Latest KFF Health News Stories
What Does Quitting Opioids Actually Look Like Inside The Brain?
Scientists hope that studying the way the brain reacts during and after addiction will help them develop best practices for getting people to quit. In other news on the epidemic: debates about what to do with fentanyl; medication-assisted treatment; a decrease in opioid deaths; and more.
While praising the work, research groups stress the need to receive access to viral samples from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in order to speed up treatments. Public health news is also on uterine transplants, best music for high-intensity workouts, bed bug vigilance, treatment for peanut allergies, harms from vaping and transgender health.
California already covers low-income children regardless of immigration status, but now has become the first state in the country do go further to young adults. Meanwhile, the Democratic debate thrust the issue into the national spotlight after the candidates showed support for expanding health care coverage for everyone in the country. Meanwhile, border arrests are finally dropping, but still remain high.
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.
