Latest KFF Health News Stories
“If you want to pick judges for your way of thinking, then you better win an election,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told Democrats who dominated the first day of hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Republicans remained mostly unfazed, confident that they have enough votes to get him through.
First Edition: September 5, 2018
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Opinion writers weigh in on these health topics and others.
Perspectives: Keeping Medications Away From Pain Sufferers During Opioid Epidemic Is No Solution
Opinion writers express views about how to ease health problems stemming from the opioid crisis.
Editorial pages examine health insurance issues.
Media outlets report on news from Massachusetts, Michigan, Texas, California, Ohio, Tennessee, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Connecticut and Maryland.
Patrick Soon-Shiong had vowed to turn the Verity Health hospital system around, but over the past year, it continued to struggle. Hospital news comes out of Texas, D.C. and Illinois, as well.
Doctors May Have Found Cause Of Those Mysterious Symptoms In U.S. Diplomats: Microwave Weapons
Some researchers were at first skeptical that the wave of illnesses in U.S. diplomats wasn’t psychosomatic. “Everyone now agrees there’s something there,” said Douglas H. Smith, the author of a new study looking at the cause of the symptoms.
Our Evolutionary Instincts Are Turning Us Into Chicken Littles In This Modern World
Our brains are wired for survival in a time that didn’t include the vast wealth of information now available to us — and it’s making us more scared of the world than we need to be. Meanwhile, researchers find some more bad news on political partisanship.
Can Engineered Bacteria Help Cure Patients From The Inside Out?
Synthetic biologists reached a milestone with an experiment to use bacteria to help patients with a condition that causes them to have to avoid dietary protein in foods such as meat and cheese. The concoction that the volunteers drank could become the first synthetic biology-based medical treatment to gain approval by the FDA. In other public health news: vaping, maternal mortality, CRISPR, pollution, stretching, vitamins, chronic diseases and more.
As suicide rates rise among the elderly, some health care providers think that even though it’s difficult to do so, it’s valid to discuss the topic and help those who think there are fates worse than death. In other news on aging: muscle loss and loss of independence, bereavement time for long-term care workers, malnutrition, dementia, and more.
DeVos Has ‘No Intention Of Taking Any Action’ Over Arming Teachers With Federal Funding
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ statements come after backlash over the possibility that a pot of money geared toward helping schools would go toward paying for guns and firearms training for teachers. In other children’s health news: foster families, FluMist, helicopter parents, ADHD and more.
As the Klamath River has struggled, so has the health of Native American tribes that live along its Northern California waters. Now, it’s hard to find anyone among the Yurok, the Karuk and the Hoopa Indians who has not been touched by the heroin epidemic. Meanwhile, alumni are troubled by the deaths of former students of a school that aims to help teens with drug and alcohol abuse.
As More And More Consumers Face Sky-High Surprise Bills, Congress Mired In Partisanship Fails To Act
But at the state level, legislatures are starting to respond to public outrage.
Comcast At Forefront Of Controlling Health Care Costs For Its Employees With Do-It-Yourself Approach
The cable behemoth’s health care costs have stayed nearly flat in the past five years–increasing by about 1 percent a year, well under the 3 percent average of other large employers and below general inflation. In other industry news: investors are excited about Berkshire Hathaway’s new health venture; Johnson & Johnson scores high at Management Top 250; and doctors at work is the latest perk at some tech companies.
The practice of identifying the additional codes to send to CMS for payment is legal but costing Medicare millions. Meanwhile, new Medicare cards are being issued, and The New York Times lays out some tips on what you need to know about them.
The panic stems from a potential Trump administration policy that would penalize legal immigrants if they receive aid from the government. “It’s a stealth regulation,” said Kathleen Campbell Walker, an immigration attorney at Dickinson Wright in El Paso, Texas. “It doesn’t really exist, but it’s being applied subliminally.”
Health Care A ‘Huge’ Priority For Voters As Midterms Near
Democrats have seized the issue that was once used against them, while Republicans are focusing on economy. Immigration is also a top concern for many voters. Meanwhile, lawmakers are desperate to avoid a government shutdown before the midterms.
Republicans Brace For Political Fallout As Lawsuit Challenging Health Law Heads For Its Day In Court
The suit challenging the health law’s constitutionality is based out of Texas, where a group of Republican attorneys general are set to face off against a group of Democratic attorneys general. But even Republicans are worried about the impact a ruling could have on midterms. “There’s no question it complicates things for Republicans if a decision comes down in October,” said Rodney Whitlock, a Washington healthcare strategist and former GOP Senate staffer.
Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination hearings will play out over the next four days, with opening statements on Tuesday by senators and Kavanaugh, followed by two days of questioning and a final day of testimony from outside witnesses. Democrats have focused on Kavanaugh’s threat to health care and women’s rights, but have failed to muster much public outrage over the nomination. Media outlets break down what you need to know for this upcoming week.
