Latest KFF Health News Stories
Stay Away From Trendy Unproven ‘Young Blood Transfusions,’ FDA Warns Consumers
“Simply put we’re concerned that some patients are being preyed upon by unscrupulous actors touting treatments of plasma from young donors as cures and remedies,” top health officials said. The transfusions, which involve pumping a young person’s blood into the consumer, are marketed toward preventing aging, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other serious disease.
How Trump’s Ambitious Goal To End HIV Epidemic Stacks Up Against Obama’s Cancer Moonshot
Then-President Barack Obama’s moonshot quickly mobilized hundreds of scientists, a dozen agencies and a range of non-health companies from Amazon to Lyft, garnered bipartisan congressional support, and relied on painstaking groundwork that had been laid. President Donald Trump’s HIV goals appear to be on shakier grounds.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ bill has become a catch-all rallying cry for progressive Democrats who support universal health care coverage. But, where Sanders in the past pulled the party left, he now finds himself in the middle of several competitors already standing there.
“Medicare for All” — and, more broadly, universal health coverage — has become a dividing issue for moderates and progressives mulling or entering the 2020 presidential race. It has put some candidates in a tight spot, speaking to the hard-left base but at the same time trying to court middle of the road voters. Meanwhile, The New York Times offers a glossary for all those health care terms that have been bandied about.
Perspectives: Relying On Cheaper, Older Versions Of Insulin To Solve Crisis Puts Patients At Risk
Read recent commentaries about drug-cost issues.
News outlets report on stories related to pharmaceutical pricing.
First Edition: February 20, 2019
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Opinion writers weigh in on these health topics and others.
Editorial writers focus on women’s health care issues.
Media outlets report on news from California, New York, Ohio, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Virginia, Florida and Arizona.
Have The Days Of Double Hospital Rooms Passed? Patients Start To Expect Private Rooms As The Norm
More and more hospitals are transitioning toward private rooms as the standard, reflecting a growing sentiment that patient comfort is an essential part of the hospital business. Hospital news comes out of California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Illinois, and Kansas, as well.
States across the country have been beefing up their response to the opioid crisis by investing in treatment infrastructure, building databases, offering clean syringes and more. News on the crisis comes out of Maryland and Florida, as well.
More than 200,000 patients age 65 and older receive dialysis and are often told they’d die without it, yet few are informed about a conservative option that helps manage the disease. Public health news also looks at spanking; gay Catholic priests; CBD oil; a CRISPR patent; unsafe radiation exposure; presidents’ public speech patterns; new Ebola treatments and more.
The change in estrogen doesn’t just effect fertility, scientists are beginning to understand. It also effects how the brain is protected from aging. In other women’s health news: heart attacks, genetic testing, pregnancy and breast cancer.
Resistance And Mistrust Around Vaccinations Aren’t Anything New–They’ve Always Existed Together
Although the antivaccination movement has grown in the past few years, thanks in part to social media, there has always been a fierce outcry against compulsory shots for as long as vaccines have been used. Experts are hoping to leverage the recent outbreak in the Pacific Northwest to change minds. And some recent trends suggest that it might be the case.
An investigation this month has revealed that the Indian Health Service mishandled allegations against a doctor who was allowed to continue practicing for years following the accusations. Now Sen. Mike Rounds wants a broader assessment of the problems at the department. “Come hell or high water, we’re going to get to the bottom of what the problems are,” he said.
Darin Selnick, a senior Veterans Affairs adviser, flew to Washington, D.C. from California for two weeks out of every month, at taxpayers’ expense. Reports show that the costs for the six trips during the time period between Oct. 21, 2018, and Jan. 19, 2019 included: $3,885.60 for six round-trip flights in coach, $5,595.46 for 23 nights in hotels and $1,976 for meals. In other news, an army veteran is suing over defective earplugs.
The deaths have brought national attention to the quality of care at detention facilities following the controversy over family separations. Part of the budget deal that averted a government shutdown last week included $415 million for humanitarian relief “specifically for medical care” and to improve Border Patrol processing facilities in the region.
Moderate 2020 Hopefuls Embrace Medicare Buy-In, With Universal Coverage As A Longer-Term Goal
“Medicare for All” may be a litmus test for progressive Democrats, but moderates are aiming for a more centrist approach. Both Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) reiterated that, although universal health care is something good to aim for in the long-term, helping people with more practical solutions immediately is what they’re focused on.
Health companies can be hit hard by whistleblower cases, with said whistleblowers potentially pocketing a large amount of money for coming forward. But with William Barr, who has called whistleblower law an unconstitutional “abomination,” as attorney general, industry groups are hopeful some of the pressure will ease.
