Latest KFF Health News Stories
Kamala Harris’ 2024 Policy Agenda Includes Tax Break For New Babies
The Washington Post highlights proposals for eliminating medical debt for millions, a ban on price gouging for groceries and food, and a $6,000 tax credit for the first year of a new baby’s life.
Gel That Quickly Halts Severe Bleeding Gets FDA Clearance
Traumagel, from Cresilon, can be used for life-threatening injuries and could be a vital new tool for EMTs. Separately, the FDA approved a non-small cell lung cancer treatment from AstraZeneca.
Employer Health Plans Could See 9% Bump In Cost, Consulting Firm Predicts
An increase in high-dollar treatments and greater demand for prescription drugs are driving up costs for employers, the company says. Meanwhile, supply chain woes in 2023 hampered health providers’ ability to provide care to ailing patients.
First Medicare Drug Negotiations Are Done, But Round 2 Could Get Testier
Even as the results of Round 1 were released Thursday, pharmaceutical companies were already preparing for what will now become annual price negotiations with Medicare. With 15 drugs on the table in 2025, The Wall Street Journal reports that drugmakers are fighting aspects of the process.
Black Death, Bird Flu Among Diseases Posing Potential Pandemic Threat
The WHO’s watchlist of dangerous pathogens for the first time also includes bacteria such as salmonella and cholera. Also, despite concerns about the spread of bird flu to humans, dairy farmers remain reluctant to test their herds.
Mpox Variant Discovered Outside Africa On A Traveler To Sweden
The Swedish case marks the first time the virus has spread outside of Africa. This comes as Pakistan health officials say they’ve detected the virus in their country. Meanwhile, the world and vaccine makers are responding after the World Health Organization declared mpox a health emergency.
First Edition: Friday, Aug. 16, 2024
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Research Roundup: Antimicrobial Resistance; Pneumonia; Leukemia; Aging Immune Systems
Each week, KFF Health News compiles a selection of health policy studies and briefs.
Viewpoints: Our Kids Will Suffer From Our Climate Change Mistakes; HHS Is Merely ‘Climate Washing’
Opinion writers weigh in on these topics and others.
Fatal Overdoses In San Francisco Fall For Second Straight Month
With 10 fewer deaths in July, city officials are optimistic that the overdose crisis might be turning a corner. Separately, data show San Francisco’s homelessness problem is being driven more and more by drug and alcohol issues.
Eli Lilly Sends Cease-And-Desist Letters To Halt Sales Of Copycat Obesity Drugs
Also, Stat delves into questions about how Eli Lilly can keep innovating at a fast pace.
Employers Are Suing Aetna After Price Transparency Policies Show True Costs
As employers are gaining insight into insurers’ management via new price transparency policies, it’s triggering a wave a lawsuits from employers “plagued” by soaring health care spending, Modern Healthcare reports. In other industry news; Allstate, Elevance Health, AdventHealth, and more.
Rapidly Spreading Mpox In Africa Declared A Global Health Emergency
This is the second such declaration by the World Health Organization in two years, coming amid concerns over potential further spread in Africa and beyond. Also in the news: a West Nile virus case in Illinois; the summer covid wave; state fairs and bird flu; and more.
Bill Aiming To Boost Online Safety For Youths Stalls In Divided House
After easy passage in the Senate, the measure is running into a thornier path forward in the House, where some Republicans raised concerns about censorship and FTC powers.
Dementia Deaths Tripled Over Just 2 Decades In Alarming Trend: Study
In 1999, about 150,000 people in the U.S. died from dementia, but that number jumped to 450,000 by 2020. Related news stories report on how high blood pressure and shingles can affect cognition and Alzheimer’s risks as we age.
Brain Injury Study Findings Could Have Major Impact On Life-Support Choices
A study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine found that some unconscious people are aware of what’s happening around them, raising ethical questions about whether someone would want to live that way. Plus: A brain implant study has surpassed expectations.
Montana Minors May Seek Abortions Without Parent’s OK, Court Rules
Children deserve the same right to privacy as adults when making decisions affecting their bodies, the state Supreme Court says. Meanwhile, Arizona’s high court ruled that election materials regarding abortion may include the words “unborn human being” when referring to an embryo or fetus.
Biden Admin Touts Billions In Savings As It Debuts Medicare Drug Discounts
The discounts, which will take effect in 2026, are a major milestone for Democrats and will apply to 10 often-prescribed medications: Eliquis, Jardiance, Xarelto, Januvia, Farxiga, Entresto, Enbrel, Imbruvica, Stelara, and the insulins Fiasp and NovoLog.
First Edition: Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Read recent commentaries about pharmaceutical issues.
