KFF Health News Weekly Edition: Feb 2, 2024

Advocates Say a Practice Harms Disabled Children, Yet Congressional Action Is Stalled
By Fred Clasen-Kelly Illustration by Oona Zenda In the photos, a 9-year-old boy with autism appears barricaded between cubbies and furniture stacked near the walls of a North Carolina classroom. His mother, Erin McGrail, said her son was physically restrained at least 14 times while in third grade at Morrisville Elementary School. She said she learned details of his seclusion only after […]

Colorado Legal Settlement Would Up Care and Housing Standards for Trans Women Inmates
By Moe K. Clark A soon-to-be-finalized legal settlement would offer transgender women in Colorado prisons new housing options, including a pipeline to the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility. The change comes amid a growing number of lawsuits across the country aimed at improving health care access and safety for incarcerated trans people.

Possibility of Wildlife-to-Human Crossover Heightens Concern About Chronic Wasting Disease
By Jim Robbins A response is ramping up to a potential spillover of the neurological disease to humans from deer, elk, and other animals.

What the Health? From KFF Health News: The Struggle Over Who Gets the Last Word
As science skepticism pervades politics, the Supreme Court will soon consider two cases that seek to define the power of “experts.” Meanwhile, abortion opponents are laying out plans for how Donald Trump, if reelected as president, could effectively curtail abortion even in states where it remains legal. Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Samantha Liss, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about a husband and wife who got billed for preventive care that should have been fully covered.

Is the Nation’s Primary Care Shortage as Bad as Federal Data Suggest?
By Rae Ellen Bichell Federal policymakers have been trying for a long time to lure more primary care providers to understaffed areas. The Biden administration boosted funding in 2022 to address shortages and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) pushed sweeping primary care legislation in 2023. But when KFF Health News set out last year to map where the primary care workforce shortages really are — and where […]

More ‘Navigators’ Are Helping Women Travel to Have Abortions
By Lillian Mongeau Hughes After the U.S. Supreme Court ended the federal right to an abortion and many states banned the procedure, reproductive health care organizations hired dozens of people to help patients arrange travel and pay for care.

Surge in Syphilis Cases Leads Some Providers to Ration Penicillin
By Catherine Sweeney, WPLN Injectable penicillin is the go-to treatment for syphilis and the only treatment considered safe for pregnant people with the disease. But as rates of syphilis increase across the U.S., a shortage of the injectable has prompted some public health agencies to ration it.

The FTC Is Attacking Drugmakers’ ‘Patent Thickets’
By Elisabeth Rosenthal It’s a big job clearing out so-called “patent thickets” drugmakers create to keep their products’ prices high. But the Federal Trade Commission is giving it a shot.

Montana Vows Changes to Avoid Delayed Contracts. Some Health Providers Still Await Back Pay.
By Katheryn Houghton The head of Montana’s health department said the agency is catching up on a months-long backlog of contracts with organizations that connect people to medical care that left organizations without pay, halted some services, and triggered job cuts.

Ketamine Therapy for Mental Health a ‘Wild West’ for Doctors and Patients
By Dawn Megli Ketamine, approved by the FDA as an anesthetic in 1970, is emerging as a major alternative mental health treatment, and there are now more than 500 ketamine clinics around the country. But with little regulation and widely varying treatment protocols, it’s a medical "wild West."

A Legal Battle Over Herring Fishing Has Big Implications for Health Care
By Julie Rovner What do herring fishing and health policy have in common? Quite a bit, it turns out, owing to a case now before the Supreme Court. If the justices rule as expected, based on this month’s oral arguments, they could dramatically change the way federal health agencies operate. “The upheaval caused … would be immense,” argues […]

Where Are the Nation’s Primary Care Providers? It’s Not an Easy Answer
By Rae Ellen Bichell Politicians keep talking about fixing primary care shortages. But flawed national data leaves big holes in how to evaluate which policies are effective.

How Fringe Anti-Science Views Infiltrated Mainstream Politics — And What It Means in 2024
By Amy Maxmen Opposition to vaccines and other public health measures backed by science has become politically charged. That makes dangerous misinformation much harder to fight.

Records Show Publix Opioid Sales Grew Even as Addiction Crisis Prompted Other Chains’ Pullback
By Ian Hodgson, Tampa Bay Times and Christopher O’Donnell, Tampa Bay Times As national prescription drug distributors and pharmacies restricted the flow of oxycodone and other painkillers in response to the growing opioid crisis, Florida’s most popular grocery store ramped up its sales and distribution of the highly addictive drugs, according to a Tampa Bay Times analysis of federal data.

An Arm and a Leg: Self-Defense 101: Keeping Your Cool While You Fight
By Dan Weissmann On this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” host Dan Weissmann seeks advice for fighting unfair medical bills from an unexpected source: an expert in self-defense.

Readers Weigh Downsides of Medicare Advantage and Stick Up for Mary Lou Retton
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

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