Latest KFF Health News Stories
Women Applaud Michelle Obama’s Decision To Share Her Trauma Of Miscarriage
The attention may help women understand that miscarriage is common but still not easily talked about.
For Wildfire Safety, Only Particular Masks Guard Against Toxic Particulate Matter
As wildfires blaze in Northern and Southern California, millions of people outside of the burn zones are getting exposed to dangerous wildfire smoke. For those donning face masks for protection, only a specific mask will work.
Childbirth In The Age Of Addiction: New Mom Worries About Maintaining Sobriety
For mothers in recovery from opioid addiction, narcotic pain relief during and after delivery can put sobriety at risk.
An Underused Strategy For Surge In STDs: Treat Patients’ Partners Without A Doctor Visit
For over a decade, federal health officials have recommended the practice, known as expedited partner therapy. It is allowed in most states, but many doctors don’t do it — either because of legal or ethical concerns, or because they are unaware of it.
High Stakes, Entrenched Interests And The Trump Rollback Of Environmental Regs
The administration asserts its deregulation strategy will create jobs, empower states and reduce the burden of government restrictions on the energy industry. But critics see it as a threat to public health.
Listen: Teen Vaping Sparks FDA Crackdown
Federal regulators want to ban the sale of most flavored e-cigarettes at retail locations like gas stations and convenience stores.
Deadly Shootings Are Rising In U.S. After Steady Declines
A new report by federal researchers finds that homicides involving guns are up both nationally and in major cities after a decade of decline.
New Contractor For Food Stamps Upsets Cart For Farmers Markets
If a popular app used by many farmers markets to process federal supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) benefits is no longer offered next spring, consumers’ access to fresh produce may be stalled.
Soda Industry Steals Page From Tobacco To Combat Taxes On Sugary Drinks
Voters in Oregon and Washington will decide whether to strip cities of the ability to tax sugary drinks.
Primary Care Doctors ‘Not Doing Enough’ To Curb STDs
As rates of sexually transmitted diseases surge, public health officials want physicians to step up screening and treatment of patients.
Mysterious Polio-Like Illness Baffles Medical Experts While Frightening Parents
Federal health officials are investigating 127 cases of the disease, called acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM.
States Act To Safeguard Young Cancer Patients’ Chances To Have Children
Fighting cancer often involves toxic therapies that can cause infertility. In the past couple of years, five states have moved to require that plans pay for services such as egg removal and storage.
FDA Allows Food Makers To Fortify Corn Masa To Halt Birth Defects, But Few Do
The decision aimed at adding folic acid — a vitamin that can prevent devastating defects of the brain, spine or spinal cord — to flours, chips and tortillas hasn’t caught on with many makers of widely used corn products.
Hidden Drugs And Danger Lurk In Over-The-Counter Supplements, Study Finds
Dieters and gym rats, beware. Some dietary supplements promising weight loss or more muscle may contain active ingredients not listed on the label that fly under the radar of the Food and Drug Administration. The California Department of Public Health analyzed public data maintained by the FDA to suss out trends among tainted products, raising red flags.
Black Market For Suboxone Gives Some A Glimpse Of Recovery
Addiction experts argue that buprenorphine, which drug users buy on the street, actually saves lives because it is used in place of more dangerous substances, like heroin and fentanyl.
VA Adding Opioid Antidote To Defibrillator Cabinets For Quicker Overdose Response
A project that started in a Boston Veterans Affairs facility will soon go nationwide. It puts naloxone, also known as Narcan, into emergency supplies cabinets throughout the VA system.
White Coats As Superhero Capes: Med Students Swoop In To Save Health Care
Students from eight medical schools in and around New York City attended a conference Sept. 23 on progressive activism during their training years — and beyond.
Judges In California Losing Sway Over Court-Ordered Drug Treatment
In a Medicaid-funded pilot project starting with 19 counties, clinicians and other providers are now in charge of deciding what kind of treatment an offender needs. The change has rankled some judges and attorneys — and forced some felons to spend more time in jail — but it has been largely embraced by clinicians and county agencies.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health articles from the week so you don’t have to.
Eat, Toke Or Vape: Teens Not Too Picky When It Comes To Pot’s Potpourri
State legalization efforts, as well as the introduction of edible or vaporized cannabis- infused products, may be contributing to experimentation by teens.
