Latest KFF Health News Stories
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a 2020 hopeful, announced her proposal ahead of an AARP/Des Moines Register forum in Des Moines. “I believe we owe it to our seniors to make sure they have the care and support they need as they get older, and as president, I will prioritize tackling Alzheimer’s, strengthening health care and retirement security, and reducing prescription drug costs,” Klobuchar said.
“They’re going to make the political argument that they’re winning,” said Regina LaBelle, the former chief of staff for the Office of National Drug Control Policy during the Obama administration. “Which they can say, since deaths are down. But I get concerned that we’re going to take our eye off the ball on the broader issue of addiction.” Meanwhile, in a battle over Philadelphia’s safe injection sites, supporters of the facilities get a boost from other states.
The FDA bans blood donations from men who have been in a same-sex relationship during the previous year. Barton Lynch of Arlington, Va. said he wanted to be able to help people, but since he was not allowed to give blood, this was what he could do.
The Health Subcommittee sent the bill, which includes an additional $12 billion over four years for Puerto Rico, to the full House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Lawmakers said that there was no time to address the recent corruption scandal over a government employee allegedly stealing Medicaid dollars in the current bill, but that members will work to add oversight to the funding.
Millions Of Immigrants Brace For ICE Raids This Weekend: ‘There Is A Lot Of Panic And A Lot Of Fear’
Advocates say they are getting calls from immigrants who don’t want to leave their house even to go to the doctor with a sick child. “We keep getting calls and messages from folks, saying, ‘We’re scared. What should we do?'” said Melissa Taveras, a spokeswoman for the Florida Immigrant Coalition. Those mass arrests are expected to begin Sunday in nearly a dozen metro areas. The raids were initially delayed after disagreements within the Trump administration.
President Donald Trump’s drug pricing strategy received its second major blow this week on the announcement that the proposal to eliminate drug rebates in Medicare and Medicaid plans will be withdrawn. In January, HHS Secretary Alex Azar said that the proposal had “the potential to be the most significant change in how Americans’ drugs are priced at the pharmacy counter, ever.” But the changes met significant pushback from insurers and hospitals who worried the proposal wouldn’t force drugmakers to lower prices and would likely see higher profit margins from it. Looking forward, Trump will be left considering ideas that are more popular with progressives than his party.
Mount Carmel Health System in the Columbus-area of Ohio is reeling from the murder charges against one of its doctors, who faces allegations that he prescribed excessive doses of painkillers that led to dozens of patients’ deaths. “There’s no way that this happened in a vacuum with one person being responsible,” said Gerald Leeseberg, a Columbus lawyer who represents 17 of the families. “This was a systemic, institutional failure and not just the result of one rogue physician.”
The Trump administration regulations, which drew the court challenge, prohibit taxpayer-funded family planning clinics from discussing abortion with patients or referring patients to abortion providers. A smaller panel from the appeals court had ruled in favor of the change last month, but a fuller panel is set to reconsider that decision.
Bernie Sanders Is Hopping On A Bus Trip To Canada With Patients Seeking To Buy Cheaper Insulin
Two decades ago Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) took a similar trip with Americans on the hunt for lower drug prices. The trip is scheduled to leave from Detroit two days before the next Democratic presidential primary debates which will be held in that the city on July 30 and 31.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) laid out a wide-ranging plan to reform the country’s immigration system, including provisions to address the humanitarian crisis within detention facilities.
2020 hopeful Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) said she would spend $1 billion to encourage states to clear rape kit backlogs and invest in reforms, including requiring rape kits to be tested within narrow time frames, counting and reporting untested kits, and giving victims information about the status of their testing. The issue received national attention in recent years after it came to light how many states and counties have crushing backlogs of kits.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Opinion writers weigh in on the lawsuit against the health law.
Opinion writers weigh in on these health issues and others.
Media outlets report on news from New York, California, Maryland, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Iowa, Oregon, Illinois, Virginia, Wisconsin and Florida.
Research Roundup: Physicians’ Well-Being; HPV Vaccine; And Long-Term Care
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
Social scientists are on the hunt for answers, and are interviewing storm survivors trying to piece together ways to get through to people who have gotten used to ignoring emergency warnings. In other public health news: stem cell treatments, autistic travelers, internet addiction, silent heart attacks and more.
The Wall Street Journal obtained documents that show PG&E knew about the dangers associated with their outdated towers. The utility company’s equipment was responsible for the deadly wildfires last year that left 85 dead.
Attorney Marilyn Mosby also cited discriminatory enforcement of marijuana laws that has harmed black communities and called for the government to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level. News on the drug and opioid epidemics looks at: Ohio’s strategies to combat addiction; U.S. wins $1.4 billion settlement with Reckitt; seriously ill patients who genuinely need opioids; Medicare’s progress on treating addiction; Narcan training for Phoenix police force; and clean teens in New Hampshire.
While an autopsy report is forthcoming, the most likely cause of his death was SUDEP, or sudden unexpected death in epilepsy. A severe seizure can temporarily shut down the brain, including the centers that control respiration, and if a person is sleeping and lying face down, death can occur, experts say.
