Latest KFF Health News Stories
It was a rare bipartisan feat that brought the massive opioids package together that also gives both sides a win right before the contentious midterm elections. Included in the bills is a crackdown on the flow of synthetic opioids from other countries, expanded treatment options, and provisions promoting research to finding alternative pain treatments.
But party leaders insist that, if they do gain control of the House, they want to be careful to make sure their inquiries into the Trump administration’s moves on health care will be focused on real policy rather than point-scoring.
Focus On ACA Or Go All In For ‘Medicare For All’? Democrats Divided Over Path To Take On Health Care
For the first election in years, Democrats see health care as a winning issue — one to go on the offense over instead of defending their votes. But they party’s candidates lack coherency in their approach. Some push a “Medicare for All” plan while others think shoring up the health law should take priority. Meanwhile The Washington Post Fact Checker looks at ads targeting Democrats over “Medicare for All.”
Preexisting conditions protections are among the most popular provisions in the Affordable Care Act, even among GOP voters. After years of chipping away at the law, Republicans are scrambling to convince voters they’ll keep that part while getting rid of the unpopular regulations. “How are you going to tell me you’re going to fix it when you’re on a lawsuit to invalidate the Affordable Care Act?” Missouri voter Denny Enloe said.
First Edition: October 4, 2018
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Opinion writers focus on these public health issues and other health topics.
Media outlets report on news from Tennessee, Georgia, California, Kansas, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Minnesota, Ohio and Florida.
Australia’s On Track To Be The First Country To Eliminate Cervical Cancer. Here’s How They Did It.
Australia’s national health care system first introduced its HPV vaccination program in 2007 as a cost-free three-dose course for teenage girls. In 2013, the program was expanded to school-age boys, who can carry and transmit the virus, and develop other forms of cancer. Now, the country has one of the lowest cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates in the world. In other news: radiation, antibiotics, fast food, heart health, urinary tract infections and more.
Preparing Schools For Mass Shootings Was An Industry That Had Stalled. Then Parkland Happened.
An Associated Press investigation shows that security companies have been pushing lawmakers toward elevating the solution of “hardening schools” with high-tech hardware and gadgets over other safety measures.
With Retirement Of NEJM’s Editor, Doctors See A Chance For Prestigious Journal To Adjust Course
As Dr. Jeffrey Drazen steps down from the post he held for 18 years, doctors weigh in on changes they’d like to see rather than having it be a place to publish the “most important” studies. “The main job of journals will not be to disseminate science but to ‘speak truth to power,’ encourage debate, campaign, investigate and agenda-set — the same job as the mass media,” Dr. Richard Smith told Stat.
The prize is shared by three scientists, one of whom is a woman. Canada’s Donna Strickland is the first woman to win in 55 years. Also, the oldest winner ever, Arthur Ashkin, is 96.
Sloan Kettering’s Widening Institutional Reckoning Over Ethics Crisis Snags Center’s Top Executive
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center President, Dr. Craig Thompson, announced that he will resign from the boards of Merck and Charles River Laboratories. Merck is the maker of the blockbuster cancer treatment Keytruda. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center has been thrust under the microscope recently over controversy involving top officials’ financial conflicts of interest.
Perspectives: A Decades-Old Law Continues To Handcuff Pharma Companies With Regulatory Checkboxes
Read recent commentaries about drug-cost issues.
Administration Emphasizes Need To Focus On Keeping Opioids From Entering Country Illegally
DEA officials spoke of the importance of cracking down on the international pipeline into the country at a Senate caucus forum created as part of lawmakers’ efforts to pass a sweeping opioid package. Other news on the crisis comes out of California, Wisconsin, Massachusetts and Missouri.
A Look At How U.S.-Canada-Mexico Trade Deal Could Affect Drug Prices
News outlets report on stories related to pharmaceutical pricing.
In explaining its decision, Glaxo argued it is the only drugmaker that does not pay physicians to promote its medicines and vaccines, which puts the company at a competitive disadvantage.
Pharma Holds Breath, Bracing For A Possible Blue Wave To Take The House
Democrats have not been shy about their intent to focus on high drug prices if they regain control of the House, which the pharmaceutical industry doesn’t foresee going in its favor. Meanwhile, although lawmakers blocked pharma’s last attempt to attach the “doughnut hole” change to the massive opioid package, experts think lobbyists might be successful in the lame-duck months after the elections.
A scathing Homeland Security inspector general report found startling health and safety issues at a private, for-profit immigration jail in Adelanto, California. Among other problems, detainees reported waiting “weeks and months” to see a doctor, and inspectors met with a dentist who dismissed the necessity of fillings, and suggested that detainees use string from their socks to floss, the report said.
FDA Carts Away Thousands Of Documents After Surprise Inspection Of Juul Headquarters
Juul has come under fire recently as more and more young people turn to e-cigarettes as an alternative to traditional smoking. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb went so far as to say the problem has reached “epidemic proportions.” The documents seized were related to the company’s sales and marketing practices.
The issue is a favored talking point for Democrats going after Republican opponents in the midterm elections. The resolution from Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) is nonbinding, but gives him, and the other Republicans who backed the statement, an opportunity to address the issue. Meanwhile, insurance rates in Minnesota will drop for second straight year.
