Latest KFF Health News Stories
Longer Looks: Kicking The Opioid Habit; The IUD Revolution; And Assisted Suicide
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Outlets report on health news from New York, Minnesota, Texas, Ohio, California and Maryland.
Psychiatrists At N.H. Hospital Threaten To Leave En Masse Over Labor Dispute
The Executive Council has voted 5-0 to allow Dartmouth-Hitchcock to take over managing the state psychiatric hospital in Concord, but the majority of psychiatrists there refuse to work with Dartmouth-Hitchcock.
In Colorado, Drinking Supply For 80,000 Has Contamination Levels EPA Deems Dangerous
Elsewhere, New Hampshire will pay for blood tests for those exposed to chemicals, and outraged residents in New York demand answers from officials about slow reaction to PFOA contamination in a community water supply.
Aetna Sues Nebraska After Being Dropped From Consideration To Run Medicaid Program
Aetna, which already manages plans for about 105,000 state Medicaid recipients, was one of six companies vying for a $1 billion state contract to serve 230,000 Medicaid recipients. Also, Medicaid news on contraception coverage and payment issues in Florida.
As Opioid Crisis Rages On, California Officials Ramp Up Efforts To Curb Deadly Epidemic
Most recently, a state Assembly committee voted 16-0 to approve a bill that would require doctors to check California’s prescription drug database before prescribing certain addictive drugs. Elsewhere, a man who struggled with an opioid addiction shares his story with the surgeon general, and Tennessee officials are struggling to deal with the crisis in their state.
Personalized Therapies For Diabetics To Be Tested By Boston-Area Collaboration
The Harvard Stem Cell Institute, biotech Semma Therapeutics and two area hospitals are teaming up to create stem cell-based treatments for people with type 1 diabetes. In other diabetes news, a study finds that people with type 2 can have heart health benefits by losing weight, even if they eventually gain it back.
Zika Infections Late In A Pregnancy Don’t Lead To Deformities, Study Finds
A report co-authored by federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers examined infections in Columbia and found that pregnant women who were infected in the third trimester did not have babies born with brain abnormalities. The researchers also reported that women who did not show signs of Zika infection could still have babies with birth defects.
ACLU: Texas Withholding Significant Statistics On Abortion In The State
The 2014 data would show information from the first full year during which the state implemented provisions of the controversial abortion law known as House Bill 2. The Department of State Health Services says the work isn’t complete yet and that’s why it hasn’t been released.
Analysis: Hospital Deaths Are More Intrusive, Expensive Than At Home Or Hospice
“This intensity of services in the hospital shows a lot of suffering that is not probably in the end going to offer people more quality of life and may not offer them more quantity of life either,” says Dr. Richard Parker, chief medical officer at Arcadia.
Envision Healthcare, AmSurg Merger Would Create $10B Company
The all-stock deal would blend the physician-staffing business with more than 250 ambulatory surgery centers.
MedPAC Offers Proposals To Address ‘Unsustainable’ Drug Costs, But Congressional Action Unlikely
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission plan would, among other things, set an annual limit on how much seniors can be required to pay for medications, a new safeguard. But in a contentious election year, the proposal is not likely to gain any traction in the legislature.
Former FDA Official Embroiled In Insider-Trading Case Over Generic-Drug Approvals
Gordon Johnston made as much as $5,000 a month to bring confidential information to hedge fund manager Sanjay Valvani, according to allegations filed in a complaint by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney of Manhattan. Federal investigators have been scrutinizing communications between Washington research firms and Wall Street investors for years but struggled to build the cases partly because of unclear rules on what’s considered confidential information.
Advocates: FDA Blood Donation Ban Based On Stigma, Not Science
However, agency officials say the one-year guidance for gay men is in line with other countries’ policies and note that every year some of the 3.5 million patients who receive transfusions are infected with various diseases. Meanwhile, an Orlando donation center that supplied blood to victims of the shooting confirmed that the gunman had given blood just before the massacre. And therapy dogs are bringing comfort to those affected.
Mental Health Bill Introduced After Newtown Shooting Advances Through House Panel
Meanwhile, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., filibustered for nearly 15 hours to bring attention to gun control amendments.
As Premium Spikes Loom, White House To Dole Out $22M For States To Keep Insurers In Check
The grants may inflame an already tense relationship with insurers, who say they’ve had a tough year on the Obamacare marketplace. Meanwhile, the long-awaited Republican plan to replace the health law will lack concrete financial details, aides and lobbyists say.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Work, The Safety Net And Obamacare; Hospitals And Disaster Preparations
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Perspectives On Drug Costs: A Way To Bribe The Doctor Without Bribing The Doctor
Editorial and opinion writers offer their takes on drug-cost issues.
Coupon Wars: Assistance Strategy Or Industry Racket?
News outlets report on the pharmaceutical drug industry.
