Latest KFF Health News Stories
News outlets report on stories related to pharmaceutical pricing.
Media outlets report on news from Missouri, Florida, Arizona, Minnesota, Texas, Wisconsin, Idaho, Iowa and New Mexico.
State drug agents confirmed that 89 percent of the sites this year were contaminated by the chemicals, some of which are so strong it takes only a quarter teaspoon to kill a large bear. Other news on marijuana includes reports on revised conditions for medical usage in Connecticut, licensing requirements for cannabidiol in Ohio and efforts to shake the stoner image.
“It springs up spontaneously, like little wildfires,” said Rob Crane, a medical doctor and president of Tobacco 21, a Dublin, Ohio-based advocacy group that supports raising the minimum age to 21. “These are folks who are your neighbors. When you approach city council members in a small town in California or Ohio or New Jersey, they listen.” In other public health news: made-to-order DNA, earwax, exercise, AIDS, and whooping cough.
“The U.S. continues to have the highest STD rates in the industrialized world,” says David Harvey, executive director of the National Coalition of STD Directors, “and it preys on the most vulnerable among us.” Experts say drugmakers must start developing new antibiotics to treat the STDs.
9-Year-Old Boy’s Suicide Highlights Rare But Growing Problem In Preteens
Leia Pierce said her son Jamal Myles had been bullied over the past year because he was part of the LGBTQ community, which is particularly vulnerable to depression and suicide. Deaths among preteens more than doubled between 2007 and 2014.
Beyond Respiratory Diseases: Air Pollution Can Also Negatively Affect Language, Math Skills
The cognitive impact was most pronounced among older men, a troubling sign for how it relates to Alzheimer’s and dementia. Meanwhile, the Pacific Northwest is being smothered by smog from wildfires in both California and British Columbia.
Just six countries that make up less than 10 percent of the world’s population — Brazil, the United States, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela and Guatemala — accounted for just over half of the world’s gun-related deaths.
Some experts have already dismissed the tool as unlikely to actually help save costs, though. “Ask any hospital, lab or physician the price of anything and all you ever get back is a question: ‘What insurance do you have?’ ” said Steven Weissman, an attorney and former hospital president. “Each patient’s price depends on how much can be extracted.”
Looming Showdown Over Safe-Injection Sites Pits Trump Administration Versus San Francisco
Federal officials warn that any city setting up a safe-injection site for opioid users will be met with “swift and aggressive action” and criminal prosecutions. On Monday, the California Legislature passed a bill approving San Francisco’s plan to open such sites. Other news on the crisis includes the sale of Narcan-maker Adapt Pharma, more lawsuits against painkiller manufacturers and a possible crackdown on fentanyl in Massachusetts.
Judge Swats Down Effort To Block Medicaid Expansion From Nebraska Ballot As ‘Legally Insufficient’
Nebraska is one of several red states that is home to a push to get Medicaid expansion in front of voters, circumventing lawmakers. Meanwhile, South Dakota is asking officials to approve work requirements, while Kentucky residents weigh in on their own state’s proposed changes.
As ‘Medicare-For-All’ Debate Bubbles Up On Campaign Trail, CBO Passes Up Chance To Project Cost
Experts say that because Republicans control Congress there is not a legitimate reason for the Congressional Budget Office to put time into analyzing the idea. Meanwhile, the Democratic candidate in the California governor race, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, says he supports universal health care for illegal immigrants.
Puerto Rico’s Governor Acknowledges Hurricane Maria Official Death Toll Was Nearly 3,000, Not 64
While higher fatality figures have been debated for nearly a year, Puerto Rico’s government didn’t officially recognize them until the release of a new report Tuesday. Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said he would move immediately to improve the process for certifying deaths and communicating information among public and private health workers.
America’s Uninsured Numbers Hold Fairly Steady, While Geographical Disparity Remains Stark
In south central states, nearly a quarter of adults lack insurance. In other health law news, Republicans are hopeful that they have another chance at repeal following the death of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), and the Trump administration pays New York and Minnesota money to help stabilize their marketplaces.
First Edition: August 29, 2018
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial pages focus on these health issues and others.
Opinion writers express views about how to lower health care costs and provide quality care.
Media outlets report on news from California, Illinois, Oregon, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Iowa and Wyoming.
Court Records Detail Jacksonville Shooter’s History Of Mental Illness As An Adolescent
Divorce records show David Katz played video games obsessively, often refusing to go to school or to bathe. His mother reported when she took his game controllers away, she’d find him walking in circles in early morning hours. In other news, lawmakers in California approve new gun restrictions and bans, including to those involuntarily placed in psychiatric hospitals.
Many Studies Fail Reproducibility Tests Again In Social Sciences And Psychology, So What’s Up?
Rather than view the studies that aren’t able to be replicated as troublesome, scientists say they can predict the losers and regard the flawed research as a way to help accelerate the process of science.
