Morning Breakouts

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Dirty Irrigation Canal Water Tied To Romaine Lettuce E. Coli Outbreak That Spread To 36 States

Morning Briefing

While unable to link the largest outbreak since 2006 to a single farm in the Arizona’s Yuma region, the Food and Drug Administration did find a genetic match to the bacteria in canals serving the area. The harvest season there has ended.

After Learning About Topless Dancers Events, Sen. Murray Pushes Pharma Industry On Plans To Fight Gender Discrimination

Morning Briefing

In other news on the pharmaceutical industry, Acceleron experimental blood disease drug hits goal, conflicts of interest of top policy expert often goes undisclosed, and pharmacies face a shortage of more effective shingles vaccine through 2018.

Amazon’s $1B Purchase Of PillPack Offers Another Hint At Company’s Ambitious Health Care Plans

Morning Briefing

Amazon announced that it is buying PillPack, which sells pre-sorted packets of prescriptions drugs, delivering them to customers in their homes. The news seemed to be a confirmation of the worst fears of some in the industry — that Amazon is going to make an aggressive play for a chunk of the pharmacy business. But actually disrupting the health care industry will be a challenge.

All Eyes Are On Collins And Murkowski As Fate Of Roe V. Wade Hinges On Who Fills Kennedy’s Seat

Morning Briefing

Abortion rights advocates are uniting behind a rallying cry of: “Remember Susan Collins! Remember Lisa Murkowski!” The two senators have a history of supporting abortions rights, and will be pivotal in the vote on whomever President Donald Trump chooses to fill Anthony Kennedy’s seat. Meanwhile, without a filibuster option, Democrats are scrambling to figure out how to have a say, and anti-abortion rights activists plot their strategy.

White House Plan Would Slash Public Health Corps That Responds To Disasters, Disease Outbreaks

Morning Briefing

“I don’t quite understand the animosity toward the Commissioned Corps,” said Jim Currie, executive director of the Commissioned Officers Association of the U.S. Public Health Service. “These folks are doing day jobs” — at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health and elsewhere within the government — “and when they’re needed, they go and deploy and work their butts off for 12 to 14 hours a day.” In other public health news: genealogical sleuthing; cancer patients who defy the odds; bird flu research, mid-life fitness benefits, cancer care for older patients and circadian lighting.

Texas Patients, Families Detail Experiences With How Managed Care Companies Failed Them

Morning Briefing

Texas state lawmakers called a hearing about the companies after an investigation found that the MCOs failed to provide care for vulnerable Texans. Medicaid news comes out of Kentucky, Missouri and Iowa, as well.

Even People With Mild Pre-Existing Conditions — Like An Old Smoking Habit — Could Face Higher Premiums

Morning Briefing

Republicans’ latest attempt to chip away at the health law involves the administration backing away from defending the pre-existing conditions provision in court. If upheld, the effects could be more wide-ranging than some might expect. In other health law news, high deductibles mean some families are putting off getting care.

As Pressure Mounts From All Sides, Purdue May Be Cutting Back On Marketing For Opioids

Morning Briefing

In 2016, drugmakers spent $15.8 million to pay doctors for speaking, consulting, meals and travel related to opioid drugs. That was down 33 percent from $23.7 million in 2015 and is 21 percent less than the $19.9 million in spent in 2014. Meanwhile, federal regulators want internet companies to take a bigger role in fighting the epidemic.

Administration Draws Line In The Sand With Denial Of Massachusetts’ Bold Experiment To Cut Drug Prices

Morning Briefing

Massachusetts wanted to exclude some drugs from coverage under its Medicaid program — a common negotiating tactic for private insurers looking to avoid paying for costly therapies. The Trump administration decided that the proposal goes too far, handing the pharmaceutical industry a win.

HHS Inspector General To Investigate Safety And Health Protections In Shelters For Migrant Children

Morning Briefing

GAO will also launch an investigation into the way HHS tracked minors in the system. HHS and DHS have been widely criticized for a seemingly haphazard approach to family separations. In other news: a look at how separations affect children’s well-being, a judge’s ruling on reunification, toddlers in court by themselves, and more.