Latest KFF Health News Stories
Only an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 people a year in the United States develop the type of cancers that the drug is approved to treat.
Trump Administration Seeks To Expand Medicare’s Negotiating Power In Effort To Curb High Drug Prices
Currently, Medicare plans are required to cover all or “substantially all” drugs in six protected classes. As part of the Trump administration’s proposal, plans would be allowed to exclude protected drugs with price increases that are greater than inflation, as well as certain new drug formulations that are not a “significant innovation” over the original product.
First Edition: November 27, 2018
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Opinion writers weigh in on the future of the health insurance.
Media outlets report on news from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida, Washington, Ohio, California, Maryland, Kansas and Louisiana.
Rains Help California’s Firefighters Contain Deadliest, Most Destructive Wildfire After 17 Days
But the victory of extinguishing the Camp Fire flames was made bittersweet by the realization that the death count will rise, as well as statistics that show an increase over the past 20 years of deadly and destructive fires. In other news, survivors from earlier blazes relive the horrors and discuss the difficulty of moving on afterwards.
Because there’s no medical test autism spectrum disorder is a particularly challenging condition to track. The numbers from each of the three assessments are not meant to be taken individually but rather to be used to paint a fuller picture of the condition in the country. In other public health news: right-wing violence, the flu, bacteria, makeup, virtual reality, and more.
Although more and more police departments are offering mental health training from their officers, experts say professionals are the best ones to handle crises. A model in Oregon could act as a blueprint for other communities across the country.
The popularity of the Twitter handle highlights the profession’s deep interest in the topic, which was ignited after an NRA tweet directed doctors to “stay in their lane.”
Suits Allege Kansas City VA Hospital Could Have Prevented Hep C Patients’ Deaths
“There was a failure of protocol, both within the hospital (standards) and national standards for monitoring these patients,” said attorney Edward Stump. “They’re supposed to deal with these guys with their conditions, usually it’s twice a year — CT scans and ultrasounds of the abdomen, full physicals, full bloodwork, and those weren’t being done.” Meanwhile, in Florida, VA employees say they were ignored when they complained about health concerns stemming from mold in their office building.
Need Money For A Heart Transplant? This Hospital Recommends Crowdfunding.
In a case that’s gone viral, a woman’s request for a heart transplant was denied by the hospital’s transplant committee, which suggested she secure more financing before it could approve the procedure. In other health cost news: nonmedical health workers trained to support patient outcomes in underserved communities in an effort to trim costs, rising deductibles leave patients puzzling over surprise charges, and more.
The Washington Post examines the Supreme Court’s decision which protects companies from potentially huge product liability lawsuits in state courts. In other medical device news: hospitals may start booting sales reps from the operating room and spinal-cord stimulators are far more dangerous than perhaps doctors realized.
As Out-Of-Hospital Births Rise, Lack Of Regulations Allows Midwives To Dodge Fatal Mistakes
A nine-month investigation shows how states have failed to safeguard an increasingly popular practice — deliveries in homes or birth centers overseen primarily by midwives without medical training or malpractice insurance. Other news on maternal care examines how midwives could reduce maternal mortality, questions the benefits of bed rest, and looks at attempts to reduce C-sections.
Abortions have been mostly on the decline since the 1980s when they reached their peak. Meanwhile, anti-abortion groups find themselves in a rare feud with the Trump administration over fetal tissue research. News on abortion comes out of Mississippi and Idaho, as well.
Congress Lacks Authority To Enforce Decades-Old Genital Mutilation Law, Judge Rules
Judge Bernard Friedman of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan said the regulation of female genital mutilation should be left to the states. The ruling shocked women’s rights advocates, who say the decision “sends the message that the authorities are not serious about protecting girls, especially those in immigrant communities, from this form of abuse.”
Experts there point to multiple factors in the city’s success at turning around their overdose rates. Those include Medicaid expansion, the dwindling presence on the streets of the powerful carfentanil, the availability of naloxone, and support for a treatment-based approach for those who are addicted. Meanwhile, nationally, private equity firms see the lucrative potential of addiction treatment centers.
With Eye On Skyrocketing Diabetes Numbers, Senators Hunt For Answers On High Cost Of Insulin
Insulin is increasingly becoming a flashpoint in the national discussion of high drug costs, in part because many insulin products are older, but have experienced huge price hikes in recent years. In other pharmaceutical news: a Supreme Court case on supplements; Mylan’s manufacturing gaffes; and a buzzy new gene-silencing technique.
In the same election that will put Democrat Laura Kelly in the governor’s office, Kansas voters also elected a more conservative state Legislature. While before, the governor stood in the way of expansion, this time it might be lawmakers who block the way. Medicaid news comes out of Maine, Kentucky and Minnesota, as well.
The existing rules are aimed at preventing improper influence over choices of doctors, hospitals and prescription drugs for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. While health care executives and lobbyists are eager to see them stripped away, saying it would enable better coordination of care, others are concerned about the risks involved. “The administration is inviting companies in the health care industry to write a ‘get out of jail free card’ for themselves, which they can use if they are investigated or prosecuted,” said lawyer James J. Pepper.
Republicans still maintain control of the Senate and the White House, so Democrats’ election-season promises to shore up the health law may not be quite as easy to fulfill as promised. Meanwhile, sign-ups on the exchanges continues to drag from last year’s numbers, but the CMS numbers don’t include enrollment in states that operate their own exchanges, nor do they include those who will be automatically enrolled in plans during the last week of open enrollment.
