Latest KFF Health News Stories
Editorial pages weigh in on these health topics and others
Perspectives: Health Care Sabotage; Patient-Centered Cancer Research; And Quality Nursing Home Care
Editorial writers focus on these health topics and others.
Media outlets report on news from New York, Texas, Georgia, Delaware, Arizona, Tennessee, Michigan, Illinois and Massachusetts.
Energy Department Officials Making Shift To A Top Adviser Spot At Veterans’ Affairs
John Mashburn has previously served as the policy director of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
Report Suggests Hospitals Could Save $25.4 Billion By Improving Their Supply Chain Operations
Modern Healthcare reports on a new analysis that finds the highest-performing hospitals focus on ways to standardize the use of “physician-preference” items and medications that produce clinically equivalent outcomes at a lower cost.
Nearly 100 More Women Sue USC With Accusations Of Sexual Abuse By University’s Longtime Gynecologist
With the additions, the number of women now suing the University of Southern California with allegations against Dr. George Tyndall rises to over 400. Meanwhile, a respected research hospital in New York says it knew about allegations of child sexual misconduct against one of its pediatric doctors.
This is the first time the agency has cracked down on clinics saying, “There are no human clinical studies in the scientific literature showing that amniotic stem cell therapy cures, treats, or mitigates diseases or health conditions in humans.” In other public health news: cyborgs, whole-genome sequencing, a mysterious illness in children, Ebola, equality, sunlight and more.
Cancer Treatment Can Often Come Too Late, But What If You Could Get Ahead Of The Disease?
A new study, called Project Baseline, is trying to pinpoint the transition from normal health to disease. Researchers hope that the project could lead to the identification of new markers in the blood, stool or urine of healthy people that help predict cancer, cardiovascular disease and other leading killers of Americans. In other news, why don’t all cancer-linked mutations in cells turn into tumors?
Novartis Plans To Pay $2.1 Billion For U.S. Company Developing New Prostate Cancer Treatment
With the purchase, the Swiss company is adding to its arsenal of radiopharmaceuticals, a new group of drugs designed to more closely target cancer cells.
Judge Orders Ohio Cities Suing Purdue Over Opioid Crisis To Come Up With Proof Of Specific Harm Done
The court has ordered that four Ohio cities and counties must identify 500 medically unnecessary prescriptions and 300 residents who became addicted or were harmed from opioid prescriptions. Meanwhile, the chair of a FDA panel is speaking out against his concern over the panel’s recommendation for a powerful opioid.
‘A Long Time Coming’: After Years Of Strife, Virginia’s Medicaid Expansion To Kick Off In November
The state’s General Assembly voted earlier this year to add up to 400,000 uninsured, low-income Virginians to the state’s Medicaid rolls after a deal was struck over work requirements. Republican resistance in the state has long stymied advocates’ efforts to expand the program. Meanwhile, other states that haven’t approved expansion yet might have to bend to the will of their voters if ballot measures pass.
Length Of Time Detained Immigrant Children Are Being Held By Government Is Climbing
The Trump administration defends the increasing number of days that the children are being held, saying it is a result of both the large number of kids passing through the shelters and the increased scrutiny given to potential sponsors to ensure children are placed in safe environments. But critics raise concerns about ongoing safety issues.
President Donald Trump weighed in on the issue that has been used frequently against Republican candidates on the trail who supported getting rid of the health law.
In recent days, both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Rep. Steve Scalise, the House majority whip and possible next speaker, have said that health law repeal may be revisited after the elections. Republicans on the trail, though, have been on the defense for months, scrambling to counter Democrats’ attack ads saying that the GOP wants to strip away protections for preexisting conditions. The dichotomy is causing tension within the party just a little over two weeks out from the midterms. Meanwhile, McConnell is defending the lawsuit that is at the heart of much of the rhetoric against the GOP candidates, saying, “It’s not secret that we preferred to start over.”
Research Roundup: Epilepsy And Pregnancy; Illness In America; And Gun Violence
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
First Edition: October 19, 2018
It’s bad enough that a patient has a health emergency so dire that it requires a helicopter ride to make it to the hospital in time. But then comes the bill. Tune in to the next KHN Facebook Live – Friday, Oct. 19 at 12:30 p.m. – when KHN senior editor Diane Webber outlines the factors that allow air ambulance costs to be so high.
Editorial pages focus on these health topics and others.
Longer Looks: Climate Change; Abortion; And Global Pandemics
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Media outlets report on news from Connecticut, New York, Virginia, Michigan, Iowa, Texas, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Missouri, California, Wisconsin and Ohio.
In other news on innovations, the MAVEN Project helps underserved communities around the country by connecting retiring, volunteer doctors with patients via telehealth, videoconferencing and phone calls.
