KFFHN Weekly Edition: Sept. 22, 2023
With Its Two Doctors Planning to Retire, an Alabama Town Patches Together Health Care Options
By Arielle Zionts
LaFayette and other rural areas of the country tend to have high rates of health problems but not enough doctors. Many are adapting by investing in nontraditional prevention and treatment options.
Biden Administration to Ban Medical Debt From Americans’ Credit Scores
By Noam N. Levey
The White House said the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will develop new regulations that would prevent unpaid medical bills from being counted on credit reports.
Hep C’s Number Comes Up: Can Biden’s 5-Year Plan Eliminate the Longtime Scourge?
By Michelle Andrews
Before covid-19, hepatitis C held the distinction of claiming more American lives each year than any other infectious disease — that’s despite the marketing of several relatively affordable, highly effective treatments.
Health Workers Warn Loosening Mask Advice in Hospitals Would Harm Patients and Providers
By Amy Maxmen
Clinicians, researchers, and workplace safety officers worry new guidelines on face masks from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention might reduce protection against the coronavirus and other airborne pathogens in hospitals.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Injects Presidential Politics Into the Covid Vaccine Debate
By Phil Galewitz and Daniel Chang
Losing ground in the Republican primary, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and his top medical advisers dismissed the recent federal recommendation that almost everyone get an updated covid shot.
Watch: Thinking Big in Public Health, Inspired by the End of Smallpox
A conversation about how the lessons from the victory over smallpox could be applied to public health challenges today.
California Officials Seek ‘CARE’ Without Coercion as New Mental Health Courts Launch This Fall
By April Dembosky, KQED
In Orange County, California, officials are threading a delicate needle. They want to persuade people with psychosis to accept treatment without coercion as the state’s new CARE Courts roll out in October.
As Younger Children Increasingly Die by Suicide, Better Tracking and Prevention Is Sought
By Cheryl Platzman Weinstock
Decades-long systemic shortcomings have left suicide among children ages 5 to 11 poorly tracked and addressed. Now, as rates appear to be rising, advocates are strengthening efforts to screen for problems and prevent deaths in younger children.
How Will Rural Americans Fare During Medicaid Unwinding? Experts Fear They’re on Their Own
By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez
As states review their Medicaid rolls after the expiration of a pandemic-era prohibition against kicking recipients off the government insurance program, experts say the lack of help available to rural Americans in navigating insurance options puts them at greater risk of losing health coverage than people in metropolitan areas.
Save Billions or Stick With Humira? Drug Brokers Steer Americans to the Costly Choice
By Arthur Allen
Thousands of patients with autoimmune diseases who rely on Humira, with a list price of $6,600 a month, could get financial relief from new low-cost rivals. So far, the pharmacy benefit managers that control drug prices in America have not delivered on those savings.
When You Think About Your Health, Don’t Forget Your Eyes
By Bernard J. Wolfson
Americans think losing their eyesight would be one of the worst possible health outcomes, yet millions lack a fundamental understanding of eye health.
Countdown to Shutdown
Congress appears to be careening toward a government shutdown, as a small band of House conservatives vow to block any funding for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 unless they win deeper cuts to health and other domestic programs. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump continues to roil the GOP presidential primary field, this time with comments about abortion. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Tami Luhby of CNN join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
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“Health Minute” brings original health care and health policy reporting from the KFF Health News newsroom to the airwaves each week.