Latest KFF Health News Stories
The notice of violation against the University of Vermont Medical Center is the Office for Civil Rights’ first such action since Director Roger Severino launched the Division of Conscience and Religious Freedom in 2018. The unnamed nurse says she was misled into thinking the procedure was related to a miscarriage and feared for her job when she found out it was an abortion. University of Vermont Medical Center disputes the events described by the nurse.
First Edition: August 29, 2019
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Diverting funds appropriated by Congress is permitted only in extraordinary circumstances, and Democrats disagree that the crisis at the border warrants such a decision. The move comes as Puerto Rico, which still hasn’t recovered from past disasters, braces for Tropical Storm Dorian.
Rhode Island will receive additional funds from HHS because the expected lower premiums created by the reinsurance fund will save the federal government money by reducing the amount it spends on tax credits in the state. Other health insurance and coverage news focuses on: innovation funds, states’ Medicaid programs, and transgender care.
Editorials and opinion writers examine a wide variety of health issues from lead in water to guns to immigration.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is now saying that all adults between the ages of 18 and 79 should be screened for hepatitis C despite their risk level.
Media outlets report on news from New Jersey, California, Maryland, Connecticut, Florida, Oregon, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Georgia and Wisconsin.
As many as 11 patients’ deaths may be under investigation as officials look into allegations stemming from care at the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center in Clarksburg, West Virginia.
Obesity Crisis The Likely Culprit Of Slow-Down In Progress Against Cardiovascular Disease
The decline in mortality rates from heart disease has slowed, and have plateaued for stroke and diabetes. In other public health news: artificial intelligence, the benefits of exercise, DNA information, school lunch, testosterone, air pollution and more.
Republican Gov. Mike Parson praised the court decision to uphold sections of the law preventing abortions based on sex, race or Down syndrome, which are separate from the eight-week ban struck down by U.S. District Judge Howard Sachs. The temporary stay against Missouri’s 8-week ban is similar to the fate similar legislation in other states has faced.
There haven’t been any product recalls or warnings from the government despite the number of cases climbing to nearly 200 across more than a dozen states. But federal officials say they are investigating leads on the cause of the illnesses.
Philip Morris and Altria Group may reunite after more than 10 years. The merger has the potential to super-charge efforts by Juul — which Atria has a stake in —
to expand overseas, bolstered by the global marketing power of Philip Morris.
Biden Talks About Personal Tragedies In Ad Touting His Plan To Expand Affordable Care Act
Former Vice President Joe Biden’s new ad highlights both the 1972 car crash that put his sons in the hospital and Beau Biden’s battle with brain cancer. “I couldn’t imagine what it would have been like if we didn’t have the health care they needed immediately,” Biden says in the spot. Health care has become a dividing line between the Democratic 2020 presidential candidates, with moderates like Biden pushing for an expanded version of the health law while progressives argue for more sweeping changes.
The Oklahoma opioids case exposed cracks in Johnson & Johnson’s reputation, some say. The New York Times looks at the company’s history and where it got involved in the epidemic. In other news on the national drug crisis: questions about where to spend opioid settlement money bubble up; analysts try to guess how the Oklahoma settlement will effect others; and more.
According to reports on settlement talks, the bulk of the funds would come from restructuring Purdue Pharma under a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing that would transform it from a private company into a “public beneficiary trust.” That would allow the profits from all drug sales, including the opioid painkiller OxyContin, to go to the plaintiffs of a nationwide consolidated lawsuit over the alleged role drugmakers played in the epidemic. The company would also give its addiction treatment drugs to the public without cost.
First Edition: August 28, 2019
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Read recent commentaries about drug-cost issues.
How Life-Saving Cures Targeted To Small Populations Became A Profit Engine For Big Pharma
News outlets report on stories related to pharmaceutical pricing.
Editorial writers weigh in on these public health topics and other health issues.
Different Takes: Judgment Against Johnson & Johnson In Opioid Lawsuit Provides Moment Of Hope
Opinion writers weigh in on lawsuits addressing the opioid epidemic.
