Latest KFF Health News Stories
Editorial writers focus on these health care topics and others.
Media outlets report on news from California, New Hampshire, Georgia, Arizona, Maryland, Wisconsin, Kansas, Connecticut, Tennessee, Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio and Missouri.
State Of Emergency Declared In Washington As Measles Outbreak Grows To More Than 30
Meanwhile, vaccine advocates say an outbreak like this was “inevitable” for the area that’s been called an anti-vaccination hot-spot. “The bottom line is, there’s no surprise we’re seeing this right now,” said Alan Melnick, a Clark County health official. “If we don’t get our immunization rates up, we’re going to see more of it in the future.”
There was a time when smoking was advertised as a way to lose weight. The Washington Post goes back to look at some of the more extreme ways people have tried to lose weight. Meanwhile, is portion control more important than what you’re actually eating? And Whole Foods issues a spinach recall over a possible salmonella contamination.
During 2017-18, An American Student’s Likelihood Of Dying In A School Shooting Was One In 2 Million
That was the highest by far in the entire period studied between 1994 and 2018, CDC researchers found in a new analysis. Though mass school shootings command the nation’s rapt attention, their numbers and their toll are dwarfed by the daily drumbeat of one-on-one violence taking place in and around the nation’s schools.
Mental health centers in Florida, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and other states are adding in-patient internet addiction treatment to their line of services. But some health experts view internet addiction as a false condition. Public health news also focuses on a potential cure for sickle-cell; lessons from a Rwandan medical school; dealing with dementia in the workplace; an overlooked, dangerous infection; tips to avoid a cold; prediction models for pandemics; secrets of unlocking mysterious fascia; naming and taming your anger and problems with scooters.
Kissing, Snuggling Hedgehogs Are Off Limits, CDC Warns, Because Of Salmonella Outbreak In 8 States
They might be adorable and are rising in popularity as household pets, but researchers are linking the prickly mammals to a strain of salmonella that is making people sick. No humans have died.
When politicians across the country see counterparts getting attention and earning political capital for their heartbeat bills, it can become a matter of “keeping up with the Joneses and jockeying for position,” one expert says. CNN takes a look at the history and failures of these bills. Abortion news comes out of New York, Massachusetts and Louisiana, as well.
It’s Cheaper And Just As Safe To Get Dialysis At Home. So Why Aren’t People Doing It?
Experts say it’s because more than 80 percent of the nearly 6,500 dialysis facilities nationally are owned by two for-profit companies, and they want to see a return on the money spent building and staffing those dialysis clinics. In other industry news: decisions on investments and donors for hospitals.
The Oft-Forgotten Victims Of The Opioid Crisis: The Parents Who Have To Bury Their Children
“Who is saving us?” one mother wonders. “Nobody.” Being a parent of a child who died from drugs can be isolating and traumatic, yet few resources go toward helping these families. In other news on the crisis: a look at what the federal government is doing to curb the epidemic; prescribing practices of doctors; risks of giving opioids to young patients; Walgreens’ business practices; and more from the states.
Trial To Begin For Insys Founder Accused Of Engineering Bribes, Kickbacks To Push Powerful Opioid
John Kapoor and four other former Insys Therapeutics executives go on trial in Boston this week over business practices that prosectors equate to mobster tactics. In other news: developments in a lawsuit again the maker of OxyContin and investigations of doctors and a nurse also make headlines.
Drugmaker’s Strategy To Use Tribe’s Sovereign Immunity To Avoid Generics Competition Draws Scrutiny
The Supreme Court will be asked to rule on a deal between Allergan and the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe that some consumer groups see as an abuse of the patent system with the intention of limiting market competition. So far, the drugmaker has not been successful in arguing the case that it’s protecting its intellectual property. Meanwhile, the deal is likely to be front-and-center when Congress, which has just announced a broad investigation into drug prices, looks at patents’ role in high costs.
Trump Gives $100,000 From Salary To National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
President Donald Trump’s older brother suffered from and died of alcoholism-related complications.
As Many As Two Million People Exposed To Blood-Pressure Drugs Containing Probable Carcinogens
The FDA assesses the risk to individual patients as being small, though.
Long-Term Financial Damage From Shutdown Hangs Like A Dark Cloud Over Federal Contractors
While federal employees’ health insurance was safe, some federal contractors lost theirs during the shutdown as companies were unable to pay their premiums. And unlike federal employees, who have been promised full back pay in coming days, the millions of government contractors have no legal claim to the five weeks of lost wages now that the government has reopened.
First Edition: January 28, 2019
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Opinion writers weigh in on these health care reform topics and other health issues.
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Media outlets report on news from Ohio, California, Oregon, Minnesota, Arizona, Massachusetts, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida and Texas.
Attorney General Xavier Becerra, however, says he has a responsibility to ensure the conditions of the sale are met. “The conditions include the requirement to have an emergency room, inpatient facility beds, intensive care services, and NICU [neonatal intensive care unit]. The Attorney General is fighting to ensure these conditions are enforced,” his office said. News on hospitals also comes from Texas, New Hampshire, Louisiana and Kansas, as well.
