Morning Breakouts

Latest KFF Health News Stories

‘Recovery Friendly’ Employers Help Those Recovering From Addiction Overcome One Of Biggest Hurdles: Finding A Job

Morning Briefing

These workplaces are willing to overlook employment gaps and some brushes with police that accompany drug use. They also encourage open discussion of addiction in the workplace to reduce stigma, and treat substance abuse and relapse as medical issues like surgery or maternity.

Amazon Dips Toes Into Medical Record Industry In Latest Move By Big Tech To Enter Health Care Landscape

Morning Briefing

The new Amazon software can read digitized patient records and other clinical notes, analyze them and pluck out key data points to help identify cost-saving opportunities, Amazon said. It’s just the most recent move by a big technology company to get in on an industry that is nearly a fifth of the U.S. economy.

In Face Of Intense Government Scrutiny, Juul To Retool Product To Lower Nicotine Levels

Morning Briefing

Some experts though said the higher vapor in the new products could potentially make the pods even more addictive, increasing the risk particularly to young people, whose developing brains are more susceptible to the addictive qualities of nicotine.

Has FDA’s ‘First In The World’ Ambition Contributed To Years Of High-Profile Safety Problems With Medical Devices?

Morning Briefing

Balancing innovation, regulation and a symbiotic relationship with the medical industry it oversees is a tricky task for the agency. The Associated Press takes a look at the FDA’s push for quick approvals and how that may have lead to problems with current devices on the market.

FBI Background Checks Were Waived For Caregivers, Mental Health Workers At Immigration Detention Camps For Teens

Morning Briefing

In addition, the federal government is allowing the nonprofit running the detention facility in Texas to sidestep mental health care requirements. Under federal policy, migrant youth shelters generally must have one mental health clinician for every 12 kids, but the federal agency’s contract with BCFS allows it to staff Tornillo with just one clinician for every 100 children. Meanwhile, a report finds that family separations at the border have quietly resumed.

For First Time There’s A Promising Vaccine And Treatment For Ebola. So Why Is This Year’s Outbreak The Second Deadliest Ever?

Morning Briefing

Doctors and other experts currently or formerly working in the region point to a landscape that is not quite a war zone but in which violence can break out almost anywhere for unknown reasons. Other global health news stories report on abortion, HIV rates and child safety.

Giving Up Alcohol Can Take A Fatal Toll, Yet Few People Seem To Understand How Dangerous Process Is, Doctors Warn

Morning Briefing

About 16 million Americans suffer from alcohol use disorder and shouldn’t go it alone when trying to stop, doctors warn. Alcohol is often the most dangerous substance for the body to withdraw from and requires medical supervision. Other public health news focuses on childhood obesity, sports nutrition, workplace wellness programs, and more.

‘I Feel Proud’: Chinese Scientist Who Used CRISPR To Edit Babies’ Genes Defends Work As Ethics Uproar Escalates

Morning Briefing

in his first public remarks about the research, He Jiankui also said that a second pregnancy may be underway. He set off a firestorm this week after announcing that he’d created the world’s first gene-edited babies, using a technique called CRISPR, to make sure that the twin girls are impervious to HIV infection. Other scientists have lambasted the research as “deeply unethical” and “driven by hubris.”

If Health Law Is Overturned In Courts, Administration Has A Plan To Protect Preexisting Conditions, CMS Chief Vows

Morning Briefing

But CMS Administrator Seema Verma did not provide any specifics on how the government would respond. Meanwhile, reinsurance programs meant to help states shore up their exchanges have found success in stabilizing the marketplace and boosting enrollment.

CMS Will Be ‘Looking Closely’ At Why So Many Have Been Dropped Off Arkansas’ Medicaid Rolls For Failing To Report Work Hours

Morning Briefing

But CMS Administrator Seema Verma says there’s no plan to slow implementation of the work requirement rules. Since June, more than 12,000 beneficiaries in Arkansas have lost their Medicaid coverage, and thousands more are poised to be dropped next month. Verma thinks it’s “very possible” that people left Medicaid coverage because they found a job or “decided that they didn’t want coverage.” Other Medicaid news comes out of Maine, Kentucky, Georgia and Minnesota.

New Generic EpiPen Was Touted As A Lower Cost Option, But Its List Price Is The Same As One Already On Market

Morning Briefing

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said, “We cannot control commercial decisions on pricing, [but] importantly, we have found that having three or more generic competitors brings prices down more sharply than with only one or two generic competitors.”

Privatizing Medicaid Program Only Saved Iowa About Half Of What Had Been Projected

Morning Briefing

When Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad’s administration changed the system for overseeing health care for more than 600,000 poor and disabled Iowans, he projected it would produce $232 million in savings. A report by the outgoing Republican state auditor found that only $126 million has been saved. Meanwhile, Democrats, who are troubled by what they see as deteriorating care under the new system, question if the state really saved anything. Medicaid news comes out of Virginia, Tennessee and Kansas, as well.

CVS-Aetna Merger Expected To Go Forward This Week After Securing Final Approval From New York Regulators

Morning Briefing

One of the last hurdles on the $69 billion deal was met Monday when New York regulators signed after CVS agreed to several requirements, including that acquisition costs will not be passed onto consumers or to affiliated insurers covering New Yorkers.

FDA To Revamp Long-Criticized System For Approving Medical Devices

Morning Briefing

“We believe that it’s time to fundamentally modernize an approach first adopted in 1976,” FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in a statement, noting that the changes under consideration would push companies to compare their devices to more up-to-date technology. And The Associated Press reports on the challenges of tracking devices.

Trump Says Obama Had An Immigration Policy To Separate Families, But That’s Not True

Morning Briefing

It was President Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy that resulted in families being separated, reports The Associated Press fact checker. Zero tolerance remains in effect, but Trump signed an executive order June 20 that stopped separations.