Latest KFF Health News Stories
Watchdog Finds FDA Properly Conducted Review Of Abortion Pill When Relaxing Guidelines
The FDA’s decision to lower the dosage to 200 milligrams from 600 milligrams, decrease the number of visits a woman must make to her doctor to two from three, and extend the amount of time to take the drug from seven weeks to 10 weeks had drawn fire from anti-abortion activists and Republicans.
Former CVS Executive To Lead HHS’ Efforts To Curb High Drug Prices
Daniel Best will lead the HHS’ initiatives to tackle drug prices, a key talking point in President Donald Trump’s campaign and presidency. Meanwhile, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has mapped out his plan to get more biosimilars to the marketplace, and students want UCLA to ease access to a prostate cancer drug developed on campus.
New CDC Chief Embraces Science, Vows To Tackle AIDS Epidemic And Opioid Crisis In Emotional Speech
“I’m a little nervous. I’m an outsider,” CDC Director Robert Redfield said in an address to the agency during his second day on the job. “I didn’t grow up here in CDC, but I hope you accept me as a member of the family and accept my wife, because we’re here to serve side by side with you.”
Walmart In Preliminary Talks To Buy Humana Amid Flurry Of Acquisitions, Mergers In Health Industry
If there’s a deal—and if regulators and shareholders approve it—Walmart would transform overnight into one of the nation’s largest health insurers.
David Shulkin has been outspoken about his belief that he’s been targeted by political foes within the agency. But there’s an unspoken rule in Washington that ousted cabinet secretaries should go quietly into the night. Shulkin is taking a different approach.
Although Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson, President Donald Trump’s physician and pick to lead the embattled Department of Veterans Affairs, has been praised for his expertise as a doctor, critics point out that he does not have much management experience.
Whether to privatize care for veterans has become a hot-button topic, especially since billionaire conservative brothers Charles and David Koch turned their attention to the cause. Former Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin earned the esteem of veterans’ groups for fighting against that tide, but with a new secretary poised to take over, the future is unclear.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Longer Looks: Opioids And Prisons; Lie Detectors; And Legal Marijuana
Each week, KHN finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Opinion writers focus on these and other health topics.
Media outlets report on news from Texas, Maryland, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Ohio, Massachusetts, Washington, Georgia and Kansas.
Kansas Regulators Move To Take Over 15 Insolvent Nursing Homes, Protect Hundreds Of Residents
The operator of the nursing homes, New Jersey-based Skyline Health Care, told the state it cannot make upcoming payroll. Skyline’s financial troubles also persist in Nebraska, which moved last week to take over 21 nursing homes across the state.
‘Red Flag’ Bill To Seize Guns From People Who Are An Imminent Threat Moves Forward In Delaware
Meanwhile, in Virginia, lawmakers urge county leaders to enforce ordinances about not driving with a loaded shotgun or rifle.
The number is at least twice what facility leaders had originally estimated.
Link Between SIDS And Rare Genetic Mutation Leaves Some Families More Vulnerable Than Others
The paper stressed, though, that genetics is just one of the factors that can lead to sudden and unexpected infant deaths. In other public health news: tumors, the flu, weight-loss surgery, melanoma, and hearing loss.
Possible Merger To Create Nation’s Largest Owner Of Hospitals Now Shelved
Ascension and Providence St. Joseph Health are putting talks on hold to focus on internal restructuring.
Vermont’s Heralded Drug Prices Transparency Bill Disappoints Nearly Two Years In
“We took a first step toward transparency, but it wasn’t substantial enough to give us anything of true value,” said Vermont state lawmaker William Lippert. In other news FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb wants to get biosimilars to the market faster, and Democrats prepare to use high drug prices as a campaign message.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) urged her colleagues to “amplify the truth” about Republicans’ actions on Medicare.
The combination of Medicaid and public-employee health and retirement costs consumes about one out of every five tax dollars collected by state and local governments, which is the highest share since Medicaid was created in 1965.
Lawmakers Aim To Get Opioid Package To Floor In May Saying ‘Time Is Of The Essence’
Passing legislation on opioids — a rare bipartisan issue — could give lawmakers a victory they can tout come the 2018 midterm elections. In other news on the crisis: fentanyl-laced cocaine, treatment programs, death certificates, and take-back programs.
