KFF Health News Weekly: May 17, 2024

Tribal Nations Invest Opioid Settlement Funds in Traditional Healing To Treat Addiction
By Aneri Pattani and Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez Hundreds of Native American tribes are getting money from settlements with companies that made or sold prescription painkillers. Some are investing it in sweat lodges, statistical models, and insurance-billing staffers.

Watch: John Oliver Dishes on KFF Health News’ Opioid Settlements Series
A recent broadcast of “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” frequently cited KFF Health News in its examination of how billions of dollars from the opioid settlements are being spent.

Why One New York Health System Stopped Suing Its Patients
By Noam N. Levey Most U.S. hospitals aggressively pursue patients for unpaid bills. One New York hospital system decided to work with them instead.

FDA Said It Never Inspected Dental Lab That Made Controversial AGGA Device
By Brett Kelman and Anna Werner, CBS News Johns Dental Laboratories stopped making the Anterior Growth Guidance Appliance last year after a KFF Health News-CBS News investigation into allegations of patient harm. The company had “never” reported any complaints about its products to the FDA, according to the agency.

Federal Panel Prescribes New Mental Health Strategy To Curb Maternal Deaths
By Cheryl Platzman Weinstock The leading causes of pregnancy-related deaths in the United States — including suicides and fatalities linked to substance use disorders — stem from mental health conditions. Now a federal task force has recommended strategies to help women who are at risk during or after pregnancy.

Addiction Treatment Homes Say Montana’s Funding Fixes Don’t Go Far Enough
By Katheryn Houghton Montana has created a voucher program to help cover room and board costs at low-intensity residential programs for people with addiction. Those running the homes say bridging that care is urgent but that the program’s funding falls far below the need.

First Responders, Veterans Hail Benefits of Psychedelic Drugs as California Debates Legalization
By Bernard J. Wolfson California lawmakers have modified a psychedelic drug bill that was vetoed last year, narrowing it to allow only supervised use of psilocybin mushrooms, ecstasy, and other hallucinogens rather than decriminalize more broadly. The current bill would establish new state agencies to regulate the program.

San Francisco Tries Tough Love by Tying Welfare to Drug Rehab
By Ronnie Cohen Facing an overdose epidemic and public fury over conditions on the streets, famously tolerant San Francisco will start requiring welfare recipients to undergo drug screening, and treatment if necessary, to receive cash public assistance.

Clean Needles Save Lives. In Some States, They Might Not Be Legal.
By Ed Mahon, Spotlight PA and Sarah Boden, WESA As billions of dollars from settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors go to state and local governments, efforts to reduce the epidemic’s harm can be hamstrung by drug paraphernalia laws. Health authorities say distributing clean syringes to users can save lives, but in states like Pennsylvania, it may be illegal.

After a Child’s Death, California Weighs Rules for Phys Ed During Extreme Weather
By Samantha Young A California lawmaker wants the state to craft guidelines for how and when schoolchildren can play or exercise during extreme weather, including heat waves. The bill comes after a 12-year-old boy died after a physical education instructor told him to run as the temperature topped 90 degrees.

The Lure of Specialty Medicine Pulls Nurse Practitioners From Primary Care
By Michelle Andrews Nurse practitioners have been viewed as a key to addressing the shortage of primary care physicians. But data suggests that, just like doctors, they are increasingly drawn to better-paying specialties.

Nursing Homes Wield Pandemic Immunity Laws To Duck Wrongful Death Suits
By Fred Schulte More than 172,000 nursing home residents died of covid. In lawsuits, some families who lost loved ones say they were misled about safety measures or told that covid wasn’t a danger in their facilities.

Medicaid ‘Unwinding’ Decried as Biased Against Disabled People
By Daniel Chang People with disabilities say they are abruptly losing their Medicaid home health benefits and are being advised incorrectly when they call state offices for more information. “Every day the anxiety builds,” one beneficiary told KFF Health News.

California’s $12 Billion Medicaid Makeover Banks on Nonprofits’ Buy-In
By Angela Hart California’s Medicaid program is relying heavily on community groups to deliver new social services to vulnerable patients, such as security deposits for homeless people and air purifiers for asthma patients. But many of these nonprofits face staffing and billing challenges and haven’t been able to deliver services effectively.

Medics at UCLA Protest Say Police Weapons Drew Blood and Cracked Bones
By Molly Castle Work and Brett Kelman In contrast to police statements, volunteer medics said they treated serious wounds as UCLA’s pro-Palestinian protest was besieged by police and counterprotesters, including some injuries that appeared to be caused by “less lethal” projectiles fired by cops.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Bird Flu Lands as the Next Public Health Challenge
Public health authorities are closely watching an unusual strain of bird flu that has infected dairy cows in nine states and at least one dairy worker. Meanwhile, another major health system suffered a cyberattack, and Congress is moving to extend the availability of telehealth services. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Atul Grover of the Association of American Medical Colleges about its recent analysis showing that graduating medical students are avoiding training in states with abortion bans and major restrictions.

An Arm and a Leg: Digging Into Facility Fees
By Dan Weissmann “An Arm and a Leg” is looking for listener stories about facility fees for a new project.

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.

Journalists Demystify Bird Flu, Brain Worms, and New Staffing Mandates for Nursing Homes
KFF Health News and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media in recent weeks to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.