Weekly Edition: April 12, 2018
A Tale Of Two CT Scanners — One Richer, One Poorer
Alison Kodjak, NPR News
Why is the price of a CT scan 33 times higher in an hospital emergency room than in an outpatient imaging center just down the street?
Medical Marijuana’s ‘Catch-22’: Federal Limits On Research Hinder Patients’ Relief
Marisa Taylor and Melissa Bailey
Suffering Americans seek medical marijuana as an alternative to opioids and other powerful pharmaceuticals. Though legal in 29 states, some doctors say the lack of strong data makes it hard to recommend.
KHN On C-SPAN: Current Capitol Hill Thinking On Combating The Opioid Crisis
KHN’s Shefali Luthra offers insight into what federal and state officials are eyeing to help reduce addiction problems.
How A Drugmaker Turned The Abortion Pill Into A Rare-Disease Profit Machine
Sarah Jane Tribble
An abortion drug invented decades ago is being used to treat Cushing’s syndrome — and it’s bringing in tens of millions of dollars a year.
FDA Launches Criminal Investigation Into Unauthorized Herpes Vaccine Research
Marisa Taylor
The Food and Drug Administration rarely prosecutes research violations, but its criminal division is looking into the experimental herpes vaccine research by Southern Illinois University professor William Halford.
Is There Such A Thing As Normal Aging?
Bruce Horovitz
Our experts track the signs of normal aging from ages 50 to 100 — and there are some surprises.
What We Know And Don’t Know About Memory Loss After Surgery
Judith Graham
Memory problems and trouble multitasking are among the symptoms of POCD, a little-known condition that affects a substantial number of older adults after surgery.
Can You Hear Me Now? Senate Bill Aims to Broaden Access To Hearing Services.
Michelle Andrews
The measure would allow Medicare beneficiaries to visit an audiologist to get a hearing test to diagnose a hearing problem without first being referred by a physician or nurse practitioner.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ It’s Nerd Week
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Sarah Kliff of Vox.com, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post discuss the Trump administration’s latest effort to revise rules for next year’s Affordable Care Act marketplaces. They also discuss state efforts to stabilize their individual markets in light of some of the changes being made at the federal level.
Puerto Rico’s Slow-Going Recovery Means New Hardship For Dialysis Patients
Carmen Heredia Rodriguez
Since massive Hurricane Maria struck in September and knocked out the dialysis center on the tiny satellite island of Vieques, more than a dozen patients needing treatment now must fly several times a week to the main island.
Make Room For Baby: After Giving Birth, Duckworth Presses Senate To Bend Rules
Emmarie Huetteman
The Illinois Democrat is the first sitting senator to give birth. She’s using the opportunity to call for adjusting Senate rules to accommodate new parents.
PrEP Campaign Aims To Block HIV Infection And Save Lives In D.C.
Selena Simmons-Duffin, NPR
Washington, D.C., is trying to stop new cases of HIV in the district by making sure residents who might be at risk are taking PrEP, medicine that cuts the risk of contracting the virus by 92 percent.
C-SPAN: FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb Talks To KHN
Kaiser Health News reporter Sarah Jane Tribble sat down with Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb on C-SPAN’s "Newsmakers" program. The conversation ranged from how the nation should combat the opioid epidemic to reining in drug prices.