Latest KFF Health News Stories
Naming Names: FDA Calls Out Drugmakers For Blocking Generics To Shame Them Into Better Behavior
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said the behavior of hindering other companies from making generic versions of blockbuster drugs is “gaming the system.”
Trump Administration Imposes New Abortion Restrictions On Federally Funded Family Planning Clinics
The policy would mirror similar restrictions in place during the Reagan administration. The policy has been derided as a “gag rule” by abortion rights supporters and medical groups, and it is likely to trigger lawsuits that could keep it from taking effect.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Research Roundup: Prescription For Drug Reform; Sexual Orientation and Depression in Adolescents
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
Editorial writers focus on these and other health issues:
Opinion writers weigh in on health topics surrounding the opioid crisis.
Longer Looks: Caregivers In Prison; Medicare For All; Drunken Driving Laws
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Media outlets report on news from Ohio, California, Massachusetts, Iowa, Missouri, New Hampshire, Mississippi, Illinois, Oregon and Florida.
At Site For Proposed Border Wall Sits A Community That’s Burdened By Poor Health
“We’re not just about the border wall or the river,” says Rose Timmer, a community advocate. “We’re about being fat, we’re about being poor, we’re about being illiterate.” Such advocates are working to improve the health of those who straddle the country line.
There’s Still Little Proof To Back Up Hype Over Combination Cancer Immunotherapies
All the buzz over combining experimental immune-boosting drugs with checkpoint inhibitors could fizzle into disappointment. In other public health news: eye treatments, aging athletes, the E. coli outbreak, hearing aids, and Ebola.
Screening Rates For Lung Cancer ‘Truly Abysmal,’ Study Finds
The rates for other screenings are usually between 60 to 80 percent, while less than 2 percent of patients are taking advantage of lung screenings which can catch cancer while its still curable.
Typically, Herceptin is used for a year to treat breast cancer patients, but a new study finds it is effective with six months of use. The drug can damage the heart, and so a shorter amount of time taking it can improve patients’ long-term health outcomes.
Medication-assisted treatment with buprenorphine, methadone and naltrexone is widely considered the most effective way to wean users off opioids, but a major barrier is getting people the treatment. “We can’t wait for addicts to come to us. We have to go to them and engage. And offer. And give support,” said Barbara Garcia, director of health for the city and county of San Francisco.
First Nonopioid Treatment To Ease Withdrawal Symptoms Approved By FDA
Regulators say that Lucemyra is not an addiction medicine but that it can be part of a longer-term treatment plan. “The physical symptoms of opioid withdrawal can be one of the biggest barriers for patients seeking help and ultimately overcoming addiction,” says Dr. Scot Gottlieb, the FDA’s commissioner.
House Sends VA Choice Expansion Bill To Senate
The funding for the program that allows veterans to seek care outside the Veterans Affairs system is set to run out at the end of the month. Top Senate lawmakers say they hope to pass the legislation before that deadline.
Vermont Legalizes Importation Of Drugs From Canada, But HHS Still Has To Approve Plan
The Trump administration has been vocal about its opposition to importing drugs from foreign countries as a way to lower costs, with HHS Secretary Alex Azar calling it a “gimmick.”
How Pharma Companies Build An Impenetrable Fortress Of Patents To Keep Generic Competition At Bay
“One of the barriers to competition that concerns me the most is when companies game the system by taking advantage of certain rules and laws,” FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has said. “They exploit loopholes in our system to delay generic entry. In these ways, they extend a drug’s monopoly beyond what Congress intended.” Meanwhile, despite any Medicare drug changes being a long shot, the pharmaceutical industry is worried.
High Premiums A Political Hot Potato As Rates For Next Year Start To Come Out
Democrats are planning to be “relentless” in making sure Americans know who is responsible for the high costs, but Republicans say liberal lawmakers should look in the mirror. Meanwhile, a coalition of state attorneys general from blue states was granted the right to intervene in the lawsuit that seeks to dismantle the Affordable Care Act.
“Every year I look at data and expect it will be the year that birthrates start to tick up, and every year we hit another all-time low” in the United States, says Kenneth M. Johnson, a demographer at the University of New Hampshire.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
