Latest KFF Health News Stories
The FBI said surveillance video shows a person wearing dark clothing entering the Planned Parenthood-Columbia Health Center about 4:05 a.m. Sunday. When that person later walked out of the clinic, smoke could be seen coming from the building, according to the agency.
The states have long-balked at the price tag associated with expansion, but economists are saying other red states are reaping the benefits of injecting the economy with millions in federal dollars. Beginning next year, however, the federal government’s contribution will phase down to 90 percent from the current 93 percent of expansion costs, which will make it a harder sell. Medicaid news comes out of Utah and North Carolina.
Federal and state lawmakers, doctors, advocates and other leaders and experts are all taking steps to curb the epidemic. But there are still about 25 million Americans living with chronic pain, and a “stunning” variation in what treatment alternatives insurers will cover. In other news on the crisis: lawmakers question why the FDA gave the OK to a powerful intravenous painkiller; a drug distributor is sent a warning letter over its failure to flag suspicious activity; a hospital tightens its regulations following overdose deaths; and more.
Total spending for those with job-based coverage rose to an all-time high of $5,641, on average, per person in 2017, and employees are now on the hook for such large bills that a swiftly growing share are not considered fully insured.
Both the House and Senate vow to help the many service members whose burn pit-related claims for disability and health care were denied. News on military and veterans health looks at slum-like housing and a new phone app to access health records, as well.
President Donald Trump over the past two years has taken steps — such as limiting Medicare coverage for HIV drugs and rolling back Medicaid programs that cover 40 percent of people who test positive — that fundamentally undermine the battle against the virus. Now, however, he’s pledged to end the epidemic. Some activists are feeling the whiplash.
New ‘Rapid Treatment’ Depression Drug Similar To Ketamine Gets Endorsement From FDA Panel
Esketamine would be the first new drug for depression in years and has the potential to lift despair within hours, experts say. The FDA usually follows the panel’s recommendation. News on depression looks at teen suicides in a northwest Michigan community; the benefits of jogging, gardening; and a new mental health facility for inmates in Los Angeles.
The new guidelines comes from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a group whose guidance most insurance plans are required to follow. In 2016, the federal task force recommended that primary-care physicians screen for depression among adults, especially pregnant women and recent mothers, but this year the group went a step further and advises doctors to identify women who may be at risk.
Political strategists say that Democrats used to have to be very careful when talking about guns, but that’s not the case anymore as shown by the role the issue played in the recent midterms. “The primary thing that’s shifted in the politics of this issue is voter intensity was on their side. It’s now on ours,” said Peter Ambler, executive director of the gun control group founded by former Rep. Gabby Giffords. Meanwhile, the American Medical Association’s push for gun control is getting attention on Capitol Hill.
Moderate Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) are bucking the trend of Democratic hopefuls voicing strong support for “Medicare for All.” “I want to see universal health care, and there are many ways to get there,” Klobuchar said when asked if she backed Medicare for All, whereas Brown has said he supports incremental changes to Medicare.
First Edition: February 13, 2019
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Opinion writers weigh in on these health topics and others.
Media outlets report on news from New York, Texas, Florida, Massachusetts, Wyoming, California, Arizona, Minnesota, Iowa, Maryland and Georgia.
With Promise Of Governor’s Support, Ohio Lawmakers Reintroduce Restrictive ‘Heartbeat’ Abortion Bill
The GOP-led Ohio Legislature passed such a bill twice but didn’t have enough votes to overcome vetoes in 2016 and 2018 by then-Gov. John Kasich, who said that the measure would lead the state into a costly court battle. New Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, however, is more friendly to the cause.
The rise in vaping was the single biggest jump in teen use of a tobacco product since the beginning of the survey in 1999, a new study finds.
“It’s important to have innovative approaches. But just because people are suicidal and in crisis doesn’t mean they don’t deserve rights,” said Dr. John Torous, the director of the digital psychiatry division at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. In other public health news: race and the medical community, colds, mental health, exercise, allergies, gene-editing and more.
How Unconscious Physician Biases About Race, Ethnicity And Pain Plays A Role In The Opioid Crisis
A new study reveals that residents of neighborhoods with the highest proportions of white people were more than twice as likely to be prescribed an opioid pain reliever than were residents of neighborhoods where whites were most scarce. “Medicine has a long, unsavory history of expecting people of color to tolerate larger levels of pain,” said Dr. Steven Woolf of Virginia Commonwealth University. In other news on the crisis: naloxone, wrongful death lawsuits, opioid-based medication and more.
Migrant Families Separated By U.S. Government File Claims For Millions In Damages
Eight separated families submitted claims to the departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services, saying that their children were traumatized by the experience. Stanton Jones, a lawyer for the families, said, “The government was harming children intentionally to try to advance what it viewed as a policy objective. It’s heinous and immoral, but it’s also a civil wrong for which the law provides a claim for relief.” In related news, 70 detainees condemn the conditions at a California detention center.
Pharma Companies Dramatically Slash List Price For Cholesterol Drug In Rare Move
Rival cholesterol drugs Praluent and Repatha struggled as insurance companies and benefit managers made it difficult for patients to get the treatment. Because they were so expensive, even for patients with a genetic disorder that causes super-high cholesterol, insurers rejected the drugs 63 percent of the time. Now, both of their list prices have been cut, a move that could possibly hint at a change in the drug pricing system on the horizon. In other pharmaceutical news, brain cancer drugs, fatty liver disease and vaccines.
The draft rules touch on a broad array of issues, including technology standards that are supposed to help unlock digital data stored in the electronic health records used by hospitals and doctors to track patients’ care. Meanwhile, a new paper touts the possibilities of artificial intelligence when diagnosing common conditions.
