Latest KFF Health News Stories
Juul Closes Is On Deal With One Of The World’s Largest Tobacco Companies
The possible deal with Altria comes as e-cigarette maker Juul faces increasing regulatory scrutiny. The union would give Juul access to Altria’s marketing skills and its valuable shelf-space in convenience stores. Advocates said the partnership shows that Juul’s focus is on profits and not public health.
The American Association for Cancer Research said that Dr. José Baselga “did not adhere to the high standards pertaining to conflict of interest disclosures that the AACR expects of its leadership.”
Pharma’s Hiatus On Drug Price Hikes Goes Out The Door In January As Industry Returns To Status Quo
Earlier in the year, while facing increasing public outrage and scrutiny from President Donald Trump, some pharmaceutical companies put the kibosh on planned price increases for their drugs. But starting in the new year, many will be raising prices again, Reuters reports. In other industry news: an administration report recommends against seizing patents as a way to curb costs; providers and insurers ask Congress to place real consequences into any plan that would require drug prices in TV ads; why biologics remain a tough nut for the U.S. to crack; and more.
High Cost Of Health Care On Sen. Lamar Alexander’s Congressional Bucket List
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the chairman of the powerful Senate health committee, announced his 2020 retirement this week, but said he doesn’t plan on becoming a lame-duck lawmaker for the next two years. And speaking of the high cost of health care, The Associated Press offers tips about helping a loved one with their medical expenses.
Information about just how many children are being held at the facilities has been spotty, but an Associated Press investigation highlights the true breadth of the problem. “No matter how a person feels about immigration policy, very few people hate children — and yet we are passively allowing bad things to happen to them,” said Dr. Jack Shonkoff, who heads Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child. Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen will testify about a 7-year-old girl’s death while in U.S. custody.
Fixing the problems that have plagued the VA is one likely area where a divided Congress could find common ground, and Secretary Robert L. Wilkie at a joint House-Senate hearing got a taste of what’s likely to be a less friendly audience than he may be used to. Meanwhile, the department has yet to submit criteria about when a veteran would be sent to a private provider.
Republicans had already stripped away or blunted the more unpopular provisions in the health law, even if they never repealed it completely. What was left were the ideas that enjoy bipartisan support — such as protections for preexisting conditions coverage. And Republicans have struggled to come up with a viable replacement for the law, which has reshaped the country’s health care landscape to set certain expectations with the American public. Meanwhile, GOP senators blocked a resolution to intervene in the Texas lawsuit.
Health Law 2019 Sign-Ups Drop, But Beat Dire Predictions With Help From Last-Minute Surge
The number who enrolled totaled 8.45 million, down from 8.82 million at the same point last year — a decrease of about 4 percent. Sign-ups had been lagging at about 10 percent throughout the open enrollment season despite a more stable marketplace and lower premiums. While Democrats blamed the lower numbers on the Trump administration’s efforts to undermine the law, CMS officials say a lower employment rate contributed to more people finding insurance elsewhere.
First Edition: December 20, 2018
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial pages focus on these health topics and others.
Media outlets focus on news from D.C., Ohio, Minnesota, California, Georgia, Missouri, Oregon, Colorado and Pennsylvania.
Tough Path Through Middle School Ensues For Tween Boys. Sweetness Fades And ‘Manhood’ Emerges.
It’s a time when many boys shut themselves off from the world, says psychologist Michael Thompson, leading to social problems. “Are you strong enough? Are you athletic enough? And in middle school: Are your muscles big enough?” he explains. “That’s middle school for boys, and that’s pretty crappy.” Public health news also focuses on diagnosing child abuse, the benefits of exercise, mental health on campus, chemicals’ toll on puberty, fewer livestock antibiotics, contraception, breast feeding, loneliness and more.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee report, which was the culmination of an 18-month investigation of alleged pill dumping in West Virginia, shows how mistakes and lack of oversight led to a massive influx of pills there. In other news on the epidemic: overdose antidotes, hep C testing, marketing of opioids, syringes, and more.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) introduced legislation that would allow the government to manufacture generic drugs if needed. But overall generic drug prices have been going down and only a small subset of generic drugs have less than three manufacturers.
CMS announced that it is seeking input on the issue, which marks the first time in the 53-year history of U.S. health accreditation system that its potential financial conflicts have come under regulatory scrutiny.
NIH Director’s Defense Of Fetal Tissue Research Prompts Anti-Abortion Groups To Call For His Ouster
Along with defending the scientific benefits of fetal tissue research, NIH Director Francis Collins said that the ongoing Trump administration review of the research is intended to “assure the skeptics.” Anti-abortion groups argue that the comments have undermined the review, and want to see Collins gone.
A ProPublica and PolitiFact investigation looks at how the VA Choice Program, often championed by conservatives as a way to improve veterans’ health care, has fared over the past four years. The real winners of the program, it turns out, are not the veterans utilizing the care but the private companies that profit from expensive contracts.
A GAO report released this week says that bureaucratic confusion and vacancies in key posts are largely to blame for the Department of Veterans Affairs’ failure to support suicide prevention efforts.
U.S. Surgeon General Calls For Aggressive Plans To Fight Youth Vaping In Rare Advisory
As e-cigarrettes become more popular among teens and worries rise about a new generation that could become hooked on nicotine, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams laid out strategies to combat the crisis and took aim at Juul, which takes in more than 70 percent of sales. In other news on vaping, addiction specialists’ phones are ringing.
HHS decided to drop the requirement that everyone in a sponsor’s household be fingerprinted and receive an extensive criminal background check. The Trump administration’s decision comes at a time of increased focus on the health and welfare of migrant children in U.S. custody following the death of a 7-year-old Guatemalan girl.
