Latest KFF Health News Stories
Media outlets report on news from Georgia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Kansas, Maryland, Colorado, California, Illinois, Louisiana, Ohio, Texas, Missouri and Florida.
The Skinny On Diets For 2019: Mediterranean Is Best Overall Among 41 Nutrition Plans, Analysis Says
U.S. News & World Report ranked diets on seven categories: “how easy it is to follow, its nutritional completeness, its ability to produce short-term and long-term weight loss, its safety and its potential for preventing and managing diabetes and heart disease.” Other nutrition news focuses on cholesterol spikes after the holidays and excess weight’s role in cancer.
“To this day, it’s the most gut-wrenching thing I’ve ever had to do in my life,” Jim Hoy said of having to give up his son, Daniel. Advocates say the problem stems from decades of inadequate funding for in-home and community-based services across the country. In other public health news: doulas, clutter, Ebola, head injuries, and more.
The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission filed a nearly 500-page report citing the failures of the response to the mass shooting at the Florida high school and offering recommendations on how to prevent future incidents.
An advocacy group has presented a “Family First” plan to the governor-elect to provide a continuum of care that starts with in-home services for children at risk of being removed from their families. In other news on the opioid epidemic, Illinois counties are offering treatment instead of jail time.
After Negotiations Stalled For Nearly A Year, Tenet And Cigna Smooth Out Differences
Details of the deal have not been disclosed, but the agreement allows Cigna’s commercial members to have continued access to Tenet Healthcare facilities.
“Clearly, more caution is in the air and many major multinationals such as Pfizer and Novartis, which found themselves making the headlines several months back, have yet to implement their January increases,” said Raymond James analyst Elliot Wilbur. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he expects drug prices to drop despite pharmaceutical companies lifting their self-imposed hiatus on price increases.
Parents from a town in Indiana are demanding the EPA do something about the old industrial site that’s responsible for carcinogenic vapors being released into their homes. But those pleas, along with a broader outcry for stricter regulations on such chemicals, is in direct contrast to the administration’s efforts to roll back health and environmental rules.
Senate Confirms ‘Drug Czar’ To Lead Office In Charge Of Administration’s Response To Opioid Epidemic
James Carroll has led the Office of National Drug Control Policy in an acting capacity since February. The Senate also confirmed Kelvin Droegemeier to head up the White House’s Office of Science and Technology, giving the office a director for the first time since President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Funding For ‘Big Ticket’ Programs Is Already In Place, Blunting Shutdown’s Impact On Health Care
Congress already passed funding for HHS and the VA, so programs such as Medicaid and Medicare are insulated from the shutdown battle. But some other programs are vulnerable because they receive money from other agencies.
The House Democrats are set to vote next week on formally intervening in the suit against the health law that’s currently working its way through the courts. The measure puts pressure on Republicans, who campaigned on protecting preexisting condition coverage and other popular provisions in the ACA. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump predicts that the Supreme Court would come down against the health law if the case gets to the justices.
First Edition: January 3, 2019
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Opinion writers weigh in on these health topics and others.
Editorial pages focus on these health care issues and others.
Perspectives: 2018 Was Marked By Robust Profits For Biopharma, So What’s Ahead In The New Year?
Editorial pages focus on these health care topics and others.
Democratic Hopefuls Put Forward Plans To Tackle High Drug Costs As 2020 Jockeying Begins
News outlets report on stories related to pharmaceutical pricing.
Media outlets report on news from New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia, Maryland, Louisiana, Arizona, Massachusetts, Oregon, California, Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee, Nebraska, Minnesota, Washington, Georgia, Florida, New Hampshire and Colorado.
Updates From State Capitols: Age Bans On Assault Weapons; Cigarette Sales; Health Insurance And More
News outlets take a look at some of the health-related laws enacted across the country as of Jan. 1, as well as other news from the state capitols.
Telemedicine Abortions Can Not Be Outlawed In Kansas, Judge Rules
Kansas legislators tried three times in 2018 to thwart a doctor’s ability to prescribe pregnancy-ending medication during video conferences. In other news on women’s reproductive issues, Ohio lawmakers are unable to undo a veto on the heartbeat bill and contraceptives gain approval across the country.
How Facebook Has Become One Of The World’s Largest Suicide Screening And Alert Programs
The company ramped up monitoring of its users’ posts after several people live-screened their suicides in 2017. But the proactive steps the tech giant is taking to help address the mental health crisis also puts it in a tricky spot as Facebook faces scrutiny about its privacy practices. In other public health news: evacuating the elderly, virtual reality and medicine, flu season, contact lenses, marijuana, Ebola, hearing loss and more.
