Latest KFF Health News Stories
A few recent celebrity cases have highlighted how making decisions over a loved one with dementia can be emotionally fraught. “We find there’s a lot of conflict,” said Ruth Drew, director of information and support services for the Alzheimer’s Association. “Often times, there are old family dynamics that are emerging. Old stressors and old wounds that people thought were put to rest a long time ago.” In other public health news: decoding genomes, herbicide, violence against Native American women, the cerebellum, breast-feeding, and more.
First Edition: October 26, 2018
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial pages focus on the Health Law and other health topics.
Longer Looks: Opioids In Virginia; Abortions By Mail; And Prescription Drug Shortages
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Media outlets report on news from South Carolina, Minnesota, Washington, Illinois, California, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Ohio, Wisconsin and Texas.
U.S. Diplomats Pulled Out Of China Had Different Injuries Than Ones From Cuba
The new findings may ease fears that whatever affected the diplomats in Havana has spread, though doctors still do not know what has caused either set of injuries. In other public health news: intimate partner violence, CPR, heart attacks, spinal cord operations, and more.
Fatal Viral Outbreak At New Jersey Medical Center Poses High Risk For Frail, Young Patients
As adenovirus infection claimed its seventh victim, health officials investigate the cause of the outbreak at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in Haskell, N.J.. The for-profit center has closed its doors to new patients. Normally, the virus would cause a mild illness with cold-like symptoms in otherwise healthy people.
Health Advisory Group Recommends Hepatitis A Shots For Homeless As Outbreaks Increase
The panel’s unanimous recommendation to vaccinate against the contagious liver disease would make it easier for health care workers who serve the homeless to offer hepatitis A shots along with other services. The panel draws up advice for the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.
Dr. Antonia C. Novello, Dr. M. Joycelyn Elders, Dr. David Satcher and Dr. Richard Carmona spoke about their tenures as surgeon general, and the importance of impartial public health officials with authority.
Potential Competitor To Genomic Sequencing Giant Illumina Emerges From China
If the Chinese company’s technology can do what executives say it can, then the competition it brings into the marketplace could drive down the already-plummeting cost of genome sequencing. Other industry news focuses on hospices, health care systems, and hospitals.
The new $5,850 a year price tag is still higher than cost-effectiveness watchdogs recommend, but it’s a big drop from the original $14,000 a year. Sales never took off for the drug, in part because patients balked at the cost. Meanwhile, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb sounds an alarm over pricey new cancer treatments.
The lack of advance notice left the agencies scrambling to deal with the increase in detained children, according to a new GAO report. The findings also note that the absence of a central database for the migrants was a key factor in complicating and slowing the reunification of families.
New Single-Dose Flu Medication Approved By FDA After Last Year’s Vicious Season
The treatment is the first new influenza drug with a novel mechanism of action that the FDA has approved in nearly 20 years. If patients see their doctors within 48 hours of symptom onset one dose of Xofluza may significantly reduce the duration of flu symptoms.
The massive package to try to address the national opioid epidemic was a rare bipartisan accomplishment by Congress this year. But many advocates, while saying it’s a good first step, also predict that it’s not nearly enough to make a significant dent in the crisis. More news on the battle against drugs comes out of West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Missouri and Maryland.
The Associated Press offers some tips for both small-business owners and individuals who need to sign up for health coverage through state exchanges this year.
Medicaid Expansion Is On The Nebraska Ballot, But Some Wonder How Much It Would Actually Help
Making more people eligible for Medicaid may not help all rural providers, because it isn’t clear whether enough patients in isolated rural counties would sign up for coverage if the state cuts reimbursement or enacts provider taxes. News from the election comes from California, Georgia and Connecticut, as well.
The topic has been a trouble spot for Republicans on the trail and now President Donald Trump is trying to frame his party as the one that will keep preexisting conditions protections in place. At the same time, he and Republicans are backing a lawsuit that would overturn the health law, and all of its popular provisions.
Trump Plans To Curb High Drug Prices By Overhauling How Medicare Pays For Medications
President Donald Trump will speak today about the proposal, described to Politico by three individuals with knowledge of it. The Trump administration will say that Medicare could save more than $17 billion over five years, but officials also expect blowback from the industry and hospitals.
First Edition: October 25, 2018
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Opinion writers focus on these health topics and others.
