Latest KFF Health News Stories
Longer Looks: Whistle-Blowing; Measles; And Missing Health Data
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Media outlets report on news from California, New York, Ohio, Texas, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Wisconsin, Georgia, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
A study from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism found in addition to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, Dallas and Seattle all recorded their highest number of hate crimes in a decade. Public healths news focuses on staying warm; helping the homeless during the frigid cold; underreported stories on cures for cancer; the state of CRISPR research; insensitivity about girls’ pain; safe amounts of toothpaste; sleepiness and sickness; and your sports team’s impact on your health, as well.
Scientists plan to use the money from Wellcome Trust to look for the “magic ingredient” in the brain that makes treatments successful for some patients, according to Dr. Leanne Williams, a Stanford neuroscientist. Mental health news also focuses on anxiety drug shortage; questions about Facebook monitoring potential suicides; the downside of therapy apps and more.
Some employees of Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan Chase will be offered products the three company’s joint venture buys from existing health care companies, said Jack Stoddard, the initiative’s COO. Stoddard testified during a hearing over a trade secrets lawsuit, filed by UnitedHealth Group.
Kentucky Pushes Start Date For Enacting Medicaid Work Requirements To No Sooner Than July 1
A spokesman said a pending legal challenge to the “community engagement” rules and the federal government shutdown are contributing factors to the delay. Other Medicaid news comes out of Tennessee, Florida, Wyoming and Georgia.
A major concern from state regulators is whether short-term plans are deceptively marketed to residents, a study finds. The plans offer fewer benefits than a plan sold on an ACA exchange and don’t cover pre-existing conditions, potentially leaving consumers with more out-of-pocket costs. Meanwhile, the Kansas Farm Bureau is petitioning lawmakers to essentially be given authority to develop and market health coverage free of state and federal oversight.
SNAP benefits are usually staggered throughout the month according to last name or Social Security number. Suddenly, millions of families that normally get their benefits toward the middle of the month will have to live off what little they have for about 50 days.
The details on how the company wanted to capitalize on the opioid crisis, how much the family that controls Purdue and company executives were paid, how the company marketed its painkiller and more were revealed when the Massachusetts attorney general’s office on Thursday made public a full copy of its lawsuit against Purdue Pharma. In other news, doctors continue to testify at the trial against Insys, a company that makes the fentanyl spray Subsys. And President Donald Trump released a wide-ranging annual report that outlines the government’s approach to policing illegal drugs.
Recent comments from Democrats in Virginia and legislation in New York have brought the issue to the forefront of the abortion debate. President Donald Trump has gone so far as to label the Democrats as the “party of late-term abortion,” while Vice President Mike Pence said the recent controversies should be a “call to action for all Americans.” Conservatives largely see abortion as a unifying issue for the right. Meanwhile, an abortion case from Louisiana provides an unexpectedly quick test for the Supreme Court justices.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) stoked the fire this week with her statements about cutting out the private insurance industry if that’s what it took to enact “Medicare for All.” Moderates, such as Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), pushed back on the proposal. “We have no center in either party, and we have extremes in both parties,” said Hank Sheinkopf, a longtime Democratic strategist based in New York. “The question is, ‘How does that work itself out? Not well. Not well because it creates greater conflict.” Meanwhile, Republicans are repurposing past talking points to try to paint Democrats as radical and scary.
The Trump administration says the current system encourages drugmakers to set high list prices so they can pay larger rebates to insurers and pharmacy benefit managers. The changes, geared toward curbing high prices, are “potentially devastating to the current pharma ecosystem,” said Eric Coldwell, an analyst with Baird Equity Research. “The U.S. health-care system is a sandcastle and the tide is coming in.”
First Edition: February 1, 2019
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Opinion writers focus on these health care issues and others.
Opinion writers express views on health care reform.
Research Roundup: Long-Term Support For Older Americans; Outpatient Care; And Heart Health
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
Media outlets report on news from Florida, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Texas, California, Georgia, Colorado and Ohio.
Abortion Debate Flares In Virginia After Lawmaker Defends Late-Term Abortion Bill In Viral Video
Democratic Delegate Kathy Tran was asked if her bill would allow abortion up until the moments before birth. The video has sparked backlash that only grew more heated after Gov. Ralph Northam talked about situations where an infant who is severely deformed or unable to survive after birth could be left to die. News on abortion comes out of Texas, Wyoming and Ohio.
Drug Prices May Be Going Up, But Thanks To Rebates, Consumers Are Actually Paying Less
Drug companies are offering bigger discounts to the middlemen who manage prescriptions for health plans, which means less of a hit to consumers’ wallets. In other pharmaceutical news: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and PhRMA, rationing insulin, and Anthem’s 2019 forecast.
This Former Football Star Had It All, It Seemed. Then He Killed Himself.
Jason Hairston suspected he had the degenerative brain disorder CTE. An autopsy confirmed his theory. In other public health news: gene-editing human embryos, diabetes, heart disease, independent seniors, drug recalls, and social media.
