Latest KFF Health News Stories
Trump Administration Value-Based Rule Expected To Force ACOs To Adapt Or Bolt
The National Association of ACOs signals that the Health and Human Services plan will cause affordable care organizations to leave Medicare’s Shared Savings Program. News outlets also report on industry news surrounding a heart valve procedure that is saving lives, a Q2 drop in bankruptcies and a “tidal wave of change” predicted from Colorado companies.
Schizophrenia Drug Discovery Has Scared Off Many Researchers, But This Group Is Taking On Challenge
A lack of understanding about the disease’s physiology makes creating new medicines difficult. “So we hope to revolutionize the way schizophrenics are being treated. … We hope to give these people their lives back,” Remy Luthringer, CEO of Boston-based Minerva Neurosciences, tells Stat. In other biotech and pharmaceutical news: companies thrive in Minnesota. And production resumes at a troubled Pfizer plant.
First Generic Version Of EpiPen Injector Approved By FDA And Could Lower Cost Of Drug
Teva gets approval from the Food and Drug Administration to sell its version of the epinephrine auto-injector, but hasn’t yet revealed its pricing. Mylan, the manufacturer of the brand-name EpiPen, has faced public criticism and congressional investigations for raising the price of its lifesaving drug 450 percent since 2004.
Senators Challenge Azar On Assertion That Middlemen Are Preventing Drugmakers From Lowering Prices
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) are seeking a response from the secretary of Health and Human Services about his answers in recent congressional testimony.
The Worst Year For Drug-Overdose Deaths — 2017
Vox reports that, according to preliminary data, more than 72,000 people died from drug overdoses, and The Washington Post details how the synthetic opioid fentanyl contributes to the United States’ vulnerability. Also in the news, reports about how Purdue Pharma downplayed addiction risks of opioid painkillers and new Food and Drug Administration warnings about how some pet owners use their pets to gain access to these powerful drugs.
Trump Wants To Take Opioid Manufacturers To Court
During a White House cabinet meeting on Thursday, President Donald Trump signaled his desire to join the litigation scrum by asking Attorney General Jeff Sessions to file a federal lawsuit against certain pharmaceutical companies involved in the supply and manufacture of opioids. Trump said he preferred pursuing a federal lawsuit rather than joining existing actions filed by states.
HHS Faces Criticism From Senate Investigation For Not Ensuring The Safety Of Unaccompanied Minors
In Senate testimony, though, one agency official asked members of a Senate subcommittee to not make the Department of Health and Human Services a “law enforcement agency.”
Republicans supporting the suit filed by attorneys general in a federal court in Texas say they will find other ways to protect consumers with medical problems but they haven’t shown yet how they would do that. News outlets also look at premiums that have been announced for 2019 plans and the administration’s efforts to reshape Medicaid.
First Edition: August 17, 2018
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial pages focus on these health topics and others.
Longer Looks: Meth In Alaska; The Health Care Election; And American Epidemics
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Media outlets report on news from California, D.C., Washington, Texas, Maryland, Minnesota, Tennessee, New Hampshire and Florida.
The students are reaching out to local activists and communities, preaching a message of fixing the underlying problems of gun violence and registering voters across the country. In other news: the problems with sitting, the mysterious illnesses in Cuba, robot peer pressure, and weight loss.
Long-Term Health Benefits Of Quitting Smoking Eclipse Negative Effects From Any Weight Gain
The nicotine in cigarettes can suppress appetite and boost metabolism, and many smokers who quit who don’t step up their exercise find they eat more and gain weight. In other news on smoking, a study reports no amount of secondhand smoke is safe.
Traces Of Herbicide Found In Popular Children’s Cereals, Other Breakfast Foods
Federal regulators maintain that glyphosate does not cause cancer, but in 2015 the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer declared it a probable carcinogen.
Under the health law, there are penalties on hospitals for avoidable readmissions. Providing support for family caregivers could help keep patients from having to come back to the facility. Meanwhile, some hospitals are revamping to become more energy efficient, and they’re saving millions.
GreatCall also helps seniors obtain concierge-type and emergency services. Best Buy has already dipped a toe into the health care field with its health-and-wellness products.
Possible Mass Exodus Brewing At Gilead As Another Top Official Announces Departure
The moves add to growing investor unease over the health of large biotech companies, which are being pushed to find successors for aging blockbuster drugs. In other pharmaceutical news: Pfizer invests in a better flu vaccine; a startup struggles to build interest by male doctors for a drug that benefits women; and a deeper look at CAR-T therapy.
Special Oversight Of Gene Therapies To Be Rolled Back As Treatment Becomes More Commonplace
Experts are wary because while the therapies have provided some miraculous success, there have also been spectacular failures. Health officials, however, say that the FDA can provide enough oversight and extra supervision from the NIH is no longer needed.
The overall numbers are grim — 72,000 Americans died from a fatal overdose last year. But deaths in some states that had already adjusted to the addition of more deadly, synthetic opioids to the drug supply overdoses are going down.
