Latest KFF Health News Stories
First Edition: August 12, 2019
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Opinion writers weigh in on these health topics and others.
Different Takes: Fear Pervades Americans’ Lives After Mass Shootings; Reinstate Assault Weapons Ban
Editorial pages focus on public health topics coming off the news of the mass killings in El Paso and Dayton.
Each week, KHN finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Media outlets report on news from New York, California, Oklahoma, Texas, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Vermont, Ohio, Florida, Minnesota, Missouri and Massachusetts.
Ferguson’s Children: How A Legacy Of Racial Tensions Is Shaping A Generation
Five years after Michael Brown was shot and killed in Ferguson, Missouri, a generation of children are growing up in a town defined by raw racial divides. In other public health news, racial health care gaps, dementia, ancient humans and radiation for breast cancer.
Maryland Health Centers Receive Nearly $9M In Federal Grants To Help Lower Opioid Fatalities
The funding is expected to increase medication-assisted treatments, which have increased 142% nationally from 2016-2018. News on the drug epidemic comes from Ohio and Massachusetts, as well.
Mighty Vapors, Liquid Labs, V8P Juice International and Hookah Imports have been selling products introduced to the market after the effective date of a rule that gave authority to the FDA to regulate all tobacco products. In other vaping news, researchers study a cluster of vaping-related lung illnesses in Wisconsin.
Graham Vows A ‘Smart’ Health Law Repeal If Republicans Retake The House
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said his legislation would shift money from states that expanded Medicaid to ones that didn’t. “If we could get the money back to the states, Democratic policies would be tested against our policies,” Graham said. State insurance news comes out of North Carolina and Georgia, as well.
Community Rallies Around Terrified Children Of Arrested Parents Following Immigration Raids
“It was very devastating to see all those kids crying, having seen their parents for the last time,” said Gabriela Rosales, a six-year resident of Morton, Miss., who knows some of those detained. A total of 680 people were arrested and since then about 300 have been released.
Buttigieg Rolls Out Rural Health Plan With Focus On Access, Opioids And Maternal Mortality Rates
Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg unveiled his plan that would increase subsidies for those who buy plans through the health law exchanges and implement a “Medicare for All Who Want It” approach at the same time. The plan also invests in telehealth and attempts to tackle health disparities across rural communities.
Sarepta’s Stocks Plunge After FDA Received Report That Boy Was Injured In Gene-Therapy Study
Sarepta argues that the report was submitted to the FDA in error. The biotech company said the study involves two arms, with one receiving the drug and the other placebo, and the patient could have been on either. In other pharmaceutical news: a heart drug to get reviewed by the FDA, the benefits of Medicare’s decision to cover CAR-T therapy, and a call for pricing reforms.
If Roe V. Wade Is Overturned, Country Would Likely See Patchwork Of Abortion Access
Although many of the more restrictive laws that states passed in recent months have been blocked by courts, the push to restrict the procedure in conservative-leaning areas could eventually create a landscape of wildly varying access. Meanwhile, an appeals court hears arguments over a law that could shutter Kentucky’s last abortion clinic.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
After Previous Mass Shootings, Texas Expanded Firearm Rights: ‘Texas Republicans Don’t Blame Guns’
Texas’ resistance to tightening gun laws after recent shootings stands in contrast to how some Republican-led states reacted. Political experts and advocates say it’s unlikely the El Paso attack will change state Republican leadership’s mindset. In other news on the shootings: Ohio leaders pledge to work together on gun control, a look at the weeks before the El Paso shooting, why the role of guns is downplayed in suicide research, and more.
McConnell Says Background Checks, Red Flag Laws Will Take Priority, But Doesn’t Call Senate Back
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says that there’s an urgency to act on gun control legislation, but that calling lawmakers back from recess would only serve to accomplish “scoring points.” Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urges President Donald Trump to use his authority to call a special session, and more than 200 mayors across the country signed a letter asking for the Senate to convene over the issue.
The Political Timing May Be Right For Trump To Act On Gun Control, But What Could That Look Like?
With the NRA dealing with internal drama, political experts say there’s a window of opportunity for Republicans to pass some kind of gun control. “Because of President Trump’s popularity with the base of the Republican Party, he has a unique opportunity to embrace some modern, limited, and effective safeguards on the sale of new firearms, in addition to action on related issues, like ‘red flags’ and mental health,” Michael Steel, a Republican strategist, tells Politico. But the odds are still slim to get anything through both chambers and the president.
Opinion writers weigh in on these health topics and others.
Research Roundup: State Gun Laws; The ‘Public Charge’ Rule; And Medicare Advantage
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
Media outlets report on news from Georgia, Texas, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Florida, Connecticut, Missouri, Ohio, California, Colorado, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
