Latest KFF Health News Stories
Puerto Rico’s Governor Acknowledges Hurricane Maria Official Death Toll Was Nearly 3,000, Not 64
While higher fatality figures have been debated for nearly a year, Puerto Rico’s government didn’t officially recognize them until the release of a new report Tuesday. Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said he would move immediately to improve the process for certifying deaths and communicating information among public and private health workers.
America’s Uninsured Numbers Hold Fairly Steady, While Geographical Disparity Remains Stark
In south central states, nearly a quarter of adults lack insurance. In other health law news, Republicans are hopeful that they have another chance at repeal following the death of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), and the Trump administration pays New York and Minnesota money to help stabilize their marketplaces.
First Edition: August 29, 2018
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial pages focus on these health issues and others.
Opinion writers express views about how to lower health care costs and provide quality care.
Media outlets report on news from California, Illinois, Oregon, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Iowa and Wyoming.
Court Records Detail Jacksonville Shooter’s History Of Mental Illness As An Adolescent
Divorce records show David Katz played video games obsessively, often refusing to go to school or to bathe. His mother reported when she took his game controllers away, she’d find him walking in circles in early morning hours. In other news, lawmakers in California approve new gun restrictions and bans, including to those involuntarily placed in psychiatric hospitals.
Many Studies Fail Reproducibility Tests Again In Social Sciences And Psychology, So What’s Up?
Rather than view the studies that aren’t able to be replicated as troublesome, scientists say they can predict the losers and regard the flawed research as a way to help accelerate the process of science.
New technology is helping women pinpoint their fertility window with more accuracy. In other public health news: evolution, video games, the flu, “rose hip” neurons, Advil, and more.
Advocates Warn Nationwide Study On Sepsis Treatment Endangers Patients, Should Be Halted
Doctors currently struggle to find the “sweet spot” in treating patients who contract the life-threatening infection. But Public Citizen says the massive study’s benefits won’t outweigh its risks.
A series of legal challenges against universities’ policies on students’ mental health highlights the way the organizations struggle to respond to the young people in need. In other mental health news, conversion therapy is getting attention because of big-screen movies as states work to limit and ban the practice.
An Added Bonus To New Drugs That Cure Hep C? More Organs Available For Transplant
“This is going to have the biggest impact we’ve seen in decades,” said Dr. Christopher Sciortino, of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Now that there are drugs to cure the disease, patients can receive the organs and then take the treatments to rid themselves of the virus.
“My pain exceeded my ability to handle it,” Jon Fowlkes said after he was cut off from his opioid prescription. “We had a very frank discussion. … We even discussed what gun I would use.” Fowlkes is one of many chronic pain patients who feel angry and betrayed by the recent efforts to curb the opioid epidemic.
“We are arresting people who have no idea what the laws are or the rules are because they’re off their medications,” said Nashville Sheriff Daron Hall, a vice president of the National Sheriffs’ Association. “You’d never arrest someone for a heart attack, but you’re comfortable arresting someone who is diagnosed mentally ill. No other country in the world is doing it this way.” The Virginian-Pilot investigates the issue.
Toddler Died After Contracting Infection At ICE Detention Center, Law Firm Claims
The mother and her one-year-old daughter, Mariee, were held at a facility in Dilley, Texas in March, and the girl died of viral pneumonitis about six weeks after her release. “A mother lost her little girl because ICE and those running the Dilley immigration prison failed them inexcusably,” said R. Stanton Jones, a partner at the D.C. law firm representing the family.
Billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong promised great improvements for the struggling Verity Health System when he took it over last year. Now it stands on the edge of bankruptcy.
Health Care Costs Among Hardships Weighing On Americans Even In Strong Economy
A surprising number of Americans are unable to pay for basic needs such as health care, a new survey finds. In other news on health care costs, a few employers are offering workers a unique benefit: help paying for stem cell storage.
GOP’s Proposed Bill To Protect Preexisting Conditions Opens Republican Candidates Up To Attack
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) says that with the legislation Republicans are admitting that patients would be harmed by the suit currently in the courts against the health law. Meanwhile, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) spoke out about the proposed bill, saying it doesn’t properly address essential benefits protections.
First Edition: August 28, 2018
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial pages weigh in on health care policies.
