Weekly Edition: April 20, 2018
Barbara Bush’s End-Of-Life Decision Stirs Debate Over ‘Comfort Care’
By Melissa Bailey and JoNel Aleccia
The former first lady’s announcement “not to seek additional medical treatment” and to focus on “comfort care” shone a light on end-of-life choices.
‘Scary’ Lung Disease Now Afflicts More Women Than Men In U.S.
By Anna Gorman
Barbara Bush’s case highlights that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) — a disease linked to long-term smoking and traditionally considered a men’s disease — is now more prevalent among women.
Applying Silicon Valley Smarts To Age-Old Diseases
By Brian Rinker
Customized iPhones are just one example of devices that can be used to combat health threats in developing countries. They are helping scientists in California and Cameroon attack the parasite that causes river blindness, an African scourge.
New Medicare Perk For Diabetes Prevention Stumbles At Rollout
By Judith Graham
On April 1, Medicare launched a major initiative — a diabetes prevention program for seniors and people with serious disabilities— that is available in only a few cities.
Congress Urged To Cut Medicare Payments To Many Stand-Alone ERs
By Michelle Andrews
As free-standing emergency departments multiply, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission recommends a 30 percent reduction in some federal reimbursements for those within 6 miles of a hospital.
Nation’s Top Doc Wants The Overdose Antidote Widely On Hand. Is That Feasible?
By Shefali Luthra and Rachel Bluth
Surgeon General Jerome Adams urged more people to carry the drug naloxone, a lifesaving treatment for opioid overdoses. But this policy is tricky to implement.
Safety Violations Compound Pain Of Painkiller Shortages
By Pauline Bartolone
California and federal officials have cracked down on a major compounding pharmacy they say posed a threat to public safety, but their actions are worsening shortages of medications that doctors rely on to keep their patients out of pain.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Nothing In Health Care Ever Goes Away
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Sarah Jane Tribble of Kaiser Health News, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post examine how even after Republicans failed to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, the health care debate continues to roil politics. They discuss how Republicans in Congress have shifted their ACA messaging and how the Democrats are looking to Medicare expansion. They also discuss state efforts to expand Medicaid and drug pricing. And they spend a moment talking about Congress’ push to do something about the opioid crisis.
Calif. Leads Nation In Pushing Back Against Trump Administration Health Policies
By Ana B. Ibarra
In the face of federal efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, policymakers in the largest state are proposing laws and other changes to counter them. Beyond that, they’re aggressively pushing measures to expand health coverage beyond what the ACA envisioned.
Federal Appeals Court Puts Chill On Maryland Law To Fight Drug Price-Gouging
By Shefali Luthra
The decision in Maryland’s case could slow momentum for other states that are attempting to take action to curb high drug costs.
In A Puerto Rican Mountain Town, Hope Ebbs And Health Suffers
By Sarah Varney
More than six months after Hurricane Maria, daily life in Castañer, Puerto Rico, is nowhere close to normal as residents try to deal with the effects of trauma, chronic stress and the continued lack of electricity.
Drug Test Spurs Frank Talk Between Hypertension Patients And Doctors
By Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio
Roughly half of patients don't take their high blood pressure medicine as they should, even though heart disease is the leading cause of death in America. Now, a drug test can flag whether a patient is taking the prescribed medication and is meant to spark a more truthful conversation between patient and doctor.