Latest KFF Health News Stories
Native American tribes are facing food and drug shortages as the shutdown stretches on. The tribes are hit harder than others because they rely on federal funding for many of their basic services. In other news, the FDA has restarted some food inspections, and lettuce farmers are anxious to have the agency back on the job for growing season.
Read recent commentaries about drug-cost issues.
Trump Takes Credit For Declining Drug Prices, But How Accurate Is That Claim?
News outlets report on stories related to pharmaceutical pricing.
First Edition: January 16, 2019
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial writers express views on these health care topics and others.
Media outlets report on news from Texas, Colorado, Minnesota, Kansas, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Ohio, Atlanta, Missouri, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
If the results hold up, they could spare many patients from suffering the severe side effects of these drugs with nothing to show for it. In other public health news: transplants, twins, biological weapons, suicides, stillborns, and more.
New Look For Americans: Bodies Aren’t Getting Much Taller, But They Are Much Heavier
New government statistics show both men and women have gained at least 30 pounds since 1960 while their height has remained about the same. Other nutrition news looks at how junk food is targeted to minorities and tips on how not to overeat.
Americans Are Now More Likely To Die In An Accidental Opioid Overdose Than A Car Crash
But most Americans are still most likely to die of natural causes such as heart disease or cancer. In other news on the opioid crisis: a mass drug overdose in California leaves at least one dead and more than a dozen in care; Purdue asks the court to review a decision about unsealing the company’s secret records; can medical marijuana help in the fight against the epidemic; and more.
Will 2019 Be The Year Mississippi Expands Medicaid? A Look At Where Politicians Fall On The Issue
Some Mississippi Republicans appear to be coming around on the issue, as long as there were some strings attached to the expansion. Medicaid news comes out of Virginia, Utah and Massachusetts, as well.
Scientists Take Issue With Anti-Abortion Movement’s ‘Pro Life Is Pro Science’ Slogan
The “pro-science” emphasis is a somewhat new one for the anti-abortion advocates, who are gearing up for the March for Life on Friday, but march leaders say now is the perfect time to embrace the slogan. Scientists in the field, however, say the movement’s vocal opposition to fetal tissue research is at fundamental odds with the “pro-science” branding.
Republican Sen. Rand Paul’s surgery highlights the nuances involved in the Canadian health care system beyond the simple portrayal of socialized medicine.
Often the sellers of the strips are insured and paid little out of pocket for them, while the buyers may be underinsured or uninsured, and unable to pay retail prices, which can run well over $100 for a box of 100 strips. Unlike the resale of prescription drugs, which is prohibited by law, it is generally legal to resell unused test strips.
House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings sent letters to drugmakers requesting detailed information about their pricing practices, focusing on drugs that are the costliest to Medicare Part D as well as drugs that have had the largest increases over a five-year period. The move is just the latest in a flurry of legislation and congressional action taken on the topic of high drug prices this year.
The decision came a day after a separate judge blocked the rules for a handful of states and D.C. Pennsylvania and New Jersey had challenged the exemptions by arguing that the burden would fall to the states to provide contraception to women who lost coverage. “The states’ harm is not merely speculative; it is actual and imminent,” U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone wrote.
FDA Brings In Furloughed Workers To Resume Safety Inspections For High-Risk Foods
The inspections, which have been halted because of the government shutdown, will focus on risky items like cheeses, produce and infant formula. The FDA oversees about 80 percent of the nation’s food supply. Meanwhile, the shutdown could derail the timetable for some highly anticipated drugs.
First Edition: January 15, 2019
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial writers weigh in on these and other health care topics.
Media outlets report on news from Florida, Massachusetts, Louisiana, Nebraska, Texas, Ohio, Tennessee, Kansas, California, Virginia and Michigan.
In Face Of Blood Shortages, Red Cross Aims To Recruit More Donors With New App
The agency, responsible for nearly half of the nation’s blood supply, says the app helps people understand where there are shortages and where they can give blood. Public health news also focuses on a 22-minute workout; housing reforms for the mentally ill; science with borders; infections from Mexican surgeries; the importance of humility among researchers; suicides on campus; higher cancer death rates among the poor; 26 trillion steps and counting on Fitbit and more.
