Latest KFF Health News Stories
A new study from the Commonwealth Fund details how many Americans who have coverage through their employers are still spending too much of their paychecks on health care costs.
Brokers often make higher commissions on the short-term “junk” plans, health policy experts say, which gives them an incentive to sell them. In other insurance news, Americans struggle to find affordable mental health care coverage.
Beyond Health Insurance: Democrats Touch On Abortion, Paid Paternal Leave, Marijuana And More
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), one of the Democratic frontrunners, was asked if there is room in the party for anti-abortion candidates, like recently-re-elected Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards. “I have made clear what I think the party stands for,” Warren said. “I’m not here to try to drive anyone out of the party.”
In some of the first research into longterm effects of gun violence, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania say not enough is being done to help tens of thousands of patients who can suffer for years from PTSD and other mental health problems following a shooting. Related news is also on: the effects of fatal police shootings and the lives of mass shooters.
Media outlets offer Medicaid news from across the country.
Former Baltimore Mayor Indicted On Fraud Charges Connected To Her ‘Healthy Holly’ Book Scandal
Catherine Pugh’s book — never delivered to Baltimore residents — was at the center of a scheme to defraud health care companies, Baltimore’s school system and taxpayers, prosecutors say. She received between $600,000 and $800,000 for the books before and after she became mayor in 2016, a time period coinciding with her tenure as a member of key health committees in the State Senate.
Mysterious DNA Loops Common In Cancer Cells Could Unlock Key Information About How Our Bodies Work
Scientists have known about the loops of DNA for decades. But they’re starting to realize they could play a bigger role in diseases and aging than previously thought. In other public health news: measles immunity, sleep, speech, and the flu.
“Medicare for All” has been center stage in most of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary debates, often acting as a proxy for a bigger conversation about the moderate and progressive wings of the party. But on Wednesday night, the candidates moved on from the issue quickly.
The announcement follows reporting from multiple news outlets that President Donald Trump is backing away from a strict flavor ban that he announced in September. In other news on the vaping crisis: the administration tables a proposal to set a maximum nicotine level in cigarettes, Congress faces pressure to act, the American Medical Association urges a ban on products, and more.
At a confirmation hearing, several senators pressed President Donald Trump’s nominee to head the FDA, Dr. Stephen Hahn, about whether he would push for a ban on flavored vaping products. Hahn said he was not part of discussions on the policy and hadn’t talked to Trump about it but supported “aggressive action to protect our children.”
The government alleged that various drugmakers use charities like Florida-based The Assistance Fund as a means to improperly pay the co-pay obligations of Medicare patients using their drugs. In other pharmaceutical news: a transparency push from President Donald Trump and lawmakers, and an approval for a pricey drug that treats an ultra-rare metabolic disorder.
First Edition: November 21, 2019
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Opinion writers weigh in on efforts to curb teen vaping.
Editorial pages focus on these health topics and others.
U.S. Territories On Path Toward ‘Medicaid Cliff’ As Congress Drags Its Feet Over Funding
If Congress doesn’t increase the amount of designated money by the end of the year, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam say they would need to cut their Medicaid rolls in half, while Puerto Rico says it would need to cut back dental and prescription drug services. Medicaid news comes out of Kansas and North Carolina, as well.
Media outlets report on news from Maryland, Pennsylvania, District of Columbia, Florida, Minnesota, Arizona, New York, Rhode Island, Georgia, Texas, Oregon, Massachusetts, California, and Kansas.
Two patients taking part in the trials have been free of transfusions to treat their diseases for months, showing the ”revolutionary” technology is working and the new cells are engrafting in bone marrow, researchers say. But they caution about celebrating too early. Public health news is on unwelcome changes in psychiatric wards, pledges to eradicate polio, harsh discipline of black girls, anal cancer, illiteracy’s impact on dementia, functioning with brain malformations, an app for recovery from addiction, and exercise’s benefits for older, sedentary people.
The entire night security cameras showed that nobody entered the wing where Jeffrey Epstein had been left alone in his cell, the indictment said, despite requirements to make rounds to check on prisoners every 30 minutes. Epstein’s suicide has put a spotlight on issues with quality and safety measures within the federal prison system.
Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa says that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is blocking the legislation because he wants to hurt her reelection chances. Meanwhile, Schumer says Ernst’s version of the bill shows she “is simply afraid of the NRA.”
On Transgender Day of Remembrance, Many Victims’ Loved Ones Left Without Closure, Justice
Vigils will be held Wednesday to remember transgender people killed over the past year. For many, the day marks just how far there is left to go when it comes to securing a safe future for transgender people.
