Latest KFF Health News Stories
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Bill Gates Defends Drug Pricing System, Saying The Companies Are ‘Turning Out Miracles’
News outlets report on the pharmaceutical drug industry.
Outlets report on health news from Maryland, California, Texas, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Minnesota.
Stem Cells Could Usher In A New Era For Treating Cavities; 20 Years Post-Dolly And No Human Clones
In other public health news, a new study finds that child-centric marketing techniques are contributing the obesity epidemic, experts worry about the slow disappearance of playtime, a woman talks about her experience with bipolar disorder and researchers find that few people want doctors to help them speed up the dying process.
Struck By Steve Jobs’ ‘Excruciating’ Wait, Apple CEO Aims At Organ Shortage With New Software
A new button will allow users to sign up to be organ donors and will come installed on every smartphone the company makes.
Judge Blocks Kansas’ Efforts To Strip Planned Parenthood Funding
The federal judge ruled that Medicaid patients have the right to seek care from a qualified provider of their choice.
Missouri Governor Vetoes Bill That Would Charge Medicaid Patients For Missed Appointments
The bill, passed by the legislature in May, would allow doctors and other health care providers to charge Medicaid patients who don’t give 24-hour notice that they won’t make their appointments. News outlets also look at Medicaid developments in Pennsylvania, Louisiana and Colorado.
Ruling From Federal Appeals Court Upholds Broad Use Of Biotech Patents
The case involved freezing and thawing a type of liver cell, and the appeals court said that a lower court was wrong to suggest that the method couldn’t be patented because it covered a law of nature. In the ruling Tuesday, the judges said the process involves putting steps together in a way that “was itself far from routine and conventional.”
A New Chapter Or Same Old Tricks?: Valeant’s CEO Promise Of Change Sparks Skepticism
When Joseph Papa took over the helm as the troubled company’s CEO, he said things would be different. But a look at how he ran Perrigo shows similar tactics to the ones that got Valeant in trouble in the first place. In other pharmaceutical news, Bristol-Myers acquires a Swedish firm in an effort to expand into the immunotherapy field, Insys Therapeutics says the Food and Drug Administration approved its oral solution for treating conditions related to AIDS and companies are pursuing drugs to boost sexual interest.
Investigation: Nation Is Looking The Other Way When It Is Doctors Who Are Sexually Abusive
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution conducted an investigation into doctors who have either admitted to or been accused of sexual abuse. The investigative team found physician-dominated medical boards gave these doctors second chances. Prosecutors dismissed or reduced charges, so doctors could keep practicing and stay off sex offender registries. And communities rallied around them.
NIH To Enlist Olympic Team In One Of Largest Zika Studies To Date
Researchers plan to recruit American Olympic athletes and staffers this summer and monitor them for a year after the games. In other news, Sanofi is partnering with the U.S. Army on an experimental Zika vaccine, while Brazilian scientists are teaming up with World Health Organization for the same purpose. Meanwhile, Congress is still stalled on funding, and The Dallas Morning News untangles the complicated advice surrounding getting pregnant during the outbreak.
FDA OKs Dissolving Stent — With A Caveat
The implant gradually dissolves in the body after three years, but the Food and Drug Administration says it hasn’t been shown to be safer yet than the older, metal devices.
HHS Relaxes Strict Prescribing Caps For Anti-Addiction Medication
The limits, put in place to thwart the black market, have made it hard for those in need to get a prescription for buprenorphine.
Both Sides Dig In On Opioid Bill, As Dems Call For More Than $900M In Funding
Democratic leaders wrote in a letter that they would not support the legislation without “significant funding that reflects the seriousness of the epidemic and provides meaningful support to these important priorities.”
Panel: VA Health System Has ‘Profound Deficiencies,’ Requires ‘Urgent Reform’
The bipartisan Commission on Care says the Department of Veterans Affairs should get an overhaul that includes shuttering some facilities and making permanent a system that lets the nation’s 22 million veterans get care from private doctors.
Appeals Court Strikes Administration’s Rule Barring Alternative Type Of Health Insurance
The decision applies to a provision that kept insurers from offering insurance that pays a fixed dollar amount, such as $500 a day for hospital care. The administration said these policies do not meet the federal health law’s standards. Also in the news, Connecticut officials have ordered that the state’s insurance co-op begin the process of closing because of financial problems.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Thumbs Down On GOP Health Care Replacement Plan; Independence Day For The FDA?
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Parsing The Implications Of The High Court’s Most Recent Abortion Decision
Opinion writers offer thoughts on what’s next in the abortion debate as well as how it dovetails with other states’ policies and state court actions.
