Latest KFF Health News Stories
Research Roundup: Covid; Antibiotic Use; Acute Stroke; More
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
When Rural Veterans Get Meds From VA, They Need ERs Less: Study
The study tracked more than 13,000 veterans with a mental health history and found they made fewer visits to Emergency Departments for any health reason when meds were available from the VA. Meanwhile, the high suicide rate of active-duty soldiers in Alaska is causing concern.
Study: Subsidies Sway Many With Low Incomes To Fill Costly Prescriptions
A study showed people with low incomes but with government subsidies were nearly twice as likely to fill a prescription when medications were expensive than those without subsidies. In other drug pricing news, biosimilar and generic drugs are expected to slow price rises this year.
Fentanyl-Laced Pills Could Injure, Kill People En Masse, DEA Warns
The Drug Enforcement Administration used the phrase “mass-overdose events” in a news release, underlining the perceived threat. Other reports note that in one Bay Area county, more people died of fentanyl last year than from covid.
Missouri Bill Would Strongly Restrict Abortions, Including Pill-Based
The House bill includes a plethora of restrictions, including barring out-of-state pharmacies from delivering drugs meant to induce an abortion to patients in Missouri. A separate report says the “wave” of anti-abortion rules in Missouri is pushing more people to seek help in Illinois.
Care Crisis In Rural Iowa As EMTs Retire With No Replacements
Also: CVS is selling its PayFlex division to a financial services company; providers are being given a change to request extra Provider Relief Fund reporting time; the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed an indefinite delay to its radiation oncology payment model, and more.
When Pfizer’s Covid Shot Got Full Approval, Uptake Didn’t Grow
USA Today notes that when Pfizer’s covid shot was given full approval by the Food and Drug Administration, the unvaxxed were not persuaded to get the shots in increased numbers. Meanwhile, researchers found that getting a covid vaccine in early pregnancy isn’t linked to fetal abnormalities.
2 New Studies Give Insight Into Covid’s Path Of Destruction In The Body
One study, published in Nature, offers details into the cytokine storms that overwhelm some covid patients. Another study, published in the journal BMJ, suggests that being infected with covid raises your risk of developing serious blood clots.
Time To Fix Dangerous Care Flaws At Nursing Homes: US Report
A sobering report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine also suggests solutions for the “broken” U.S. nursing home health industry. The panel cited major problems around health care, staffing and facility finances that impact the 1.3 million Americans living and 3 million working in such facilities.
Health Workers Experiencing Moral Trauma From War Against Covid
Many health care workers report trauma-like symptoms similar to combat veterans such as depression or a lower-quality of life, a study finds. NPR also reports on how people particularly vulnerable to covid are also traumatized.
Covid Outbreak Hits DC Elites After Gridiron Dinner
Those who tested positive following the event — where high-profile government players and journalists mixed indoors, unmasked — include the U.S. attorney general, commerce secretary, the vice president’s communications director, congressional lawmakers, and others. President Joe Biden did not attend.
Immigration Fight Entangles Covid Funding, Delays Vote
The congressional deal to allocate $10 billion to sustain federal covid testing, treatment and vaccine measures has been held up indefinitely by a Republican push to tie it to a border-control policy. News outlets also report on the rabid fox that bit nine people near Capitol Hill.
FDA Panel Debates Need For Updated Covid Booster Shots This Fall
The FDA’s independent vaccine advisory panel met Wednesday to discuss how covid vaccines should be adjusted for future variants. Specific recommendations for next fall’s shot may be put to a vote in May or June.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: School-Based Health Centers Improve Student Outcomes; PCPs Should Prescribe Methadone
Editorial writers weigh in on these public health issues.
Different Takes: Why Do Some Believe Ivermectin Cures Covid?; Poverty Worsens Covid Outcome
Opinion writers examine these covid issues.
Price of Blood Thinners Has Doubled
An analysis of list prices of commonly prescribed drugs by Patients for Affordable Drugs found large price increases. In other news, Douglas Melton, one of the leading stem cell researchers in the world, is leaving Harvard University to join Vertex Pharmaceuticals to work on diabetes treatments.
Perspectives: High Prices Make Medications Unattainable; Cuban Cuts Out PBMs To Lower Costs
Read recent commentaries about drug-cost issues.
Fewer Antibiotics Better For Pneumonia In Kids, Study Suggests
Read about the biggest pharmaceutical developments and pricing stories from the past week in KHN’s Prescription Drug Watch roundup.
Women Of Reproductive Age Widely Failed By US Health System: Report
A new report from the Commonwealth Fund provides a deep dive into how American women are let down by the health system, including that they’re more likely to die from preventable causes than women in other wealthy countries, and over three times more likely to die during pregnancy.
