointment For The New Covid Shot? It Has A New Nickname
The word “booster” is missing from pharmacy websites now: The new shot is being called the “2023-2024 covid-19 vaccine” or simply the “updated covid-19 vaccine.” Meanwhile, covid symptoms are getting harder to tell apart from allergy symptoms.
Study Finds Most Rural Residents’ End-Of-Life Wishes Go Unfulfilled
Data from the St. David’s Foundation offers some insight into how people’s end-of-life health care wishes are fulfilled. A little over a third of people’s wishes actually are — but for rural residents, it’s worse. In other news, rural Pennsylvania hospital uses GoFundMe to try to financially survive.
Chamber Of Commerce Argues Against Drug Price Negotiations In Legal Battle
The first oral arguments in the landmark case were heard Friday in the Southern District Court of Ohio. The event included a lawyer for the Chamber of Commerce urging a federal judge to block the Biden administration’s plans for negotiating Medicare drug pricing with pharmaceutical companies.
Health Programs On Verge Of Expiring Amid Congressional Gridlock
A number of federal health programs are caught up in lawmakers’ disarray surrounding spending bills that is threatening to shut down the government. Axios rounds up the list, while other news outlets report on the funding negotiations.
Your Health Insurance Is Set For An Inflation Jump, Even As Inflation Falls
Labyrinthine economics mean that even as U.S. inflation is “broadly retreating,” as CNBC reports, health insurance costs are set to tick up in October, and again in following months. The Seattle Times says health insurance rates will jump for “thousands.” The Boston Globe warns of rises in Rhode Island.
White House Pushes Insurers For Equal Mental Health Coverage
The Biden administration is “going after” health insurers for flouting federal laws designed to ensure that they provide mental health care on the same terms as other health care. Meanwhile, AI tools are helping doctors diagnose mental health conditions.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: What’s Behind The Shortage Of ADHD Meds?; How To Combat Soaring Health Care Costs
Editorial writers tackle ADHD medications, rising costs of health care, the newest covid booster and more.
Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
Each week, KFF Health News finds longer stories for you to enjoy. This week’s selections include stories on mental health, Medicaid, aging, toxic cough syrup, polio, and more.
Study: Legionnaires’ Disease Spread From Donor Lungs To Recipients
The new study notes this may be the first time transplanted organs were the likely source of infection, after the organ donor died from drowning in a river — a place where Legionella bacteria are naturally found. In other news, a pig kidney worked for a record two months in a human patient.
Lawsuit Challenges North Dakota’s Ban On Minors’ Gender Care
AP notes this is the latest lawsuit in many states with similar bans. Meanwhile, in Florida, the state is asking an appeals court to allow a new law preventing trans minors from accessing gender care by citing a ruling in a similar case in Alabama last month.
Philadelphia City Council Votes To Ban Most Supervised Injection Sites
The almost-unanimous vote on the contentious issue came, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports, after a meeting that was “raucous at times.” In other news, Appalachian communities are coming together for a Narcan distribution event to help fight the overdose crisis.
ER Visit Times Stretch Longer As Hospitals Face Staffing Crunch
Axios reports that hospitals in Washington, D.C., logged the longest median ER visit times in 2022, clocking in at 5 hours and 29 minutes. Other health care industry news is on union membership, rural nursing home staffing, out-of-network ambulance claims, and more.
Billion-Dollar Effort To Reform Mental Health Care Will Go To Calif. Voters
Among new bills that California lawmakers endorsed this week, a $6.4 billion bond measure to reform California’s mental health care will appear on the March 2024 ballot. Also: a possible $25 minimum wage for local health workers.
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Beth Israel Plan New Boston Cancer Center
The newly-announced plans will “reshape” oncology in the region, the Boston Globe reports. Separately, New York’s Mount Sinai Medical Center is set to close its Beth Israel campus in downtown Manhattan after what Bloomberg reports as “years” of financial losses.
New Study Finds ‘Exciting’ Result In MDMA Treatment For PTSD: It’s Safe
Stat says the study adds to a body of evidence supporting MDMA as a treatment for PTSD. The New York Times says the psychedelic is inching toward approval. Also in the news: Magic mushrooms may soon be legal in California, and thousands have signed up for an Oregon psilocybin tea experiment.