Latest KFF Health News Stories
Scandal-Ridden Theranos To Formally Dissolve Following Failed Bid To Sell The Blood-Testing Company
The big-name investors who poured money into Theranos will get nothing. All told, investors in Theranos have lost nearly $1 billion.
Republican Sen. Heller Tries To Go On Offensive Over Health Care After Challenger’s Attack
Rep. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) had previously challenged Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) for initially opposing attempts to repeal the health law before switching to support it. Heller fired back saying Rosen has “done nothing to fix health care. Nothing. Zero.”
If the judge rules that the health law is unconstitutional because Congress zeroed-out the individual mandate, 17 million people could lose their insurance and popular provisions — such as protections for preexisting conditions and coverage for young adults up to age 26 — could be wiped out. Democrats are seizing on the challenge as a 2018 campaign talking point.
Supreme Court Hearings Provide Platform For 2020 Contenders’ Campaign Speeches
Sens. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) were all vocal in their resistance to Kavanaugh, in what might be a theatrical preview of an unpredictable 2020 race against President Donald Trump.
In a recent lawsuit where an undocumented teenage immigrant sued to be allowed to have an abortion, Brett Kavanaugh wrote that HHS shouldn’t be required to allow an abortion and that a delay until the plaintiff found a sponsor didn’t constitute “undue burden.” Many of the raucous protests at the hearings were sparked by concerns about women’s rights.
“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.
