Latest KFF Health News Stories
First Edition: October 11, 2017
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Media outlets report on news from California, Ohio, Colorado, Virginia, Oregon, Minnesota, New Jersey, Texas and North Carolina.
Thousands Of Conn. Seniors, Disabled May Lose Help Paying For Medicare Under Budget Proposal
“For my folks, if they wind up losing this … it could make the difference between getting a prescription or having food on the table,” says lawyer Kevin Brophy.
Democratic Candidates Looking To Unseat Wis. Governor Vow To Expand Medicaid If They Win
Meanwhile, Gov. Scott Walker says doing so would send the state back into a recession.
Lack Of Mental Health Services Blamed For Disparity In Suicide Rates Between Rural, Urban Areas
Although the rates have been increasing all across the country, researchers found that rural areas are hit particularly hard. In other public health news: blood pressure, surgery scars, autism and smoke exposure.
Saline Shortage Looms After Hurricane Disrupts Production In Puerto Rico
Hospitals and others in the health industry are watching the aftermath of the hurricane with worried eyes because Puerto Rico is a hub of manufacturing for pharmaceuticals.
10 Years Ago This Lawyer Went Up Against Pharma Over Opioids And Won. Now He’s Ready For Round Two.
Back in 2007, Purdue settled with individual patients who alleged that it had underplayed the addiction risk of its medications. It was a huge case for lawyer Paul Hanly and a rare win against makers of painkillers. Now, in an entirely different landscape — one where these companies are becoming the targets of states who want to try to curb the national crisis — Hanly is gearing up to go again. Meanwhile, PBS looks at how the brain gets addicted to opioids in the first place.
California Governor Signs One Of Strictest Drug Transparency Bills In Nation
The pharmaceutical industry has fought hard to kill the legislation, and it will likely be a legal target now that the bill is law.
Washington Is Latest State To Sue Trump Administration Over Contraception Mandate Rollback
Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson says that the new rules violate the First Amendment by “requiring individuals to bear the burdens of religions to which they do not belong,” as well as the equal protection clause of the Fifth Amendment.
“We have yet to receive any explanation of the cut. We have met or exceeded every one of our performance metrics. There was never any feedback that gave us any indication that we were not going to receive the same amount,” says Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, the executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks. The Trump administration slashed funding for theses navigators by more than 40 percent nationally, with some places seeing cuts of nearly 90 percent.
First Edition: October 10, 2017
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Stopping Gun Violence; Helping Patients Once They Leave The Hospital
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Different Takes On The Health Law: Trump’s Determination; Undermining Cost Cutting
Opinion writers take a look at a variety of benefits and problems they see in the health law.
The Obama administration’s decisions about how to handle insurance coverage of contraception was controversial, and the rollback announced by the Trump administration is also sparking debate.
Media outlets report on news from California, Florida, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
States Experiment With New Approaches To Try To Combat The Opioid Crisis
Health and law enforcement officials in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia and Ohio continue to try new approaches in order to tackle the drug epidemic.
How Cracking The Code Behind The Body’s Internal Clock Could Help Prevent Poor Health
Scientists are working to understand how the body’s clock affects disease, heart attacks, obesity and more health problems. In other public health news: breast cancer, health care marketing, flu shots, heart disease, and more.
Frequency Of Gun Shot Wounds In America Provide ‘Ideal Trauma Training’ For Military Surgeons
The training programs “reflect the reality that you have 34,000 to 35,000 people who die of a gunshot a year, and also two to three times that many who are injured,” said Sandro Galea, dean of Boston University’s School of Public Health.
U.S. One Of Only Seven Countries That Allows Elective Abortions After 20 Weeks
The Washington Post fact-checks this particular talking point and finds it passes the Pinocchio test.
