Latest KFF Health News Stories
Anecdotal evidence suggests that the epidemic has also hit hard in immigrant communities that are unfamiliar with both the signs of drug abuse and the labyrinth of treatment options available.
Florida AG: 24-Hour Waiting Period For Abortions ‘Reasonable,’ ‘Minimally Intrusive’
Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office filed a brief with the state’s Supreme Court as part of a more than year-long legal dispute over the requirement. Elsewhere, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is fundraising off rules regulating the disposal of fetal remains.
Most HIPAA Violation Complaints Quietly Closed By Government Through Private Letter
Most cases alleging a doctor’s violation of patient privacy or medical information security are closed out of public view through these letters. ProPublica now posts hundreds of them in its HIPAA Helper tool. In other health IT news, a New York surgeon experiments with augmented reality to help understand the brain.
FDA Lags On Rule To Strengthen Protections For Patients Using Generics
Only makers of brand-name drugs have a legal duty to update their warning labels if they learn of new risks or side effects, the Supreme Court ruled five years ago. But that leaves millions of users in an unregulated safety gap. Meanwhile, startups are in a race to develop a drug that targets the pathway that helps mellow patients out.
CMS Says It Will Release Hospital Star Ratings ‘Shortly’
The quality ratings were set to be released last spring but members of Congress and the hospital industry raised questions about the criteria.
Feds Award $60M More To Battle Zika Just As Virus Is Found In More Widespread Mosquito
After discovering Zika in the Culex mosquito, scientists are warning that more research is needed. But if they begin detecting the virus in the species in large numbers and on a consistent basis, experts say “that would be a game changer.”
Advocates In Kansas, Florida Say Expanding Medicaid Would Relieve Stresses Of Uninsured
Speakers at a political meeting in Kansas and a new report in Florida urge state leaders to reconsider decisions not to expand Medicaid under the federal health law.
In 2017, Humana Will Reduce Its Health Marketplace Sales, Shrinking From 19 States To 11
The company said it may also get out of the non-exchange markets too.
Bedeviled Theranos Brings On Compliance, Regulatory Executives
Theranos said the hires represent the company’s latest in a series of “significant actions” to make sure its laboratories, medical products and operations meet the highest standards.
States Join Federal Antitrust Effort Against Anthem-Cigna Deal
The District of Columbia and 11 states, including California, New Hampshire and Tennessee, have joined the Justice Department’s lawsuit.
Justice Department Sues To Block Health Care Mega-Mergers
The department says the Aetna-Humana and Anthem-Cigna deals would lead to higher prices and reduced benefits for consumers.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Justice Department Sues To Block Health Care Mega-Mergers
The department says the Aetna-Humana and Anthem-Cigna mergers would lead to higher prices and reduced benefits for consumers.
Viewpoints: The Meaning Of Skyrocketing Premiums; Congress’ Inaction On Zika
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Longer Looks: Miracle Microbes; Zika And The Brain; And Depression In Doctors
Each week, KHN finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Outlets report on health news from Vermont, Maine, Minnesota, Connecticut, Texas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Maryland, Ohio, Florida, California, Iowa and Georgia.
False Alarm: Incendiary Study Showing Prostate Cancer Spike Challenged
The American Cancer Society says the study’s methods do not pass muster with statistics experts, so the increase may not be real. In other news, a pilot program in California aims to better track cancer diagnoses.
Study Raises Doubts About Link Between Regulations On Prescription Opioids, Heroin Use
The analysis finds that the relationship between the opioid and heroin epidemics isn’t consistent with a narrative that stricter control over the prescription drugs is causing users to turn to heroin. A different study finds that Medicare beneficiaries have the highest rate of “opioid use disorder.”
Higher Rates Of Intravenous Drug Use May Contribute To Gay Teens’ Increased HIV Risk
A new report finds no significant difference between gay or bisexual male teens’ sexual behavior and that of straight males. But they were over five times more likely to use injected drugs. In other public health news, prisons are a hotbed for infectious diseases which spread to the general public when an inmate is released and researchers unlock an 85-year-old genetic mystery.
From Ultrasounds To Speech Therapy: Zika’s Long-Term Price Tag Incalculable
Treating the virus and its effects will likely cost billions upon billions of dollars for 2016 alone. But so many unknowns remain about the long-term price tag. In other news, a research team has received the go-ahead to begin testing a vaccine on humans, Florida officials are testing local mosquitoes for the virus, and an infectious disease expert weighs in on the investigation into the first possible U.S.-based case of Zika.
