Latest KFF Health News Stories
FDA Commissioner’s Decision To Resign At End Of Month Catches Washington, Industry By Surprise
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb will resign after nearly two years in the post because he misses his family. A senior White House official said Gottlieb was not pressured to leave and that President Donald Trump is “very fond” of him. Gottlieb, who has aggressively targeted teen vaping as a priority, won bipartisan praise during his tenure, but he wasn’t completely without his critics. His recent decision to approve a powerful opioid drew some fire, and Republicans were wary about his tough stance against the tobacco industry.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Opinion writers weigh in on these health topics and others.
Media outlets report on news from New Mexico, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Texas, Georgia, New Hampshire, Wyoming, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Massachusetts.
Why Is America’s Maternal Death Rate So High? C-Sections Are Key Part Of The Problem, Experts Say
While a new law will help states investigate why the death rates in America have more than doubled in the past 20 years, experts say complications from surgical deliveries are a key reason. Other news on women’s health looks at delivery times; midwifery; and an international campaign to end violence against women.
Officials announced that the information for about 45,000 patients in the Rush Health System was compromised. It is at least the second privacy-related incident reported by Rush this year, and one of a string of breaches that have plagued hospitals and health companies over the past few years.
More and more companies are jumping to help with the onerous task of finding caregivers for children with special needs, sick family members and dying patients. “People are able to spend the final days of a parent’s life with them, and they wouldn’t have been able to do that otherwise,” said Melanie Moriarty, a senior director in human resources at Best Buy. Other health industry news focuses on long-term insurance, mergers and contract changes.
Joe Grogan, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council. said the administration has not yet coalesced around a particular solution to the problem, but warned that any likely legislation or administrative action will be worse than if hospitals solve the issue themselves.
The Oxycontin-maker Purdue Pharma said the lawsuit filed by Massachusetts’ attorney general should be dismissed because it is “oversimplified scapegoating based on a distorted account of the facts.” Meanwhile, the company is possibly preparing a bankruptcy filing as it tries to contain liability from hundreds of similar lawsuits alleging it fueled the nation’s opioid epidemic. A bankruptcy filing would immediately halt the lawsuits and provide an avenue to settle the claims on a global basis overseen by the bankruptcy court.
National Rate Of Suicide, Alcohol And Drug Deaths Hits Record High
Advocates say the country needs to better understand what drives “these devastating deaths of despair.” In other public health news: Alzheimer’s, the flu, migrant health, depression, and more.
Massive Study Once Again Confirms Measles, Mumps And Rubella Vaccine Does Not Cause Autism
Despite the fact that dozens of other studies have proven the same thing, misinformation still persists. Experts see the new research as helpful because of the sheer scope of the project, which involved 657,461 Danish children born between 1999 and 2010. In other news on vaccinations: a look at doctors’ roles in the outbreaks and at states that are moving toward restricting exemptions.
Nearly 12 years to the day after the first patient ever was declared in remission from HIV, scientists announce that they were able to finally duplicate the efforts. The success of the bone marrow transplant, they say, offers hope that the disease is curable, despite the huge ongoing challenges.
“There are clearly patients who, despite many best efforts, are struggling to afford their insulin,” David Ricks, the chief executive of Eli Lilly, said in an interview. “This is a step we can take to close part of that remaining gap.” The move comes as senators and the public turn their attention to why the critical drug’s price has skyrocketed in recent years.
John Hickenlooper, the former governor of Colorado, says he supports the concept of universal health care coverage, but does not back plans such as “Medicare for All.” He was serving as governor at the time of the Aurora, Colo. mass shootings, and recently spoke out about gun control. “Gun violence is the real national emergency plaguing our nation,” he tweeted after the shooting last month in Illinois.
Democratic Texas state lawmakers are looking at the successes in other red states of ballot measures that took the Medicaid expansion debate to the people. Recent data from the U.S. Census shows Texas has both the highest number and highest percentage of uninsured residents in the United States. Medicaid news comes out of Florida, Ohio, Maine and Missouri, as well.
Many people receive subsidies to help pay for their insurance, but there’s a small group of people who make too much money. That, combined with the fact that plans can charge three times as much to older adults as younger ones, has created a vulnerable section of the country who struggle to pay for their coverage.
Administration To Overhaul Payment System For Dialysis, Shifting Focus From Clinics To Home Care
The goal is to reduce the $114 billion paid by the U.S. government each year to treat chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease, a top area of spending, HHS Secretary Alex Azar said. The move could rock the highly profitably dialysis industry–shares of the largest companies who operate such clinics fell at the news.
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb singled out Walgreens for some of his toughest criticism, pointing out that since 2010 the company has racked up almost 1,800 violations across the country. “Ignoring the law and then paying associated fines and penalties should not simply be viewed as a cost of doing business,” Gottlieb said. He requested a meeting with the company’s leaders.
Calling the restrictions on abortion referrals a “domestic gag order,” critics say the federal government’s change to the Title X funding was directed specifically at Planned Parenthood. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who has now filed 47 lawsuits against the Trump administration, says the new rule affects 4 million mostly low-income women nationwide and 1 million women in California.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
