Morning Breakouts

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Washington Insider Kavanaugh Has Been A Conservative Powerhouse As A Judge

Morning Briefing

Media outlets take a look at Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s history and his views on hot-button topics. “If there has been a partisan political fight that needed a good lawyer in the last decade, Brett Kavanaugh was probably there,” Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said at Kavanaugh’s first confirmation hearing, in 2004.

Trump Nominates Brett Kavanaugh For Kennedy’s Open Seat, Despite Ties To The Bush White House

Morning Briefing

At the nomination ceremony, Judge Brett Kavanaugh said that his “judicial philosophy is straightforward. A judge must be independent and must interpret the law, not make the law. A judge must interpret statutes as written. And a judge must interpret the Constitution as written, informed by history and tradition and precedent.”

The Superbug Era: Big-Gun Antibiotics Being Used To Treat Gonorrhea Which Used To Be Taken Out By Single Pill

Morning Briefing

A case study of a man who traveled to Thailand and picked up a strain paints a grim picture of what lays ahead in terms of treatment. The only drugs that worked were expensive and intensive to administer. In other public health news: egg freezing, relationships and health, nutrition, aphasia, Zika, retirement communities, and more.

Study On Opioids, Criminal Justice System Highlights Need To Have Law Enforcement Engaged In Fighting Crisis

Morning Briefing

Although a large number of people who have a substance abuse disorder are in the system, most jails and prisons don’t offer medication-assisted treatment. The study’s author urges alternatives to incarceration for people with addictions. “We need a response that will ideally prevent people from entering the criminal justice system,” he says. News on the epidemic comes out of Tennessee and Massachusetts, as well.

Brothers Claim Small Contracting Firm Let Them Go Because Of Their Expensive Blood Disorder

Morning Briefing

Signature Industrial Services, however, says the decision was nonmedical and a part of a larger reduction in workforce. As bigger companies start relying on smaller firms to fill in worker gaps, issues over expensive health care coverage can become a flash point.

Medicaid Expansion Poised To Go Before Nebraska Voters In November

Morning Briefing

Advocates have been working in several states on the new strategy of taking expansion right to the voters with ballot initiatives. News on Medicaid comes out of Kentucky, Connecticut and Iowa, as well.

South Carolina Governor Cuts $16M In Health Funding From Budget To Limit Money Going To Abortion Providers

Morning Briefing

Critics, however, say that Planned Parenthood receives less than $100,000 from what was cut. Even some Republicans called the move shortsighted since so little goes to the organization in the first place and removing it from the spending plan could mean less money for things like law enforcement or help for families with children with autism.

Alzheimer’s Drug Results Send Stocks Soaring, But Experts Temper Expectations After String Of Failures Against Disease

Morning Briefing

Biogen and Eisai announced that the drug slowed the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and reduced the amount of clumps of a protein called beta amyloid that build up in the brains of patients. The data cheered even skeptics that have been burned by decades of failed Alzheimer’s drugs. But they did warn about getting too excited, as the study is preliminary.

America Tries To Upend Global Resolution On Breast-Feeding With Threats Of Trade Retaliation

Morning Briefing

The resolution on the benefits of breast-feeding from the World Health Assembly was expected to pass easily, but U.S. officials resorted to threats after their attempts to water the measure down failed. In the end, Russia stepped in to introduce the resolution.

Risk Their Own Seats Or Demoralize Liberal Voters? Red-State Dems Caught Between Rock And Hard Place

Morning Briefing

The upcoming battle over the Supreme Court nominee may prove tricky for Democratic senators who come from more conservative states. “You deserve a senator who doesn’t just talk like he’s from Montana,” President Donald Trump said as he stepped up pressure on one of the senators, Jon Tester, the conservative state’s two-term Democrat. “You deserve a senator who actually votes like he’s from Montana.”

Trump Holds Cards Close To Chest, Stokes The Dramatics Surrounding Supreme Court Nomination

Morning Briefing

President Donald Trump says that he will make a decision today before a televised event announcing the pick. The four judges on the short-list are Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Thomas Hardiman and Raymond Kethledge. Kavanaugh was at one point rumored to be the front-runner, but it’s unclear if that’s still the case.

Administration Freezes Program That Pays Billions To Insurers To Help Stabilize Health Law Marketplaces

Morning Briefing

Trump administration officials said they decided to suspend payments under the program because of a ruling in February from a Federal District Court in New Mexico. The judge tossed out the formula used to calculate payments, finding that it was flawed. Insurers warned that the move will have a detrimental effect on the marketplaces just as the companies are setting premiums for next year.