Latest KFF Health News Stories
Patent Battle Over Generic Versions Of Gilead HIV Drug Settled
Five drugmakers had proposed generic versions of Gilead’s HIV and hepatitis B drugs and are now licensed to sell them from around 2031 onward. Also in the news: Medicare advantage star ratings, and more.
Getting Bivalent Jab By Halloween Will Protect You For Thanksgiving, Jha Says
“You don’t want to be the person who gives it to your grandma,” White House covid czar Ashish Jha said. In other news, U.S. researchers have found an antibody that neutralizes all variants of covid. The results are similar to research reported last week from Israel’s Tel Aviv University.
FDA Will Discuss OTC Birth Control Pill Sales In November
The application from pharma firm Perrigo will be discussed Nov. 18, and could lead to the nation’s first over-the-counter birth control pill sales. Contrastingly, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham says he plans to introduce legislation to ban abortion on a national level.
In Study, Cancer Drug Outperforms Chemotherapy
Patients taking Amgen’s Lumakras went 5.6 months without their cancers getting worse, compared with 4.5 months for patients taking the chemotherapy docetaxel, the Wall Street Journal reported, and 25% of patients who took Lumakras lived for at least one year without their cancers getting worse, compared with 10% of those using docetaxel.
Biden Moves To Boost Domestic Biomanufacturing, Re-Energize Cancer Moonshot
President Joe Biden issued an executive order Monday to encourage biotech production and research in the U.S. as part of a strategy to compete with China in this space. Afterwards, speaking at the John F. Kennedy library in Boston, the president urged the nation to redouble efforts to eradicate cancer — a goal he called “bold, ambitious, and I might add, completely doable.”
Staffing And Pay Disputes Drive 15,000 Minn. Nurses To Picket Lines
The three-day work stoppage impacting 15 hospitals in the Minneapolis and Duluth areas is the largest private-sector nurses strike in U.S. history. Workers want a 30% pay increase and bolstered staffing. Hospital executives say those demands are too expensive and unrealistic.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial writers weigh in on these public health topics.
Different Takes: Did You Have Your Childhood Polio Vaccines?; Get Ready For Yearly Covid Boosters
Opinion writers examine polio, covid boosters and monkeypox.
In Oregon, Problem Drinking Drives Effort For More Alcohol Tax
Oregon has among the highest rates of problem drinking in the U.S., and rising deaths, The New York Times reports, even as some efforts to curb excessive drinking have fallen aside. Meanwhile, in California, an effort to expand services offered by optometrists is controversial.
US Makes Strides In Tackling National Child Poverty Problem
The New York Times reports America’s high child poverty rate set it apart from other rich nations but that efforts to expand safety nets have driven a 59% drop in child poverty since 1993. Also: the baby formula shortage, stress in pregnancy, news on nutrition, and more.
Calls To 988 Mental Health Line Rising
NPR says that in the first month since launch, 988 has seen a 45% increase in overall call volume and other text-based contacts, with the latter demonstrating enormous growth. Meanwhile, the U.S. will reportedly dedicate $35 million to boost 988 efforts for Native Americans.
Boston Children’s Hospital Threatened Again
The type of threat wasn’t specified, the Boston Globe explains, but two weeks ago the hospital faced a bomb threat. Reports say hospital staff involved with treating transgender children have also been harassed. Other media outlets cover nursing home and nursing staff strikes, and health worker cuts.
Most Americans Think Health Care System Is A Failure
A new AP-NORC poll shows a majority of Americans say health care is not handled well in the country; women as well as Black and Hispanic Americans are particularly critical. Medicare decisions on doctors’ pay, Medicare drug cost caps, the Blue Cross antitrust deal, and more are also in the news.
Biologist Renee Wegrzyn Chosen As ARPA-H’s First Director
Wegrzyn, President Biden’s choice for the role, formerly worked as a scientist at DARPA. Separately, the Boston Globe reports on efforts by local power brokers to attract the new new health research agency to be based in Massachusetts. Meanwhile, in FDA news, funding negotiations are heating up.
Planned Parenthood Leaders Plan Next Steps In Fight For Abortion Rights
Organization leaders from 24 states met in California on Friday to discuss how to copy the Golden State’s success across the nation. Meanwhile, some conservative Republicans are softening their rhetoric on abortion.
Antiviral Tpoxx Moving To Late-Stage Trials As Monkeypox Treatment
The National Institutes of Health has begun enrollment in the next stage of testing for Siga Technologies Tpoxx — a pill used to treat smallpox that has not received federal approval as a treatment for monkeypox yet. Meanwhile, a CDC report says that only 3.5% percent of recipients experienced adverse reactions to the drug.
More Kids Are Getting Virus That Can Sometimes Cause Polio-Like Syndrome
Doctors across the country are seeing an uptick in hospitalizations for enterovirus D68. Meanwhile, the governor of New York has declared a disaster emergency after polio was detected in more wastewater near New York City, suggesting it is spreading throughout communities.
Likely Telehealth Fraud Cost Medicare $128 Million During Pandemic’s First Year
Federal investigators with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General find that 1,714 doctors and health providers billed Medicare nearly $128 million in “high risk” claims during the first year of the covid pandemic when telehealth restrictions were eased.
Health Fund For 9/11 First Responders And Survivors Is Falling Short
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says he will work to appropriate an additional $3 billion in federal funding to help keep the program afloat.
