Latest KFF Health News Stories
Media outlets report on news from Indiana, Kansas, Alaska, Rhode Island, California, Texas, Michigan, Missouri, Florida, Connecticut, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and New York.
The Wall Street Journal reports that contributions from osteopathic physician Joseph Mercola account for about 40% of funding to a center that spreads anti-vaccine information. News on vaccines comes from the Pacific Islands, Virginia, Connecticut and other places, as well.
But John Kapoor’s lawyers are pushing for community service from home for his efforts to bribe doctors to prescribe a highly addictive fentanyl spray. News on the epidemic comes out of New Hampshire and Ohio, as well.
A blood test is on the horizon, but as there is not real treatment for Alzheimer’s some wonder if knowing early is really worth it. In other public health news: rural nursing homes, at-home DNA tests, cigarettes, worker safety, diet, pregnancy and marijuana use, and more.
The cause of the vaping-related illnesses has long-stumped health officials, but they had been slowly zeroing in on vitamin E oil in recent weeks. Although there has been a drop in emergency room visits for vaping-related lung injuries, government officials emphasized new cases continue. And officials are warning that the patients are prone to relapse.
It’s a congressional letdown that highlights the difficulty of legislating in a divided Washington and in taking on the powerful pharmaceutical industry. In other pharmaceutical news: doctors’ financial links to pharma, Medicaid approval for a sickle cell treatment, the Ebola vaccine, and electronic records.
The verdict is Johnson & Johnson’s eighth trial victory in talc cases this year, its fourth win since October and its second triumph last week. The scorecard is a reversal of earlier cases where the company was getting battered. In other health industry and insurance news: J&J acquires remaining stake in Verb Surgical; Cigna partners with Prime Therapeutics; Mayo Clinic taps IT vet for digital business; and more.
An in-depth investigation from USA Today reveals a system plagued with complaints about detainees safety and care. With much of the nation’s attention focused on the separations at the border, the detention facilities can sometimes fly under the radar. Meanwhile, an internal DHS watchdog found no wrongdoing in the deaths of two migrant children who were in U.S. custody last December.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra sued Sutter claiming the hospital system abused its market power to raise prices. Under the terms of the agreement, Sutter will continue to operate as an integrated system. But it has agreed to end a host of practices that Becerra alleged unfairly stifled competition
The sweeping spending measure passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump last week contains lots of wins for an industry that has publicly been under attack for the past year. The success shows how formidable the health care industry remains.
The state battles that experts expect to see in 2020 reflect a deepening cultural divide within the country over how to address public health issues. Republicans still control a majority of state capitals, but Democrats have made gains in recent years. The dynamic could set off some fireworks in the coming year. Meanwhile, hospitals are fighting state-level laws to rein in health care costs, foreshadowing issues that might come in any federal push to do the same.
And new customers totaled more than 2 million people — an increase of 36,000 from last year. That’s considered a positive sign because it reflects consumer interest. The final tally doesn’t include the millions of people who chose a health plan through state-run exchanges.
Soaring Homelessness In California Drives Nation’s Rates Up Again For Third Year In Row, HUD Reports
Although there was a decline in homeless rates in 29 states and D.C., California’s skyrocketing numbers offset those gains. Senior Trump administration officials visited California in September to troubleshoot ways to minimize homelessness, after which the issue became politically fraught as President Donald Trump and California’s leaders publicly bickered over what was to be done about the crisis. Media outlets take a look at homeless issues across the country, as well.
First Edition: December 23, 2019
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Each week, KHN finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Media outlets cover health care news from Illinois, New York, California, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Texas, Florida and Minnesota.
Editorial pages focus on these health topics and others.
Deadly, Five-State Listeria Outbreak Traced Back To Hard-Boiled Eggs
According to the CDC, the eggs were packaged by Almark Foods in Gainesville, Ga. Four of seven people who reported infections across five states have been hospitalized, and one death was reported in Texas.
Public Health Roundup: The Mysterious Diplomat Illness, CRISPR’d Pigs, Vaping Deaths And More
Researchers have long been stumped about a mysterious set of symptoms that affected more than a dozen diplomats. New tests offer clues to what’s happening in their brains, even though doctors still haven’t found a cause. In other public health news: gene-editing, infertility, driving under the influence of marijuana, and more.
Since the country started cracking down on the opioid crisis, doctors and other medical professionals have tried to walk the fine line of making sure patients who need medication get it and not exacerbating an epidemic. National Academies scientists have offered a new framework that they warn shouldn’t be considered ironclad. In other news on the crisis: a drug distributor allegedly concealed security flaws that fueled the epidemic, the Sackler family fights to keep its name associated with Tufts, and more.
