Latest KFF Health News Stories
MiMedx’s Limit On Range Of Products It Sold To VA Forced Government To Buy More Expensive Treatments
At Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense hospitals, The MiMedx Group — which manufactures skin grafts and injectable products from donated placental tissues — didn’t offer the small sizes of two popular products it offered elsewhere. As a result, the government agencies had to buy bigger, more expensive offerings for smaller treatments, former employees said.
Opioid Package Is ‘A Glimmer Of Hope At The End Of A Dark Tunnel,’ Senators Say
Over the past few weeks, Congress pulled off a rare bipartisan effort by getting a massive package aimed at curbing the opioid epidemic through both chambers with overwhelming support. President Donald Trump is expected to sign the legislation. Check out what’s in the bills.
Businessman Mike Braun is challenging incumbent Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) in a tight U.S. Senate race. With health care on the front of many voters’ minds, Braun points to his own company’s health care model. Some workers, however, said it isn’t like real insurance. “If I did ever have to go to the hospital, I’d have been screwed,” said Heath Kluemper, a former employee at Meyer Distributing.
The plans sold through Iowa’s Farm Bureau were made legal under a law signed by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R), which allows the agency to collaborate with Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield on self-funded “health benefit plans.” They don’t have to follow the strict regulations laid out by the federal health law, such as not charging more for people with preexisting conditions. Meanwhile, rankled over CBO’s health care projections during repeal-replace efforts, Republicans ask the budget office for a do-over.
An Unusual Strategy: This PAC On Drug Prices Is Sinking Millions Into Races It Knows It Can’t Impact
The Patients for Affordable Drugs says that where its money can’t help decide a race, it can still send a message: that politicians running campaigns funded by drug companies will face retribution. But some experts are dubious. In other pharmaceutical news: Stat reveals the lobbying firm behind a shadowy drug pricing organization, pharma gets a boost after a New Jersey court dismisses hundreds of lawsuits, and patent laws are getting attention in the fight over prices.
First Edition: October 5, 2018
THE CANCER DIVIDE: Tune in to our next Facebook Live on Friday, Oct. 5 at 11 a.m. PST/2 p.m. EST, as we discuss disparities in cancer care and outcomes. Kaiser Health News senior correspondent Anna Gorman and UC Davis professor Kenneth Kizer will explain that people overall are living longer with cancer, but some communities are faring better than others. Join the discussion here, and please bring your questions.
Editorial pages focus on these public health issues and other health issues.
Media outlets report on news from New York, Massachusetts, Kansas, Florida, Illinois, Montana, Louisiana, Virginia, Georgia, New Hampshire, Alabama, Minnesota and Utah.
Anxiety, Depression, Poor Sleep Are Lasting Impacts For Women Of Sexual Assault, Study Shows
“These are experiences that [a woman] could have had long ago … and it can have this long arm of influence throughout a woman’s life,” says Rebecca Thurston, lead author of the study. Other public health news includes stories on breast cancer, psychedelic mushrooms, elephant skin, fast food, food labeling and elder orphans.
Almost no one outside the company has any idea whether it works, and most of the company’s key promises or claims aren’t yet backed up by published, peer-reviewed data. In other health and technology related news: Facebook’s kid-centric app draws criticism; brain scans may be able to detect skill levels; and a Fitbit helps solve a crime.
Only One Abortion Clinic Is Open In Missouri After Federal Judge’s Ruling On New Requirements
In addition to not meeting new requirements about admitting privileges at hospitals, the Columbia clinic’s license had expired. The judge said once it regains its license, the clinic can appeal his decision. News about women’s reproductive health comes out of Virginia, also.
Shadowy Advocacy Group Goes Against The Grain, Vocally Defends Sky-High Drug Prices
It’s not clear who funds the new group or who is running its day-to-day operations. But the Alliance to Protect Medical Innovation does have a target for its finger-pointing: insurers and pharmacy benefits managers. Meanwhile, drug pricing advocates are criticizing President Donald Trump’s new trade deal.
The winners — Frances Arnold of the California Institute of Technology, George Smith of the University of Missouri and Gregory Winter of the MRC molecular biology lab in England — “have taken control of evolution and used it for purposes that bring the greatest benefit to humankind,” the Nobel committee said.
The Trump administration’s new policy to expand the parameters of what constitutes a public charge when considering green card applications is causing some immigrants to just forgo government aid altogether.
Leon Lederman, who had started experiencing memory loss problems that became more severe, died at a nursing home in Idaho. He sold his Nobel Prize for $765,000 at auction in 2015 to help cover the cost of care.
Not only has the number of workers who face an annual deductible grown, but the average deductible has creeped higher and higher for more than a decade, a new survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation finds.
Although it will take years to resolve the hundreds of lawsuits that are facing Purdue Pharma, the expectation of legal and industry experts is that the painkiller-maker will end up having to pay out a much lower settlement than Big Tobacco did in the 1990s. Meanwhile, a look at how people who use drugs are utilizing test strips to detect fentanyl in their heroin. News from the crisis comes from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Oregon and Georgia as well.
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.
