Morning Breakouts

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Cancer Is On Cusp Of Overtaking Heart Disease As America’s No. 1 Killer

Morning Briefing

Scientists are warning that Americans should undergo all recommended cancer screenings and adopt lifestyle prevention practices, such as healthy diet and exercise, which are beneficial in lowering both cancer and heart disease mortality. In other public health news: fecal transplants, a rare polio-like illness, concussions, microbes, contraception, and conversion camps.

As Dangerous Food Allergies Skyrocket In Kids, Scientists Wonder If Hypoallergenic Peanuts Could Be The Answer

Morning Briefing

“One kid in every classroom has some sort of food allergy,” said Dr. Scott Commins, an allergist and immunologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “You put it on that sort of scale, you realize that we’re dealing with a huge issue that doesn’t seem to be going away.” Meanwhile, the FDA is considering adding sesame to the list of possible allergens that labels have to carry.

Anthony Bourdain’s Suicide Prompts Those In Notoriously Brutal Culinary Industry To Speak Out About Mental Health Struggles

Morning Briefing

Insiders have long worried privately about the lifestyle of people who work in the restaurant industry, which has one of the highest rates of illicit drug use and alcoholism and a tradition of masking mental-health struggles. In other news on mental health: farmers devastated by Florence are especially vulnerable to depression and judges are starting to favor outpatient treatment over hospitalization.

Jail Conversations With Late Football Star Aaron Hernandez Depict Culture Of Rampant Opioid Abuse In NFL

Morning Briefing

One NFL player, Mike Pouncey, complained to Aaron Hernandez, who was serving a life sentence for murder, that “they don’t even want to give me my Toradol shots anymore.” In another call, former Patriot Brandon Spikes recalled “how they used to pass [painkillers] out on planes.”

New Guidelines Say Any Kind Of Exercise In Small Doses And Less Sitting Improve Health Starting As Early As Age 3

Morning Briefing

Getting a sedentary nation off the sofa — only 20 percent of us get the recommended amount of exercise a day — is a big concern for the government, which updated its guidelines Monday for the first time in 10 years. Since the first guidelines were issued, research has expanded the recognized benefits of movement, including reducing the risk of cancer, anxiety and depression and improving cognitive function and sleep.

Advocates Want To Make Sure Veterans’ Unique Needs Aren’t Lost As Congress Addresses Opioid Crisis

Morning Briefing

Veterans can have chronic pain and wounds from the war that need to be treated by opioids, but they are also twice as likely as nonveterans to die from an accidental opioid overdose. Advocates see Congress’ efforts to address the crisis as a good start, but warn that lawmakers still have blind spots when it comes to treating veterans. In other news, a program that allows veterans to seek care outside the VA, which President Donald Trump and other Republicans have championed, is falling behind in its implementation.

Veterans Committee Dems Vow To Investigate Reports Of ‘Shadow Rulers’ Exerting Influence On VA Decision-Making

Morning Briefing

One of the concerns of the next leaders of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee are reports about three members of President Donald Trump’s private Mar-a-Lago resort — Bruce Moskowitz, Ike Perlmutter and Marc Sherman — steering VA policy and personnel decisions. Meanwhile, the likely new chairwoman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee is emphasizing the importance of respecting science as she seeks the position.

More And More, Americans Must Make This Choice: Take On Debt Or Forgo Insurance And Hope For The Best

Morning Briefing

Rising health care costs are forcing otherwise financially secure Americans to make tough decisions about who in their family gets coverage. David and Maribel Maldonado’s struggles are highlighted in a Bloomberg series looking at the painful financial and medical trade-offs Americans are making just to get care.

Defeated Republican Congressman: John McCain’s ‘No’ Vote On Repeal Cost Republicans The House

Morning Briefing

First-term Minnesota Rep. Jason Lewis penned an opinion piece casting blame on late Sen. John McCain’s thumbs-down vote that killed Republicans’ best attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act. In other election news, Democrat Kyrsten Sinema, who ran on vows to protect preexisting conditions coverage, claims victory in the Arizona Senate race.