Latest KFF Health News Stories
Long, Unusually Intense Flu Season Was Deadliest For Kids In Nearly A Decade
About half the children who died were previously healthy. They didn’t have a diagnosed health condition that might have made them more vulnerable to the flu, the CDC said.
The study on the health benefits of daily, moderate drinking garnered a lot of attention after it was reported government scientists courted the alcohol industry to help fund it.
Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain’s deaths came just days before the CDC released startling statistics about the rate of suicide in the country. Experts are left trying to figure out what has gone wrong.
A Gift For Democrats? Moderate Republicans Cringe Over Trump Administration’s Health Law Decision
The Justice Department’s announcement that it won’t defend the health law provision that protects people with pre-existing conditions hands a potentially powerful political weapon to the Democrats ahead of the midterm elections. Meanwhile, media outlets take a look at how the decision will affect the marketplace, and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra vows to redouble his energies defending the law.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: CDC Report On Suicides Skirts Key Prevention Strategy: Regulate Guns
Opinion writers look at the rising rate of suicides and other health issues.
Opinion writers focus on physician-assisted suicides.
Editorial pages look at these and other health policies.
Media outlets report on news out of Georgia, California, Ohio, Maryland, Massachusetts and Florida.
Pulse First Responders Raise Awareness Of PTSD In Emergency Personnel
One of the difficulties when tackling the issue is that PTSD in first responders can be cumulative over a career of triggering incidents, rather than from one large event. Right now, legislation exists to try to help the personnel, but it has its limitations.
AMA Poised To Vote On Whether Birth Control Should Be Sold Without A Prescription
There’s been recent pressure on drugmakers to provide the contraception over the counter, and the physicians may be the latest to join in the movement. In other pharmaceutical news, another drugmaker has agreed to pay a penalty over its relationship with patient charities.
The Cost Of Louisiana Defending Its Anti-Abortion Laws In Recent Years: More Than $1 Million
And it’s expected to spend more as cases make their way through the judicial system. Meanwhile, leaders at Missouri-area Planned Parenthood offices denounced the proposed changes to the federal Title X family funding program.
One More Dangerous Complication Of The Opioid Epidemic: Superbugs
Infections are on the rise among those who inject drugs. MRSA “is on the skin, and as the needle goes into the skin it brings the bacteria with it,” explained Dr. Isaac See of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In other news on the epidemic: the White House launches a public service ad campaign, the ACLU sues to require jails to provide withdrawal medication to prisoners, and states are moving forward with efforts to curb the crisis even as they keep an eye on federal legislation.
Buffett Touts CEO Pick For Health-Care Venture: ‘We Have An Outstanding Individual’
The leaders of the three businesses involved in the health care partnership are likely to announce the CEO in a few weeks. The venture, which was announced in January, was created to find a way to trim health care costs.
The bill President Donald Trump signed into law Wednesday is not going to hold up to his promises, won’t be funded and will further frustrate many veterans, according to a report from The Associated Press.
Whether to expand the program has been a contentious question in Virginia, even holding up the budget negotiations this spring. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) signed the legislation Thursday, making Virginia the 33rd state to expand Medicaid.
Mysterious Brain Injuries Prompt State Department To Issue Health Alert For All Of China
U.S. personnel have experienced symptoms of a mysterious illness after hearing strange sounds. American diplomats had experienced similar symptoms in Cuba, and the United States said the Americans were targets of “specific attacks” there.
The test — which detects changes in RNA circulating in a pregnant woman’s blood — estimates due dates within two weeks in nearly half the cases, making it as accurate as the current, more expensive method. In other public health news: vaping, tonsillectomies, HPV vaccines, depression, the plague, e-cigarettes and Zika.
CDC researchers emphasized in their report that more than half of those suicides were committed by people who had not been diagnosed with a mental health disorder. Noting that suicide is “very rare” among those with chronic depression, they said friends, families and co-workers should not overlook the risk of self-harm among those who have never been diagnosed with mental illness.
Trump’s Proposed $15B In Spending Cuts Passes Through House On Closer-Than-Expected Vote
Some lawmakers have been reluctant to pass the legislation as it targets unused funds for the popular CHIP program. But the measure, which passed 210-206, would take a mostly symbolic whack at government spending because it would basically eliminate leftover funding that wouldn’t have been spent anyway.
