Latest KFF Health News Stories
The rule, which is part of President Donald Trump’s blueprint to rein in high drug costs, sparked immediate push back from pharmaceutical companies. Beyond the industry, experts are skeptical that the regulation would do anything to bring down prices and may confuse patients because consumers often don’t pay the list price for medications.
First Edition: October 16, 2018
DON’T MISS: 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 – on 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.
Viewpoints: Would ‘Medicare For All’ Do Everything Its Supporters Are Promising?
Editorial pages offer opinions on “Medicare For All,” the health law, mental illness, aging, and other health topics.
Media outlets report on news from Connecticut, Maryland, Illinois, California, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Louisiana and Texas.
‘Beautiful Boy’ Movie Explores The Difficulties Of Addiction And The Ways It Impacts Loved Ones
The movie tells the story of Nic Sheff and his father David, offering a look into a family touched by addiction. After seeing the movie, David recalled his difficult struggle to view his addicted son with sympathy, to make the mental shift from “how could he do this to me and the family and to himself, to understanding that he was troubled and ill.”
The Unique Challenges Older LGBTQ Americans Face Add Extra Layer Of Complexity To Aging, Experts Say
For example, a 63-year-old transgender woman wonders if she would be accepted at a long-term care center. Would she have to hide who she is and go back into the closet “to get the care I deserve to get?” In other news on aging, predicting Alzheimer’s, knee replacement surgery and staying active in the later years.
Fertility Industry Is Booming As Families Wait Longer To Have Children
Dr. David Sable talks with Stat about the new developments in the field. In other public health news: sex education, the flu, DNA, snakebites, scooters, autism, traveling nurses and more.
Emergency Communications Can Often Fail To Take Into Account Disabled Americans
Missing closed captioning and other gaps for emergency communications can cut off Americans who are deaf from getting the news on life-threatening situations. Meanwhile, Florida hospitals are still recovering from Hurricane Michael.
Unapproved, Sometimes Dangerous Drugs Found In Dietary Supplements
The research most commonly turned up the drug sold as Viagra in the supplements. Despite what consumers may think, the supplements are actually regulated as food and therefore not subject to premarket safety and effectiveness testing imposed on pharmaceuticals.
The network came into being in 1969 and helped thousands of women obtain abortions while it was still illegal. In other news, Texas cancels its contracts with an anti-abortion group.
FDA Solicits Information On E-Cigarette Sales As Part Of Aggressive Crackdown On Products
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb is particularly concerned with the increase of e-cigarette use among teens. As part of his efforts to curb their proliferation, Gottlieb sent letters to companies to see if they complied with a rule that banned the sale of new e-cigarette products after August 2016 without regulatory approval.
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center has been in the spotlight recently after the resignation of its chief medical officer, Dr. Jose Baselga, for failing to disclose his financial ties to the health industry.
The tent city in West Texas has been open for 120 days and that longevity, along with its size, has drawn criticism from immigrant advocates, Democratic lawmakers and others.
Experts say drugmakers’ list prices are typically used as a starting point for negotiations with other health care payers and few patients are asked to pay them, so including may be confusing. HHS Secretary Alex Azar is scheduled to give a speech Monday afternoon that will address the administration’s blueprint for lowering drug costs.
The investigation by the HHS inspector general raises some concerns just as Medicare Advantage plans become more and more popular. Analysts predict that one in two seniors will have them in a few years despite predictions that the health law would hobble the marketplace.
People In States That Did Not Expand Medicaid More Likely To Forgo Needed Medical Care, Report Finds
A new report from the Government Accountability Office shows the ways low-income people make choices about care versus expense. News on Medicaid comes out of Virginia, as well.
“It’s crippling people. It’s crippling me,” Pennsylvania voter Kaci Rickert says of health care costs. The topic has taken center stage in the weeks before the midterm elections, as Democrats focus on Republicans’ threat to popular health law provisions, such as preexisting conditions protections, while Republicans go after progressives’ “Medicare For All” plan. News on the races comes out of Iowa, Ohio, California and Minnesota.
First Edition: October 15, 2018
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Media outlets report on news from Texas, Washington, Michigan, Maryland, California, Louisiana, Colorado, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Connecticut and Florida.
Columnists explore various public health issues.
