KFF Health News Weekly Edition: May 3, 2024

Bird Flu Is Bad for Poultry and Dairy Cows. It’s Not a Dire Threat for Most of Us — Yet.
By Amy Maxmen Cattle across the country are infected by the H5N1 bird flu. The virus isn’t spreading among people — but if it evolves to do that, fears of another pandemic could be realized.

California Floats Extending Health Insurance Subsidies to All Adult Immigrants
By Jasmine Aguilera, El Tímpano The legislature is considering taking the first steps to make Covered California plans available to immigrants without permanent legal status. The state has already extended Medi-Cal coverage to low-income immigrants.

Oh, Dear! Baby Gear! Why Are the Manuals So Unclear?
By Darius Tahir Sure, new parents are an anxious lot. But instruction manuals for devices meant to keep the baby safe and healthy are daunting and add to the anxiety. Why are they so confusing?

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Abortion Access Changing Again in Florida and Arizona
A six-week abortion ban took effect in Florida this week, dramatically restricting access to the procedure not just in the nation’s third-most-populous state but across the South. Patients from states with even more restrictive bans had been flooding in since the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022. Meanwhile, the CEO of the health behemoth UnitedHealth Group appeared before committees in both the House and Senate, where lawmakers grilled him about the February cyberattack on subsidiary Change Healthcare and how its ramifications are being felt months later. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Rachana Pradhan of KFF Health News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.

In Oregon, Medicaid Is Buying People Air Conditioners
By Samantha Young Oregon has started providing air conditioners, air purifiers and power banks to help some of its Medicaid recipients cope with soaring heat, smoky skies and other dangers of climate change. It’s a first-in-the-nation experiment that expands a Biden administration strategy to take Medicaid beyond traditional medical care and into the realm of social services. “Climate change is […]

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Is Wrong About a Ban on NIH Research About Mass Shootings
By Louis Jacobson, PolitiFact Since 2020, the National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies have collectively funded millions of dollars in gun-related research, including studies addressing mass shootings.

DIY Gel Manicures May Harm Your Health
By Tarena Lofton A TikTok user claims to have developed an allergy from DIY gel nails. What gives? An allergist weighed in. Let’s walk through what happened in this viral video.

‘Breaking a Promise’: California Deficit Could Halt Raises for Disability Workers
By Vanessa G. Sánchez Families of children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities say Gov. Gavin Newsom is reneging on an expected pay increase for care workers. If the delay goes through, it could impede services and invite legal challenges from advocates.

WHO Overturns Dogma on Airborne Disease Spread. The CDC Might Not Act on It.
By Amy Maxmen After grave missteps in the covid pandemic, the World Health Organization revisited the science and now confirms that many respiratory viruses are inhaled as airborne particles. The new framework implies that stopping transmission relies on costly measures like ventilation and masking.

AC, Power Banks, Mini Fridges: Oregon Equips Medicaid Patients for Climate Change
By Samantha Young Oregon is giving Medicaid patients air conditioners and other equipment to help them cope with soaring heat, smoky skies, and other dangers of climate change. Oregon health officials hope to show other states and the federal government that they can save lives and money.

Listen to the Latest ‘KFF Health News Minute’
“Health Minute” brings original health care and health policy reporting from the KFF Health News newsroom to the airwaves each week.

The Neglected U.S. Victims of Agent Orange
By Hannah Norman The Department of Veterans Affairs has long given Vietnam veterans disability compensation for illness connected to Agent Orange, widely used to defoliate Southeast Asian battlefields during the U.S. war. Less well known: The powerful herbicide combination was also routinely used to kill weeds at domestic military bases. Those exposed to the chemicals at the bases are still waiting for the same […]

Toxic Gas Adds to a Long History of Pollution in Southwest Memphis
By Andy Miller People across the nation claim cancer-causing emissions from local sterilizing plants are making them sick. It’s an example of environmental racism, say residents of one predominantly Black area in southwest Memphis, Tennessee, where life expectancy is much shorter than county and state averages.

An Arm and a Leg: The Hack
By Dan Weissmann In this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” host Dan Weissmann explores what the fallout from a cyberattack says about antitrust concerns in health care.

Sign Here? Financial Agreements May Leave Doctors in the Driver’s Seat
By Katheryn Houghton Agreeing to an out-of-network doctor’s own financial policy — which generally protects their ability to get paid and may be littered with confusing insurance and legal jargon — can create a binding contract that leaves a patient owing.

What Florida’s New 6-Week Abortion Ban Means for the South, and Traveling Patients
By Christopher O’Donnell, Tampa Bay Times Florida has served as a haven for Southern pregnant women with little or no access to abortions. But the Florida Supreme Court upheld a six-week abortion restriction that begins in May — so now women across much of the South seeking abortions will have to look farther afield.

Exposed to Agent Orange at US Bases, Veterans Face Cancer Without VA Compensation
By Hannah Norman and Patricia Kime The Department of Veterans Affairs has long given vets who served in Vietnam disability compensation for illness connected to Agent Orange harm. But those exposed at U.S. bases are still waiting for the same benefits.

Journalists Drill Down on Bird Flu Risks, Opioid Settlement Payouts, and Fluoride in Drinking Water
KFF Health News and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media over the past two weeks to discuss recent stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.