Latest KFF Health News Stories
An investigation from Politico shows how the agency is bucking longstanding practices by not publicizing peer-reviewed studies that examined the wide-ranging effects of rising carbon dioxide, increasing temperatures and volatile weather. Meanwhile, medical groups warn that climate change should be considered a “health emergency.”
The government was in court to appeal a 2017 ruling finding that child migrants and their parents are detained in dirty, crowded, bitingly cold conditions inside U.S. Customs and Border Protection facilities along the southern border. A spotlight has been shone on the quality of the detention facilities, especially following the deaths of several children who were in custody. Meanwhile, fact checkers call out President Donald Trump’s claims that former President Barack Obama started the controversial “zero tolerance policy.”
Skeptics of drugs like Vyleesi balk at the idea of a pharmaceutical product playing a role in sexual desire. To them, prescribing a drug women with low sexual drive misguidedly reduces the complexity of the condition to a biological issue. Experts say they don’t expect many women to seek the treatment as the drug can only be administered through injections.
The agency is racing to get the drug through the approval process after President Donald Trump signaled support for the treatment. But psychiatrists and medical researchers, including some at the VA, raised questions about the drug’s effectiveness and safety, and Democratic lawmakers question why the decision-making on the drug has been so rushed.
Health care professionals at the Department of Veterans Affairs talk to USA Today about how they’ve been stripped of their duties in what they see as an attempt from agency leaders to punish them after they spoke out about problems with patient care at VA facilities. “The VA is two-faced: What it says it does and what it actually does are two entirely different things,” said Katherine Mitchell, a physician who reported shortfalls in care at the Phoenix VA that earned her a federal “Public Servant of the Year Award” in 2014.
“You’re not going to lock women back in the kitchen. You’re not going to tell us what to do,” Elizabeth Warren said at the Planned Parenthood event where 20 of the 2020 Democratic candidates were given a venue to talk about their abortion stances. Former Vice President Joe Biden, who has as of late been subject to criticism over his previous support for the Hyde amendment, used the opportunity to explain his change of heart on the issue, without using the word “abortion” even once.
Many of the candidates are pushing “Medicare for All” or some variation of expanded government-supported health care. While many voters see the plans as aspirational, for now, they simply want to pay less for their health care. That disconnect between what politicians are preaching and what voters are worried about could be detrimental to Democrats, who polls show currently hold an advantage over Republicans when it comes to the issue of health care. Meanwhile, media organizations help you navigate the candidates’ stances on health.
Media outlets report on news from New Jersey, Virginia, Kansas, Missouri, California, Georgia, North Carolina, New York, Arizona, Maryland, Ohio and Massachusetts.
As more and more conservative states approve restrictive abortion laws, blue states are stepping up with their own legislation as well. Meanwhile, Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers vetoed four abortion laws on Friday saying, “Politicians shouldn’t be in the business of interfering with decisions made between patients and their healthcare providers.” Abortion news comes out of Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Kentucky as well.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Opinion writers weigh in on mental health issues.
Editorial pages focus on these health care topics and others.
Media outlets report on news from Idaho, Ohio, Oregon, Wisconsin, Arizona, Tennessee, Florida, Connecticut, Maryland, California, Illinois and Florida.
Longer Looks: Juul’s Marketing; Abortions; And Hospitals In Wildfires
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
The technique also reveals a wealth of genetic information not accessible with traditional microscopy tools. Because the technology uses tagged molecules within the cells to see how things are naturally arranged in samples, scientists can “see the world through the eyes of the cell,” said Joshua Weinstein, the lead author of the new paper.
Denis Rebrikov, a Russian scientist, claims he has developed a safe way to gene-edit babies. “How it can be unethical if we will make [a] healthy baby instead of diseased?” Rebrikov told NPR during his first broadcast interview. “Why? Why [is it] unethical?” The issue has gained international attention as of late, with most experts in the field recommending caution. In other public health news: robotic ducks to help kids with cancer, a look at federally funded research, the flu, parenting, herbs and modern medicine, skeletal changes from phone use, and more.
As States Add More Restrictions To Assault Rifles, Gun Makers Have Found A Way To Beat The System
The gun makers are simply adjusting the make of the rifle to fit the restrictions put in place by the new legislation. “They’re basing the bans strictly on cosmetic features that have no bearing on the operation or the function of the firearm,” said Mark Oliva, a spokesman for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a trade group for gun manufacturers.
If there’s money in the wallet, ”It suddenly feels like stealing,” researchers said. And the more money in the wallet, the higher the rate of return. They planted 17,000 “lost wallets” across 355 cities in 40 countries. On average, 40% of people given cashless wallets reported them, compared with 51 percent of people given wallets with money.
Residents who were sick of paying astronomical health care costs figured out a way to come together so that they had negotiating power over the health groups in their area. But will other cities in the state be able to replicate the group’s success in areas where there’s less fat to trim? In other news on insurers and the health industry: medical prices continue to swell; AHIP focuses on social determinants; the importance of dental care gets lost in cost debate; and more.
After facing bipartisan scrutiny in a nearly six-hour hearing, the bill passed through the California Assembly Health Committee on a 9-2 vote, with four members abstaining. Gov. Gavin Newsom has said he’d sign this bill, which allows the public health department to scrutinize doctors who grant more than five medical exemptions in a year and schools with vaccination rates of less than 95%. The debate over the legislation has drawn hundreds of anti-vaccination protesters. In other news on the outbreak, some summer camps are requiring vaccines.
