Latest KFF Health News Stories
Media outlets report on news from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Wisconsin, Arizona, Louisiana, California, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas.
Massachusetts Surgeons Tired Of Sewing Up Victims Of Gun Violence Look Toward Prevention
Massachusetts General Hospital will open the Mass General Center for Gun Violence Prevention, a center devoted to gun violence prevention. “We’re really good at asking patients about their safety. . . . Pediatricians do it all the time,” said Dr. Peter Masiakos, a pediatric trauma surgeon at MGH. “I think this is the opportunity that we have as health care providers to do the same thing for gun violence.” Other news on gun safety comes out of Rhode Island and Colorado.
The risk of developing hypertension was five times greater among those who slept less than five hours a night and three and a half times greater for those who slept between five and six hours–and that’s just one of the risks that have been linked to insomnia. In other public health news: surgeries in the elderly, pain, autism, supplements, sunscreen, and more.
Health Care Still Adds Jobs In May, But It Was A Significantly Weaker Gain Than Previous Month
Overall, hiring slowed down from April to May. In other news from the health industry: the CVS-Aetna merger, what happens when your longtime doctor moves and the rapid growth of a chronic disease-coaching company.
The American Medical Association has not publicly gotten on board with “Medicare for All” plans. “The AMA is violating one of its most ethical principles: ‘Do No Harm,’ by being on the wrong side of history,” said Talisa Hardin of National Nurses United, a labor union for nurses. “We want the AMA to publicly show its support for Medicare for All.” Meanwhile, a potential horde of legal challenges facing any “Medicare for All” plans could potentially bleed the effort to death.
The decision to offer Medicaid to all young adults under 26 regardless of immigration status is another step toward universal coverage for California. But the deal falls short of what some advocates had hoped for.
‘Troubling Situation’: Doctors Wrestle With How To Help Patients With Pain During Opioid Epidemic
A Washington doctor cut a patient’s oxycontin prescription by a third fearing he’d overdose. Later, she felt compelled to increase the prescription. In Tennessee, a pain clinic closed, leaving patients without pain prescriptions and unable to find new doctors to fill them. Other news on the epidemic looks at Idaho’s lawsuit against Purdue Pharma for its ”deadly marketing campaign.”
Most health officials say it’s dangerous that medical exemptions have tripled since 2015. But others don’t agree: “If there is a one in a million chance that my child will not be able to talk or walk, then I’ll take the risk of measles, thank you very much,” said Jane Orient, executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. More vaccination news looks at sleuths who uncover an outbreak’s origin and protection from shingles, as well.
The overuse of antibiotics in farm animals is one of the roots of the emerging resistance crisis. Drugmakers say they want to be part of the solution, but their actions tell a different story. In other pharmaceutical news: the lengths patients go to to pay for medication; a look at the middle men at the center of the pricing debate; and decisions over covering Viagra.
FDA Targets Paid Social Media Influencers In Trying To Curb Youth Vaping Epidemic
The agency sent letters to companies that used paid social media influencers to pitch nicotine solutions to their online followers. The posts in question didn’t include a mandatory warning that the vaping liquids contain nicotine. The letters came as part of a broader push to address climbing rates of teen vaping.
Fetal tissue research has been crucial to many scientific breakthroughs, and scientists are worried that the Trump administration’s new restrictions may lead to an outright ban. Meanwhile, The Washington Post looks at the decision-making behind the change.
The state’s health department claimed that the clinic violated laws and regulations, including a requirement that doctors give patients a pelvic exam at least 72 hours before an abortion, even if the patient is receiving a nonsurgical medication abortion. But the employees at the clinic have said that giving a pelvic exam before a medication abortion is unethical. Other abortion news comes from Illinois, Kansas, Alabama and Michigan.
An Uneasy Truce: Democrats Have Voted For Bills That Included The Hyde Amendment For Decades
Former Vice President Joe Biden caused a ruckus on the 2020 campaign trail after first indicating his ongoing support for the Hyde amendment — which blocks federal money from paying for abortions — and then reversing himself. But a review shows that many Democratic lawmakers have technically voted for it as well. “Well, look, sometimes in a large bill you have to vote for things you don’t like,” said 2020 presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) Meanwhile, news outlets look at Biden’s pivot, as well as the history of the controversial Hyde amendment.
The differences in poll results — even from the same respondents who answer questions on aspects of abortion different ways when they’re worded differently — reveal Americans’ struggle with the complex moral and ethical issues, even as the political conversation is dominated by people who have made up their minds. Meanwhile, a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll shows strong support for Roe v. Wade, but also an interest in having restrictions on abortions.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial pages focus on these health topics and others.
The New England Journal of Medicine presents three opinion pieces this week on the current measles epidemic.
Longer Looks: The Abortion Debate; Rejecting Gender Binaries; And The Origin Of ‘Medicare For All’
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Media outlets report on news from New York, Virginia, Connecticut, California, Arizona, Illinois, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Florida, Minnesota and Texas.
“It’s like cold water being thrown in one’s face after all this good work,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, co-chairman of a statewide homeless task force. Other cities in the state also saw increases. California ranks No. 1 in the nation with its homeless population of 129,972.
