Latest KFF Health News Stories
Ethylene oxide is crucial in the process of sterilizing medical equipment, but because it’s known to cause cancer there’s been a major push to close plants that use it. Either way, Americans’ lives are at stake, and experts wonder if the FDA and the EPA could have come up with a solution had they simply talked earlier.
‘All That’s Left Is Damaged Kids’: Side Effects From Lead Poisoning Afflict Flint School System
Nearly 30,000 school children were exposed to the toxins, although medical experts are wary of blaming a rise in neurological and behavioral problems on the toxic levels of lead found in the drinking water for fear of stigmatizing the entire city. News on unsafe drinking water is from D.C., as well.
President Donald Trump who announced in September that flavors other than tobacco would be banned seems to have softened on his stance following a torrent of lobbying from pro-vaping groups and users.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) dove into a hot-button election topic with the release of a sweeping plan to tackle the immigration crisis. On day one of his presidency, Sanders says he would end family separations and shutter for-profit detention centers, among other things.
‘Incredibly Encouraged’: CRISPR Technology Clears Early Safety Hurdles For Treating Cancer Patients
Although the technique itself has proven safe in a very limited trial of three patients, it’s too soon to tell whether it was also effective. However, some see the results as a first step into a new generation of cancer treatment.
Experts see the treatment as helping a small percentage of opioid abusers with the most resistant cravings for opioids, who may face a lifetime of overdoses, relapses, inability to hold a job and other consequences of addiction. Other news on the opioid crisis looks at the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy trial, a crackdown on fentanyl, and more.
Gilead makes more than $3 billion a year on Truvada, a drug that was developed through research funded by the government. Meanwhile, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) hints there might be a new version of a drug pricing bill coming.
A Bumpy Road Marks The Start Of VA’s Attempts To Implement Privatization Measures That Trump Touts
Those implementing the plan say they are unable to guarantee a health care network large enough to accommodate all the veterans who might seek care under the expanded privatization system. They say they might need as much as $75 million more in funding to make it work. Meanwhile in other veterans health news: Apple announces that vets will be able to access their health records through an app, doctors celebrate the success of a penis transplant, horses help overcome trauma, and more.
Judge John Kronstadt of the United States District Court in Los Angeles ordered the federal government to immediately make available mental health screenings and treatment to thousands of families. The judge cited precedent from previous cases where governments can be held liable when with “deliberate indifference” they place people in dangerous situations.
The rule makes it easier for medical personnel to avoid assisting in procedures that they say violates their morals. “Wherever the outermost line where persuasion gives way to coercion lies, the threat to pull all HHS funding here crosses it,” said U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer in Manhattan, noting that the rule would have let HHS withhold billions from hospitals, clinics, universities and other healthcare providers that did not comply. Engelmayer also wrote that the “stated justification for undertaking rule making in the first place — a purported ‘significant increase’ in civilian complaints relating to the conscience provisions — was factually untrue.”
First Health Law Enrollment Numbers Down From Last Year, But Glitch On First Day Could Be To Blame
So far, more than 177,000 people enrolled for coverage under the health law. But during the first week of open enrollment last year — which spanned three days instead of this year’s two — 371,676 people signed up. Meanwhile, anyone signing up for Medicare during its enrollment season should be on high alert for scams.
In Kentucky and Virginia, Democrats won big on health care issues like Medicaid expansion. But in Mississippi, Democrat Jim Hood’s support of a plan that would cover about 300,000 poor residents wasn’t enough for him to win the gubernatorial race. In other elections news: a look at the Virginia Legislature’s priorities now that Democrats are in control.
First Edition: November 7, 2019
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial pages focus on proposals to reform health care.
Opinion writers weigh in on these health issues and others.
Media outlets report on news from California, Texas, Missouri, Louisiana, Ohio, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Minnesota, Georgia, Kansas, and Wyoming.
As concerns mount over Google’s market power and gathering of health data, consumer groups and some lawmakers are calling for regulators to take a closer look. Google is looking for a stronger presence in wearables.
Although many in the health landscape are starting to look at the economic and environmental drivers of health outcomes to figure out how they can better improve a community’s health, experts say this pledge is “the first time that systems have acknowledged that this strategy of impact investment should be part of their overall strategy for improving health and well-being in their communities.”
Gov. Brian Kemp (R) just released a new health care blue print for the state, including limited Medicaid expansion. While critics are glad that something is being accomplished, they’re worried it doesn’t go far enough.
Are Fecal Transplants Lifesavers Or Barriers To Innovative New Drugs? It Depends On Who You Ask.
Experts on both sides of the issue pitched their sides to FDA officials at a meeting on the safety of fecal transplants that follows close on the heels of a study on what went wrong when one patient died following the procedure. In other public health news: CRISPR, memory, ear health, burnout among doctors and nurses, obesity in children and more.
