Morning Breakouts

Latest KFF Health News Stories

A Few Missed Doses Of Testosterone End In Happy Accident For Transgender Man

Morning Briefing

Trans men have conceived on purpose, but Tanner isn’t one of them. He didn’t suspect he was pregnant until the morning sickness hit. It was a shock, but he and his partner said that from the start, there was no doubt that they wanted the baby.

Video Games Are Designed To Get People Hooked. Now That Addiction Is Being Officially Recognized By Medical Field.

Morning Briefing

The World Health Organization says that compulsively playing video games now qualifies as a new mental health condition. “It’s going to untie our hands in terms of treatment, in that we’ll be able to treat patients and get reimbursed,” said Dr. Petros Levounis, the chairman of the psychiatry department at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. Meanwhile, developers are trying to cure our addiction to our smartphones with an app.

Drugmaker Donated Anti-Overdose Injectors To Police In PR Windfall. The Problem: They Were Set To Expire.

Morning Briefing

Police departments are left throwing away the auto-injectors because they couldn’t use them fast enough. “You might as well begin filling out the paperwork [right away] to get them replaced,” said Sgt. Robert Parsons. In other news on the national addiction epidemic: the White House drug office, opioid bills in Congress, first responders, and more.

Takeaways From Work Requirements’ Day In Court: Decision Hinges On The Purpose Of Medicaid

Morning Briefing

A group of activists are suing the Trump administration over its approval of Kentucky’s waiver request to add work requirements to its Medicaid program. Many states are watching closely to see what the court decides.

As Long-Serving Public Official, VA Nominee Entrenched In ‘Swamp’ Trump Once Said He Wanted To Drain

Morning Briefing

But many say that’s a good thing. “The president is beginning to understand that in order to deal with the swamp, you have to have some people who understand how the swamp works,” said Trent Lott (R., Miss.), a former Senate majority leader. “The idea that anybody who has worked in Washington shouldn’t be involved in Washington is absolutely the wrong way to go.” Robert Wilkie is expected to be approved to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs.

NIH Yanks Alcohol Study That Was Mired In Controversy Because Scientists Courted Industry To Fund It

Morning Briefing

“Many people who have seen this working-group report were frankly shocked to see so many lines crossed,” said NIH Director Francis Collins, calling the staff interaction with the alcohol industry “far out of bounds.”

After Years Of Turmoil, Iowans Buying Individual Coverage Will Have Choices

Morning Briefing

Medica, which was the sole provider of coverage in Iowa under the health law this year, announced it will stay in the marketplace. Wellmark has also announced it will resume selling individual policies next year.

Criminal Charges Filed Against Theranos’ Founder Elizabeth Holmes, Ex-President Ramesh Balwani

Morning Briefing

Elizabeth Holmes and the company’s No. 2 Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani were each charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and nine counts of wire fraud in an indictment handed up Thursday and unsealed Friday.

Separating Migrant Children From Parents Can Cause ‘Irreplaceable Harm,’ Medical Experts Say

Morning Briefing

Children who are forcibly taken from their parents have demonstrated links to asthma, obesity and cancer, in addition to tendencies toward substance abuse, developmental delays and mental health issues. The Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance policy” of detaining adults attempting to cross into the U.S. has resulted in the division of families traveling with children.

Texas Abortion Clinics Challenge Dozens Of ‘Restrictive’ Abortion Laws, Some Created 20 Years Ago

Morning Briefing

The Whole Women’s Health Alliance, which won a landmark U.S. Supreme Court Case in 2016, filed the lawsuit Thursday, stating the state’s abortion restrictions put “medically unnecessary burdens on patients, require doctors to lie to their patients and have led to clinics being shut down.” Among the old Texas laws being newly challenged are requirements that only doctors and not clinic staff can perform abortions, licensing standards, required ultrasounds in which the image of the fetus is shown to the patient and 24-hour waiting periods.