Latest KFF Health News Stories
Republican Governor Chris Sununu’s announcement came on the same day that lawyers in a federal case that could overturn the Affordable Care Act hold oral arguments.
CDC Urges Doctors To Report Early Cases Of ‘Devastating’ Polio-Like Illness In Children
Since 2014 there have been 570 cases of acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM, that leaves otherwise healthy children with weak limbs. The agency is urging doctors to quickly recognize and report the illness to health officials to help unravel the mysteries of AFM. It appears to peak every two years from August through October. 2018 saw the biggest outbreak with more than 200 cases.
An array of proposals were on the agenda, but lawmakers put off dealing with any of them until at least November, with the Republican speaker of the House blasting Gov. Ralph Northam’s move as “just an election year stunt.”
The study also found that two-thirds of the attackers suffered from mental health problems. “We want the community to know prevention is everyone’s responsibility,” said Lina Alathari, the chief of the Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center. “Not just law enforcement.”
Women Who Get An Abortion Today Are Far More Likely To Be Poor Than In Decades Past
The data highlight the fact that it is lower-income women who are affected the most as states continue adding more and more stringent regulations to the procedure. One of the reasons for the change could be that financially secure women might have more access to contraception. But it may also be because there are currently more financial resources for low-income women to pay for abortion.
Major health care players have a large interest in the outcome of any legislation on surprise medical bills, and they’re making their voices heard to lawmakers. The rumbles are creating fault lines for senators, who are all largely in favor of acting in some way to address the issue.
President Donald Trump will sign an executive order with proposals to keep people with kidney disease off dialysis longer and make treatment less expensive; encourage more live donations of kidneys and livers; and force the 58 nonprofit groups that collect transplant organs to improve their performance, according to news reports.
The Trump administration’s openness to the idea serves as the latest evidence that it has become increasingly reliant on Capitol Hill for a victory on drug costs. Top officials are scrambling after a court blocked an administration rule that would have required drugmakers to include prescription prices in its ads.
During closely watched oral arguments over the constitutionality of the health law, a federal appeals court voiced skepticism that a central feature of the Affordable Care Act is constitutional, though it appeared to struggle with whether that meant the legislation should be struck down in its entirety. Media outlets take readers inside the courtroom for the play-by-play. Meanwhile, what will happen if the law is struck down? The potential headaches go beyond the big headlines about loss of coverage to calorie information on menus, lactation rooms, and more.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Read recent commentaries about drug-cost issues.
News outlets report on stories related to pharmaceutical pricing.
Media outlets report on health news from Texas, Connecticut, California, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Georgia, Minnesota, Louisiana and Florida.
But they’re starting to gain ground against the hoaxers. Meanwhile, a top Virginia Republican proposed surprise legislation that would ban guns in government buildings.
Opinion writers focus on these health care topics and others.
There are still many obstacles that face those who want to access medication to end their lives on their own terms, even after legislation is passed guaranteeing them that right. In other public health news: primary care doctors, Zika, noise in hospitals, cancer research, accessibility apps, and more.
Although the results surprised few, the findings are unlikely to shake Americans’ obsession with supplements.
For One Patient, Tapering Off Pain Medication Became Like A Game Of Hot-Potato Between Doctors
“A bunch of them wouldn’t even talk to me,” says Travis Rieder, a medical bioethicist who spoke out about his experience trying to get off opioids. “And this includes the pain management team. They would not speak with me, and the message they sent through a nurse was, ‘We prescribe opioids but we don’t help with tapering.'” Other news on the crisis comes from Kentucky, Iowa and Arizona.
Recent decisions in court cases come as concerns mount over the growing consolidation of hospitals and physician practices and the impact on prices and total health spending. In other health industry news: jobs, blood pressure devices, and artificial intelligence.
HHS will announce an agency-wide initiative to encourage home dialysis and also to ramp up better prevention and screening for kidney disease, Politico reports. The plan could upend the kidney care market, and face serious pushback from big dialysis chains that are eager to protect $24 billion a year in revenue.
