Latest KFF Health News Stories
In October, an additional 3,815 beneficiaries lost their coverage and joined thousands of others who have failed to report their work requirements. There are also 6,002 people with two strikes against them who are at risk for losing coverage next month.
Research Roundup: Patient Safety; Opioid Use; And Marketplace Premiums
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
First Edition: November 16, 2018
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Opinion writers express views on these public health issues and others.
Editorial writers express views on these health topics and others.
Longer Looks: San Francisco’s Smoke; The Havana Syndrome; And Willpowering Through Colds
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Media outlets report on news from Michigan, Ohio, Connecticut, Maryland, Louisiana, Tennessee, California, Florida, Texas and Missouri.
After UConn Health explained it couldn’t sustain the health care needs of 14,000 prisoners in the face of budget cuts, the state took it over and announced it could save $8 million in costs. Now, officials are presenting a different picture, saying older inmates require better care and startup costs are high. News on care of prisoners comes out of California, Ohio and New Hampshire, also.
Medicare Advantage Plans Have Beneficial Aspects To Them, But There Are Lots Of Red Lights To Heed
Signing up for a new Medicare plan can be confusing. Here are some things to watch out for.
Research suggests that heat stress appears to be associated with transgenerational fertility problems, as well. That means that organisms may bear the effects of elevated temperatures long after the initial exposure — in the form of reduced lifespans, reproductive challenges and other types of defects passed to offspring.
“Insufficient funding has hampered the ability of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state and local health departments to keep pace with the new and continuing threats to the health of the American people and to fully fund prevention initiatives,” according to the Trust for America’s Health, a nonpartisan, Washington, D.C.-based research organization. In other public health news: the flu, salmonella, suicide, Ebola, ticks, genetic testing, and more.
Billions Are Being Spent To Protect Students From School Shootings. Does Any Of The Measures Work?
Even though school security is a booming industry, The Washington Post surveyed schools that have had shootings and only one school suggested that any kind of safety technology might have made a difference. Many had robust security plans already in place but still couldn’t stop the incidents. The response is backed up by a federally funded study that cautioned about the effectiveness of school security technology. Meanwhile, a look at how doctors and nurses deal with the trauma of gun violence, and more is uncovered about the Pittsburgh shooter’s ties to neo-Nazis.
Even Though Laws Have Changed To Encourage Access To Naloxone, Some Pharmacies Set Up Roadblocks
A new study shows some pharmacies in California still require a doctor’s prescription for the life-saving antidote and pharmacies in other states don’t stock it. News on the opioid epidemic comes out of Massachusetts, North Carolina and Kansas also.
As Concerns About Vanishing Indigenous Women Mount, Study Finds Police Reporting On Cases Inadequate
The study brings more attention to the issue of violence against Native American women. Multiple bills at the state and federal level have been proposed to improve data collection, including Savanna’s Act, which the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs voted Wednesday to send to the full chamber for consideration.
More Women Support Options To Obtain Abortion Pill From Pharmacies Or Online, Survey Finds
Advocates hope that the pressure from that support will lead to a relaxation of guidelines on the controversial medication, which can be used to end an abortion. In other news, Ohio is expected to approve a “heartbeat bill” that would ban all abortion after a fetal heartbeat can be detected.
Death Toll In California Wildfires Keeps Climbing With More Than A Hundred Still Missing
“I can’t imagine that he is alive, but we have not stopped looking. We are still calling the shelters every day. We are calling the hospitals every day,” said Angela Loo of her stepbrother. Media outlets report on the efforts to find missing people, stories of the victims, public health threats from the smoke, and more on the California fires.
Advocates are worried that the policy–which would allow officials to weigh an immigrant’s use of aid such as Medicaid when deciding green cards–is already discouraging legal immigrants from seeking needed health care.
“We believe the evidence shows that menthol does not encourage people to smoke, make smoking harder to quit or increase the risks to health compared to cigarettes without menthol,” said a spokesman for Reynolds American Inc.
Since 2013, Walmart has given the option for employees to travel to certain hospitals and has offered to pay for expenses as well as the full procedure. Half of the workers who volunteered to travel ended up avoiding the high-cost surgery even though their local doctors said it was needed, so the company is now expanding the policy so it’s mandatory starting in January. Other health care spending news looks at diabetes, genetic testing, mammograms and retirement.
“What if we gave organizations more flexibility so they could pay a beneficiary’s rent if they were in unstable housing, or make sure that a diabetic had access to, and could afford, nutritious food?” HHS Secretary Alex Azar said. The proposals are part of a broader strategy in health care to address social determinants that impact patients’ wellbeing. Meanwhile, Medicaid programs are a driving force behind rising state spending.
