Latest KFF Health News Stories
Doctor Speaks Out In Attempt To Atone For Lying Under Oath To Protect Colleague
“I did it because there was a cultural attitude I was immersed in: You viewed all attorneys as a threat and anything that you did was OK to thwart their efforts to sue your colleagues,” Dr. Lars Aanning says in an interview with ProPublica. Aanning broke his silence over what he’d done decades earlier partly to give an explicit example of why physician testimony can’t be trusted in court.
Investors Flock To Gene-Editing Tool, Even Though No One Knows Who Owns It Yet
Crispr-Cas9 is embroiled in a high-stakes patent dispute for control over groundbreaking technology that can cut DNA and make repairs or changes to genes. But that hasn’t stopped companies from launching development programs that would use the tool.
35 States Sue Opioid-Maker Over Its Alleged Tactics For Keeping Generic Version Off Market
The lawsuit claims that Indivior persuaded the FDA to approve a dissolvable strip version of their drug by raising concerns that the tablet posed high exposure risks to children. Even though the agency rejected the claims, by the time the generics hit the marketplace, many patients had already switched over.
For Pharma, 9.9 Percent May Be Magic Number For Price Hikes On Drugs
Sliding in just below 10 percent lets pharmaceutical companies fly under the radar of regulators watching for double-digit increases. In other industry news, companies are freeze-drying drugs for long-distance transport, Rite Aid’s sales come in below expectations and new drugs may hold the key to treating migraines.
Flint Becomes Sticking Point In Congressional Funding Battle
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell unveiled a measure that includes $1.1 billion in funding for Zika, but Democrats immediately rejected the bill because it lacks money to address the Flint water crisis.
GOP: HHS Can’t Employ ‘Sue-And-Settle Scheme’ For Insurers Seeking Compensation For Losses
Republicans became worried after a Sept. 9 memo on 2015 risk corridor payments showed that HHS was open to discussing resolution of the lawsuits from insurers. The program was designed to help insurers that suffer losses on the ACA exchanges by giving them payments from other insurers that did well on the new business.
20 Million Would Lose Coverage Under Trump’s Health Plan, Analysis Finds
The Commonwealth Fund study also found that 9 million would gain coverage under Hillary Clinton’s proposals.
First Edition: September 23, 2016
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Computers And The Doctor-Patient Relationship; Obamacare And Executive Action
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Longer Looks: Bariatric Surgery; Superbugs; And Prescribing Heroin
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Outlets report on health news from Florida, Minnesota, California and Tennessee.
Audit Finds Kansas Spent $2.3M Trying To Clear Medicaid Application Backlog
The state audit found that nearly 35,000 applications were still pending last month. But legislative auditors tell lawmakers that they can’t verify the numbers in the state audit because they are generated by a private contractor and have been wrong before.
Lawyers For Planned Parenthood Challenge Miss., Arkansas Laws In 2 Federal Courts
Both states ban Medicaid funding of any group that also provides abortions, but the cases are being argued in the shadow of a recent decision by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold an injunction against a similar Louisiana law.
Congress To Close Loophole That Left Vets With Disabilities Working At FAA With No Paid Sick Leave
In other news on veterans’ health news, an Air Force Academy clinic warns gastrointestinal patients of possible risks from tainted scopes. And in Colorado, PTSD is close to approval for the state’s medical marijuana program.
Also, stories on maternal mortality rates, a mystery disease, salmonella cases linked to chicken contact, an increase in Alzheimer’s cases among Latinos and concussions among women are in public health news.
World Leaders Agree To Take Action On ‘Slow-Motion Tsunami’ Of Antibiotic Resistance
The plans are nonbinding, but it is the first step toward addressing the ever-increasing threat. It was only the fourth time the General Assembly had taken up a health issue. Others were HIV, noncommunicable disease and Ebola.
Zuckerberg, Chan Invest $3B In Hopes Of Eradicating All Diseases By End Of Century
“The funding seems to fill a gap,” said Dr. Jonathan Lim. “They’re tackling basic science and prevention, which tend to be relatively less well-funded areas, compared to translational and clinical efforts.”
Unsealed Documents Reveal Zealous OxyContin Marketing ‘Crusade’
Internal documents obtained by Stat show that Abbott heavily incentivized its sales staff to push OxyContin, borrowing language from the Middle Age crusades. Sales reps were called “royal crusaders” and “knights” in internal documents, and they were supervised by the “Royal Court of OxyContin.” The head of pain care sales, Jerry Eichhorn, was the “King of Pain.”
Busted Mega-Mergers Have Big Pharma Eyeing Smaller Players — And Biotechs Couldn’t Be Happier
In an atmosphere that is newly hostile toward blockbuster mergers, companies are left to chase growth elsewhere. In other news, Sarepta is selling off stock so it can sink the millions into clinical trials and manufacturing for its just-approved muscular dystrophy drug.
Anthem, Cigna Are Sniping Over Merger Breach, Justice Department Alleges In Court Filing
Each insurer has accused the other of violating their merger agreement, the federal government says as part of its effort to block the deal. The comments, Justice said, “reveal the current state of hostility between defendants.”
