Latest KFF Health News Stories
National Rate Of Suicide, Alcohol And Drug Deaths Hits Record High
Advocates say the country needs to better understand what drives “these devastating deaths of despair.” In other public health news: Alzheimer’s, the flu, migrant health, depression, and more.
Massive Study Once Again Confirms Measles, Mumps And Rubella Vaccine Does Not Cause Autism
Despite the fact that dozens of other studies have proven the same thing, misinformation still persists. Experts see the new research as helpful because of the sheer scope of the project, which involved 657,461 Danish children born between 1999 and 2010. In other news on vaccinations: a look at doctors’ roles in the outbreaks and at states that are moving toward restricting exemptions.
Nearly 12 years to the day after the first patient ever was declared in remission from HIV, scientists announce that they were able to finally duplicate the efforts. The success of the bone marrow transplant, they say, offers hope that the disease is curable, despite the huge ongoing challenges.
“There are clearly patients who, despite many best efforts, are struggling to afford their insulin,” David Ricks, the chief executive of Eli Lilly, said in an interview. “This is a step we can take to close part of that remaining gap.” The move comes as senators and the public turn their attention to why the critical drug’s price has skyrocketed in recent years.
John Hickenlooper, the former governor of Colorado, says he supports the concept of universal health care coverage, but does not back plans such as “Medicare for All.” He was serving as governor at the time of the Aurora, Colo. mass shootings, and recently spoke out about gun control. “Gun violence is the real national emergency plaguing our nation,” he tweeted after the shooting last month in Illinois.
Democratic Texas state lawmakers are looking at the successes in other red states of ballot measures that took the Medicaid expansion debate to the people. Recent data from the U.S. Census shows Texas has both the highest number and highest percentage of uninsured residents in the United States. Medicaid news comes out of Florida, Ohio, Maine and Missouri, as well.
Many people receive subsidies to help pay for their insurance, but there’s a small group of people who make too much money. That, combined with the fact that plans can charge three times as much to older adults as younger ones, has created a vulnerable section of the country who struggle to pay for their coverage.
Administration To Overhaul Payment System For Dialysis, Shifting Focus From Clinics To Home Care
The goal is to reduce the $114 billion paid by the U.S. government each year to treat chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease, a top area of spending, HHS Secretary Alex Azar said. The move could rock the highly profitably dialysis industry–shares of the largest companies who operate such clinics fell at the news.
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb singled out Walgreens for some of his toughest criticism, pointing out that since 2010 the company has racked up almost 1,800 violations across the country. “Ignoring the law and then paying associated fines and penalties should not simply be viewed as a cost of doing business,” Gottlieb said. He requested a meeting with the company’s leaders.
Calling the restrictions on abortion referrals a “domestic gag order,” critics say the federal government’s change to the Title X funding was directed specifically at Planned Parenthood. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who has now filed 47 lawsuits against the Trump administration, says the new rule affects 4 million mostly low-income women nationwide and 1 million women in California.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial pages focus on these health issues and others.
Opinion writers weigh in on how to improve access to health care and lower costs.
Media outlets report on news from Maryland, D.C., Georgia, Texas, Missouri, California, Massachusetts, Illinois, Virginia, Connecticut, Wisconsin and Florida.
“At a time when the EPA — now being run by a coal lobbyist — is trying to roll back federal regulations on coal ash, these new data provide convincing evidence that we should be moving in the opposite direction,” says Abel Russ, lead author of the report. Other news on the environment looks at “forever chemicals,” an underground fire, and dangerous fire-fighting chemicals, as well.
The research was halted years ago over safety concerns, but has once again received the go-ahead from the government. However, officials didn’t give a reason for the about-face, and scientists, who say the research could unleash a pandemic either by accident or through terrorism, are outraged. In other public health news: supplements and dementia, black women and HIV, health technology, stress, and more.
Media outlets offer stories on vaccinations and the measles outbreaks that are gripping the country as new cases are reported.
Abortions using medication are most commonly prescribed as a two-part process, in which a patient receives a dose of mifepristone followed by misoprostol 24 to 48 hours later. “If medication abortion is treated more or less like a regular prescription drug, that really could change how people access it and change the stigma around it,” says Elizabeth Nash, senior state issues manager at the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive health think tank that supports abortion rights. News on abortion comes out of Texas and Ohio, as well.
Two pharma companies recently ditched efforts to develop weight loss drugs, a trend that highlights the struggles to create a treatment that would be worth the money they have to put into it.
Policies To Address Opioid Crisis Would Cause People To Turn To Heroin, Fentanyl In The Short-Term
A new simulation study finds that effective policies to combat the opioid crisis could actually result in more deaths in the next five to ten years. “This doesn’t mean these policies should not be considered,” said Keith Humphreys a former senior policy adviser at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. News on the national drug crisis comes out of Maryland and D.C., as well.
