Latest KFF Health News Stories
Global Health Security Team Disbanded After Departure Of Official Overseeing Pandemic Preparedness
The moves come at a time when experts are already warning that the country is underprepared to handle a major public health crisis.
Feeling Marginalized In Massive Opioid Lawsuit, Native Americans Request Own Day In Court
Native American tribes are among those the opioid epidemic has hit the hardest, though scant attention has been paid to how the crisis is ripping through their communities. At least 20 tribes have formally sued opioid manufacturers and distributors, with at least 10 more suits expected to be filed soon. In other news on the crisis: discarded syringes; staffing shortages’ effects on regulating opioids coming into the country; the impact of the epidemic on rural communities; and more.
New enthusiasm for adding work requirements to states’ Medicaid program is running headlong into Native American rights. HHS’ legal office has made the judgment that exempting Native Americans from the rules would be an illegal racial preference. But some other agency officials and Republicans in Congress don’t share that view. Meanwhile, one GOP lawmaker is calling for mandatory work requirements for all Medicaid beneficiaries.
Tennessee Bill Will Allow Drug Companies To Market Their Products For Off-Label Uses
Pharmaceutical companies traditionally have been restricted from distributing information about off-label uses to doctors, which they say is a violation of free speech. Critics, however, are worried that more freedom for the drugmakers could jeopardize patient safety.
More details are emerging over what the drug company paid to try to gain insight into President Donald Trump’s health strategy. CEO Vasant Narasimhan wrote to employees that he understood they felt “disappointed and frustrated.”
Short-Term Plans Are Same Ones Obama Had For Eight Years, HHS Secretary Says In Face Of Criticism
Democrats say the Trump administration’s proposal to extend short-term plans will weaken the marketplace by allowing healthy people to buy coverage that’s not compliant with the health law. But HHS Secretary Alex Azar says it’s just returning to a status quo that only changed in 2017. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump hints the White House has some “great health plans” coming out in the next few weeks, but didn’t go into details.
Proposals In Trump’s Long-Awaited Speech On Curbing Drug Prices Only Expected To Have Modest Impact
President Donald Trump is expected to focus on pharmacy benefit managers, foreign governments and generic drugs in his speech today. He’s reportedly backed away from a campaign talking point on allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices. Critics have been quick to point out that the proposals will do little to rock the pharma industry, which Trump once claimed was “getting away with murder.”
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial writers focus on these and other health topics.
Longer Looks: The Rise Of Juul; Children Of The Opioid Epidemic; And New Motherhood
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Media outlets report on news from Missouri, New Hampshire, Florida, Louisiana, Connecticut, Virginia, Arizona, Tennessee, Minnesota, Texas, Massachusetts, California, Puerto Rico and Colorado.
In Romaine Lettuce E-Coli Outbreak, Four More States Report Ilnesses
Florida, Minnesota, North Dakota and Texas are among the 29 states reporting at least one case, but it’s unclear if new illnesses are still occurring because there’s a lag time in the reporting.
The Virus That’s Been Plaguing Humans Since The Bronze Age
Researchers have recovered DNA from the oldest viruses known to have infected humans. The discovery may provide clues to the continuing evolution of hepatitis B, a disease that infects an estimated 257 million people worldwide. In other public health news: breast-feeding, medical devices, pregnancy and labor, assisted suicide, and Ebola.
You Could Be Exposed To Third-Hand Smoke Even In Places That Haven’t Allowed Cigarettes In Decades
Tobacco residue can cling to surfaces and then move around the room. Research on the health effects of third-hand smoke suggests it could be harmful, but data remains scarce and mostly limited to studies involving mice.
Zika Screening Test With $137M Price Tag Only Detected 8 Units Of Infected Donated Blood
The current policy requires the Red Cross and other blood suppliers to test each donation they receive individually, which accounts for the high cost, and the blood system operators would like to be able to dial back that screening.
Gabapentin was involved in more than a third of Kentucky overdose deaths last year. The pills enhance the euphoric effects of heroin and when taken alone in high doses can produce a marijuana-like high. In other news on the crisis: the judge overseeing a massive combined lawsuit against drugmakers plans to hold a brief open-court session; the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday approved 25 opioid-related bills; and more.
Those who could be affected by the Medicaid cuts include about 19,000 people who live in nursing homes. Meanwhile, a proposed federal bill would allow the government to fine drugmakers for providing incorrect information to Medicaid.
Different Insurers Are Paying Hospitals Widely Varying Prices For The Same Procedures
The findings shine a light on the back-end negotiations and contracts between dominant hospitals and insurers. Meanwhile, HHS Secretary Alex Azar promises to make value-based care models easier to sustain, and an alliance is trying to combat the trend of hospitals buying up doctors’ practices.
Gilead Delayed Development Of Safer HIV Drug To Profit Off Monopoly, Lawsuit Claims
The lawsuit says that HIV patients suffered from as many as 10 years of “additional accumulated kidney and bone toxicity” while using the drug tenofovir as the company kept the less-toxic version on a shelf in its lab.
FDA Seeks Court Orders To Stop Firms From Providing Unproven Stem Cell Treatments
The lawsuits target Stem Cell Treatment Center, with two locations in Southern California, and U.S. Stem Cell Clinic of Sunrise, Fla. The clinics remove fat from patients’ bellies by liposuction and then inject an extract of it into various parts of the body like knees or the spinal cord.
