Latest KFF Health News Stories
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg cited a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit throwing out HHS’ approval of Arkansas’ similar waiver. The appellate panel’s unanimous opinion said the waiver approval was not consistent with the primary objective of the Medicaid statute, which is furnishing medical coverage.
Media outlets take a look at the global response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Dr. Bruce Aylward led WHO’s team that visited China during the early days of the outbreak. He shares lessons he’s learned from that experience. Meanwhile, a spike in new cases in Wuhan reverses three straight days of declines. In other news out of China: a spike in infections in kids, life on the front lines, a spotlight on the labs handling pathogens, and more.
“It’s human nature to want to touch your face,” said Dr. Otto Yang, an infectious diseases expert at UCLA. But it’s also quite a bad habit during a viral pandemic. Being mindful of your hands is the first crucial step in the process of stopping. Also, don’t get frustrated, it’s more difficult than it seems, experts say.
Although the United States is a rich country, much about the work force policies and health system infrastructure make a nimble and effective response difficult in times of crisis. But some state officials want to ease residents’ minds: “We are taking action,” they say.
All Patients Need Is A Doctor’s OK To Get Coronavirus Test. But Is There Enough To Go Around?
Some worry that a surge in coronavirus testing by people who have no real need may divert resources from seriously ill patients whose diagnosis is unknown, and wish the government hadn’t been so broad in giving doctors the final say in the testing.
California reported its first coronavirus death–a man who was elderly with underlying medical conditions and had been exposed to the illness while partaking in an international cruise. The case wasn’t discovered until the ship was back at sea. Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency and won’t let the passengers disembark. The CDC is sending test kits out to the ship. Meanwhile, Washington reported another death tied to the outbreak in a Seattle-area nursing facility.
Vertex Dustup With Canada Over Expensive Cystic Fibrosis Drug Follows Clashes With Other Countries
Treatments have been approved by Health Canada, but advocates say the government doesn’t want to engage with the drugmaker so patients without private insurance are suffering. News on the pharmaceutical industry is also on Sanofi’s case for its high insulin prices, Georgia’s proposals to regulate drug costs, and Costco’s partnership with a pharmacy benefit manager.
Special reports by PBS and The Wall Street Journal charge the agency with missing warning signs, trying to silence whistle blowers and merely relocating the pedophile doctor. Other administration news is on a new proposal to protect confidential therapy reports of immigrant children.
FDA Bans Electrical Stimulation Devices For Behavior Control In Rare Move
The use of the devices, developed several decades ago, has been found to worsen conditions when applied to people who have intellectual or developmental difficulties. Public health news is on antibiotic resistance, fish oil supplements, and thirdhand smoke, as well.
The head of the EPA says the proposal would bring greater transparency to the agency, but scientists warn that the regulation would dilute some of the most important environmental research of the past decades. News is also on a former chemical industry exec tapped to lead the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
For example, the coronavirus is new and unfamiliar, unlike the usual seasonal flu that kills a lot more people every year than coronavirus has, and seems hard to contain by the government health experts whose job it is to do just that. On top of that there’s no current vaccine or drug used to treat it. In other news: mortality rates, how to prepare, the 2 strains of COVID-19, face masks, fighting misinformation, and more.
President Donald Trump continues to minimize the time required to create and test a vaccine, and some health experts worry that the mixed messaging can further muddy a confusing and trying time for the country. “I observe that the president has been listening, but since he’s not a scientist I don’t think he understands the nuances,” said William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University. Meanwhile, recruitment for a vaccine trial begins in Washington state.
“To make sure that we’re doing everything we can as a health care system to contain the spread of the coronavirus, that our focus should be on infection control,” CMS Administrator Seema Verma said of the agency’s directions to state agencies that survey nursing homes and hospital accrediting organizations. Nursing homes are particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus, as the mortality rate climbs sharply in elderly patients.
‘This Should Not Be About Politics’: House Overwhelmingly Passes $8.3B Coronavirus Funding Bill
The bill includes about $7.7 billion in new discretionary spending to bolster vaccine development, research, equipment stockpiles and state and local health budgets, as government officials and health workers fight to contain the outbreak. The House moved unusually quick in a rare sign of bipartisanship in a highly divided Congress. It next goes to the Senate.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the two votes to watch in the highly anticipated abortion case, focused on whether the benefits from the legislation–which requires abortion providers to have hospital admitting privileges–would be the same in all states. The question hearkens back to the Texas measure that was knocked down by the Supreme Court in 2016. Meanwhile, Roberts took the unusual step of chastising Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) for saying that the Supreme Court justices will pay the price for their decisions.
As the number of coronavirus cases reached 11 in New York, officials sought to reassure transit riders that it remains safe to travel. Media outlets look at how local and state officials are handling the outbreak as more states confirm cases.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Media outlets report on news from Illinois, Hawaii, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Georgia, Washington, California, Alabama and Tennessee.
‘Wellbeing Of Maine Children Prevailed’: Voters Decide To Keep Vaccine Requirements
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills had strongly encouraged voters to not reject the new law, which eliminates religious and philosophical exemptions. Opt-out rates in Maine had reached the sixth highest in the nation.
