Latest News On Prescription Drugs

Latest KFF Health News Stories

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Will They or Won’t They (Block the Abortion Pill)?

Podcast

The Supreme Court is considering the future of the abortion pill mifepristone, after GenBioPro sued the FDA over limitations that effectively block generic production of the drug, a major part of the market. Congress is considering proposals that would impose Medicaid work requirements, crack down on pharmacy benefit managers, and more. And President Joe Biden moved to expand health coverage to young immigrants known as “Dreamers.” Rachel Cohrs of Stat, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join KFF Health News’ Mary Agnes Carey to discuss these issues and more.

Redes sociales alimentan obsesión por las drogas para bajar de peso, sin hablar de riesgos

KFF Health News Original

La competencia para hacerse con un mercado que podría valer $100.000 millones al año, solo para los fabricantes de medicamentos, ha desencadenado una ola de publicidad que preocupa a las autoridades sanitarias  y médicos de todo el mundo.

Truly Random Drug Testing: ADHD Patients Face Uneven Urine Screens and, Sometimes, Stigma

KFF Health News Original

Doctors have no national standards on when to order urine tests to check whether adult ADHD patients are properly taking their prescription stimulants. Some patients are subjected to much more frequent testing than others.

Fresh Produce Is an Increasingly Popular Prescription for Chronically Ill Patients

KFF Health News Original

Fresh produce prescription programs are getting a boost in Montana as a way of helping people with chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure. The approach may be a model for other rural states to promote healthy eating in food deserts.

¿Ayudan las nuevas guías sobre opioides a los pacientes con dolor crónico?

KFF Health News Original

Las recomendaciones dejaron a muchos pacientes lidiando con las consecuencias para la salud mental y física de la reducción rápida de la dosis o la suspensión abrupta de los medicamentos que habían estado tomando durante años, lo que conlleva riesgos de abstinencia, depresión e incluso suicidio.

New CDC Opioid Guidelines: Too Little, Too Late for Chronic Pain Patients?

KFF Health News Original

In November, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidelines for prescribing opioids for pain, allowing physicians more flexibility. But doctors, patients, and advocates wonder if the updated standards will be too little, too late to help chronic pain patients in a country still focused on fighting the ongoing opioid crisis.

¿Por qué cuesta tanto la insulina? Las grandes farmacéuticas no son las únicas que influyen en los precios

KFF Health News Original

La insulina representa lo perverso del sistema sanitario estadounidense, ya que los precios de venta de este medicamento centenario, del que dependen 8,4 millones de estadounidenses para sobrevivir, se quintuplicaron en dos décadas.

Decisión de Eli Lilly de bajar el precio de su insulina logrará cambios históricos en los costos

KFF Health News Original

Expertos en precios de medicamentos celebraron la noticia de Eli Lilly y otros esfuerzos. Y estas otras iniciativas para llevar al mercado insulina de menor costo, a su vez, presionarían a Eli Lilly para que mantuviera sus precios bajos.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': March Medicaid Madness

Podcast

President Joe Biden and Republicans in Congress spent last month sparring over whether to shield Medicare and Social Security from budget cuts — leading some to wonder if Medicaid was on the table instead. Biden and Democrats say no, but some Republicans seem eager to trim federal spending on the health program for Americans with low incomes. And ready or not, artificial intelligence is coming to medical care. Benefits, as well as unintended consequences, are likely. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of STAT News, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KHN’s chief Washington correspondent, Julie Rovner, to discuss these issues and more.

Eli Lilly Slashed Insulin Prices. This Starts a Race to the Bottom.

KFF Health News Original

Eli Lilly’s news that it plans to cut insulin costs for patients will help, not hinder, the recent efforts in California and by entrepreneurs such as Mark Cuban to offer lower-cost alternatives, drug pricing experts said.

Venden opioides mezclados con tranquizilantes para animales en vecindario de Philadelphia

KFF Health News Original

Los traficantes utilizan xilacina, un sedante barato no autorizado, para cortar el fentanilo, un opioide sintético 50 veces más potente que la heroína. El nombre callejero de la xilacina es “tranq”, y el fentanilo cortado con xilacina se llama “tranq dope”.