Latest KFF Health News Stories
Have The Days Of Double Hospital Rooms Passed? Patients Start To Expect Private Rooms As The Norm
More and more hospitals are transitioning toward private rooms as the standard, reflecting a growing sentiment that patient comfort is an essential part of the hospital business. Hospital news comes out of California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Illinois, and Kansas, as well.
States across the country have been beefing up their response to the opioid crisis by investing in treatment infrastructure, building databases, offering clean syringes and more. News on the crisis comes out of Maryland and Florida, as well.
More than 200,000 patients age 65 and older receive dialysis and are often told they’d die without it, yet few are informed about a conservative option that helps manage the disease. Public health news also looks at spanking; gay Catholic priests; CBD oil; a CRISPR patent; unsafe radiation exposure; presidents’ public speech patterns; new Ebola treatments and more.
The change in estrogen doesn’t just effect fertility, scientists are beginning to understand. It also effects how the brain is protected from aging. In other women’s health news: heart attacks, genetic testing, pregnancy and breast cancer.
Resistance And Mistrust Around Vaccinations Aren’t Anything New–They’ve Always Existed Together
Although the antivaccination movement has grown in the past few years, thanks in part to social media, there has always been a fierce outcry against compulsory shots for as long as vaccines have been used. Experts are hoping to leverage the recent outbreak in the Pacific Northwest to change minds. And some recent trends suggest that it might be the case.
An investigation this month has revealed that the Indian Health Service mishandled allegations against a doctor who was allowed to continue practicing for years following the accusations. Now Sen. Mike Rounds wants a broader assessment of the problems at the department. “Come hell or high water, we’re going to get to the bottom of what the problems are,” he said.
Darin Selnick, a senior Veterans Affairs adviser, flew to Washington, D.C. from California for two weeks out of every month, at taxpayers’ expense. Reports show that the costs for the six trips during the time period between Oct. 21, 2018, and Jan. 19, 2019 included: $3,885.60 for six round-trip flights in coach, $5,595.46 for 23 nights in hotels and $1,976 for meals. In other news, an army veteran is suing over defective earplugs.
The deaths have brought national attention to the quality of care at detention facilities following the controversy over family separations. Part of the budget deal that averted a government shutdown last week included $415 million for humanitarian relief “specifically for medical care” and to improve Border Patrol processing facilities in the region.
Moderate 2020 Hopefuls Embrace Medicare Buy-In, With Universal Coverage As A Longer-Term Goal
“Medicare for All” may be a litmus test for progressive Democrats, but moderates are aiming for a more centrist approach. Both Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) reiterated that, although universal health care is something good to aim for in the long-term, helping people with more practical solutions immediately is what they’re focused on.
Health companies can be hit hard by whistleblower cases, with said whistleblowers potentially pocketing a large amount of money for coming forward. But with William Barr, who has called whistleblower law an unconstitutional “abomination,” as attorney general, industry groups are hopeful some of the pressure will ease.
Health Technology Leaders Surprised And Giddy Over Administration’s Proposed Rules On Patient Data
Trump administration officials say the rules are geared toward putting patients in control of their own health records. Health technology experts were thrilled at the prospect of more open sharing of health information in a standardized format. “Oh, my goodness, I’ve been dancing in the streets!” said Aneesh Chopra, president of CareJourney, a company that analyzes data for health care firms. Other health and technology news focuses on the challenge of getting people to actually use new digital tools, simple devices that can have a big impact on patients’ lives, and mental health apps.
Democratic lawmakers pointed out what they called “troubling irregularities” in the regulatory review process of changes that the Trump administration wants to make to the Title X program. “We have reason to believe that the final rule, if implemented, would undermine the federal Title X family planning program and threaten access to family planning services for millions of low-income women across the United States,” they wrote.
On Heels Of Successful Medicaid Expansion Initiatives, Red State Lawmakers Mull Ballot Restrictions
Lawmakers in Florida and Missouri, two states that could be new targets for Medicaid expansion advocates, are considering bills that would add obstacles to getting initiatives onto the ballots. The changes could include charging fees, mandating more petition signatures or requiring more votes for passage. Meanwhile, NPR looks at how the work requirements added to Arkansas’ Medicaid program have effected enrollment. News comes out of Kansas, as well.
Supporters and opponents of abortion rights describe this as the most fraught time for Roe v. Wade since the early 1990s, when the high court was filled with Republican appointees and instances of blockades, bombings and arson at clinics were on the rise. “That was a moment people thought Roe v. Wade was going to end and abortion rights were going to disappear,” said David S. Cohen, a law professor at Drexel University whose research explores issues such as abortion at the intersection of constitutional law and gender. “Many people feel that way now.” Meanwhile, the practice of “adopting” other couples’ frozen embryos allows antiabortion people to take part in IVF in a manner they deem ethical.
First Edition: February 19, 2019
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Opinion writers weigh in on these and other health topics.
Longer Looks: School Shooters; Teen Vaping; And Measles
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Media outlets report on news from Connecticut, California, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, New Hampshire, Texas, Wyoming, Minnesota, Georgia, Louisiana and Oregon.
Ambivalence Over Motherhood Could Reshape Practices Around Family Planning
New data from a CDC survey finds that in up to 19 percent of pregnancies, women are unsure if they want to be pregnant, a state of mind doctors need to be in tune with when counseling them, researchers say. Public health news looks at AIDS death rates in the South; depression’s harmful role in aging brains; looking for treatments in moss piglets and a reason to get off the couch this weekend, as well.
But African Americans still have the highest death rate and the lowest survival rate of any racial or ethnic group for most cancers. “The message is progress has been made, but we still have a long way to go,” said Len Lichtenfeld, interim chief medical officer for the cancer society.
