Latest KFF Health News Stories
50 Years Ago, Colorado ‘Pushed On A Half-Open Door’ And Became First State To Loosen Abortion Rules
In 1967, state Rep. Richard Lamm introduced legislation that would make abortion legal beyond cases when the woman’s life was at stake. Media outlets also report on abortion news out of Illinois, Minnesota and Tennessee.
Cases Of Malaria At U.S. Hospitals Higher Than Expected
Experts believe immigrants and travelers, who have lost their childhood immunity by living in America for some time, are returning to their home countries not expecting to need protection from the disease. Then they come back to the U.S. infected.
These Patients Weren’t Expected To Survive, But In Doing So They Changed The Trajectory Of Medicine
Stat talks with Dr. Brian J. Druker and his patients who were some of the first to be shifted away from a scorched-earth treatment of cancer to precision medicine. In other public health news: mapping the brain’s neurons, the dangers of nursery products, long-term birth control, genital mutilation and more.
FDA Nominee Played Role In Pushing More Fentanyl Into Circulation, Critics Claim
Scott Gottlieb’s part in getting Cephalon, a company that makes lollipops for cancer patients in extreme pain, more opioids lends itself to established concerns that the Trump administration’s pick to head the Food and Drug Administration is too closely tied to the drug industry. In other news on the opioid epidemic, special schools are helping teens stay sober and the use of painkillers in the middle-aged and elderly is skyrocketing.
Physicians Seek Modifications In Medicare’s New Plans For Payment
The doctors are hoping that in rules expected soon the federal government will ease requirements for small practices to participate in the new Medicare payment options offering higher risk and higher financial reward. Also, some hospitals are asking the federal government to make some bundled-payment programs voluntary.
Gov. Walker Seeks To Make Wisconsin First State To Impose Drug Testing For Medicaid
Critics are mobilizing against the screening and testing requirement because they say it could unfairly stigmatize the poor and complicate an already difficult application process. News outlets also report on Medicaid news from Arkansas and Ohio.
Supreme Court Justices Appear Divided Over Defendants’ Right To Independent Mental Health Expert
The high court heard arguments as to whether an Alabama death-row inmate was entitled to a psychologist who would be on his side, not a state-appointed one.
Express Scripts Fails To Entice Top Customer Anthem To Extend Agreement Past 2019
Shares for the pharmacy benefits manager dropped sharply following the announcement.
Sanofi Claims Mylan Artificially Bumped Up EpiPen Prices, Then Undercut Competition With Rebates
The drugmaker filed a lawsuit against the troubled EpiPen-maker on Monday. In other pharmaceutical news, The Daily Beast investigates the involvement of Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., with an Australian biotech company, a panel of U.S. scientists is questioning the methodology of an Ebola drug trial, Biogen releases the promising results of a drug to help children with a neuromuscular disease, and one California lawmaker has a plan for lowering drug prices.
Avoiding Shutdown May Overtake Health Care As Congress’ No. 1 Priority In The Week Ahead
Despite a renewed push from President Donald Trump to make progress on the Republicans’ health care plan, the desire to get a spending bill through may take precedence.
Getting Rid Of Health Law Subsidies Could Cost Government Billions More Than It Would Save
A new study found that taxpayers would end up paying 23 percent more than the potential savings from eliminating the health law’s “cost-sharing” subsidies.
Compromise On Health Care Plan Woos Conservatives, But Silence From Moderates Is Deafening
Few moderates have said anything about the new measure beyond that they haven’t seen the text yet. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump promises his health plan will have premiums “tumbling down” and a new poll finds that most Republican voters still want the Affordable Care Act repealed.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Drug Treatment’s ROI; Seeking Work-Life Balance In Biomedical Research
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Opinion writers take on various aspects of the current debate surrounding the future of the Affordable Care Act and how Republican efforts to repeal and replace it are unfolding.
Media outlets report on news from Colorado, California, Maryland, Missouri, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Oregon, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Ohio, Georgia and Alaska.
Plans To Change Medicaid Unsettle Ky. Enrollees, Raise Fears For Conn. Ex-Prisoner Program
Low-income residents of Kentucky who gained coverage under the expansion of Medicaid are concerned that the governor’s plan for an overhaul could leave them without benefits again. In Connecticut, the Medicaid expansion helped fund services for people when they get out of prison, but that could be threatened by GOP efforts to revamp the health law.
State Laws Block Nurses From Administering Anti-Addiction Medication
Twenty-eight states prohibit nurse practitioners from prescribing buprenorphine unless they are working in collaboration with a doctor who has a federal license to prescribe it. The problem is, half of all counties in the U.S. do not have a single physician with such a license to prescribe the anti-addiction drug. Meanwhile, 19 attorneys general ask congressional leaders and President Donald Trump to not cut funding that is going toward fighting the opioid crisis.
Widespread And Growing Trend Of Physician Burnout Putting Patients’ Safety At Risk
The consequences of the burnout can range from medical errors and high mortality rates of hospitalized patients to lower medical knowledge and impaired professionalism. In other public health news: cholesterol-lowering drugs, knee replacements, an ad campaign for condoms, the bird flu and more.
Selling Hearing Aids Over The Counter Could Help Millions Of Americans
One company aims to shift views on the devices from being a sign of aging to “something that’s hip and cool,” as Congress considers a bill that would urge the FDA to allow hearing aids to be sold in drug stores.
