Latest KFF Health News Stories
Powerful California Nurses Union Eyes National Audience For ‘Medicare For All’ Campaign
Previously, the California Nurses Association, which represents 100,000 nurses across California, focused on the state’s efforts to shift to single-payer health care. But the organization is rebranding its efforts to go national. In other news, a new poll reveals single-payer’s popularity with younger Americans.
Uttam Dhillon is now the Trump administration’s third-consecutive acting administrator for the DEA — which oversees the federal response to the opioid epidemic. Some law enforcement groups have voiced opposition to Dhillon’s appointment. Meanwhile, the FDA is likely to approve a powerful opioid despite the disapproval from the head of the agency’s advisory panel.
Caitlyn Jenner is a transgender rights activist who made waves by supporting President Donald Trump. But following the report that the administration is considering a new definition of gender that would eliminate protections for transgender individuals, she wrote an opinion piece saying that she was “wrong.”
The moves come amid heightened government scrutiny of the e-cigarette industry, with the FDA trying to curb an “epidemic” of vaping among young people. Altria only has a tiny slice of the market, but the decision could pressure other companies, like Juul, to follow suit.
Stat’s annotated excerpt of her stump speech demonstrates a political candidate going all-in on Big Pharma, as Sen. Claire McCaskill’s (D-Wis.) fights to retain her seat. In other news from the elections, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) talks about her support for “Medicare for all” during a debate with Republican challenger Chele Farley.
Pharma Comes Out Swinging Against White House Plan In Opening Salvo Of Likely Fierce Battle
PhRMA, a lobbying group for pharmaceutical companies, called the proposal “price controls” and said it was “disappointed the administration put the needs of patients aside with these proposals.” There will likely be escalating pushback from the industry against the new proposal intended to curb high drug prices.
President Donald Trump says his plan will take aim at “global freeloading” with his plan, which would run essentially as a pilot program within the Medicare Part B program. “Same company. Same box. Same pill. Made in the exact same location, and you would go to some countries and it would be 20 percent of the cost of what we pay,” he said.
A few recent celebrity cases have highlighted how making decisions over a loved one with dementia can be emotionally fraught. “We find there’s a lot of conflict,” said Ruth Drew, director of information and support services for the Alzheimer’s Association. “Often times, there are old family dynamics that are emerging. Old stressors and old wounds that people thought were put to rest a long time ago.” In other public health news: decoding genomes, herbicide, violence against Native American women, the cerebellum, breast-feeding, and more.
First Edition: October 26, 2018
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial pages focus on the Health Law and other health topics.
Longer Looks: Opioids In Virginia; Abortions By Mail; And Prescription Drug Shortages
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Media outlets report on news from South Carolina, Minnesota, Washington, Illinois, California, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Ohio, Wisconsin and Texas.
U.S. Diplomats Pulled Out Of China Had Different Injuries Than Ones From Cuba
The new findings may ease fears that whatever affected the diplomats in Havana has spread, though doctors still do not know what has caused either set of injuries. In other public health news: intimate partner violence, CPR, heart attacks, spinal cord operations, and more.
Fatal Viral Outbreak At New Jersey Medical Center Poses High Risk For Frail, Young Patients
As adenovirus infection claimed its seventh victim, health officials investigate the cause of the outbreak at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in Haskell, N.J.. The for-profit center has closed its doors to new patients. Normally, the virus would cause a mild illness with cold-like symptoms in otherwise healthy people.
Health Advisory Group Recommends Hepatitis A Shots For Homeless As Outbreaks Increase
The panel’s unanimous recommendation to vaccinate against the contagious liver disease would make it easier for health care workers who serve the homeless to offer hepatitis A shots along with other services. The panel draws up advice for the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.
Dr. Antonia C. Novello, Dr. M. Joycelyn Elders, Dr. David Satcher and Dr. Richard Carmona spoke about their tenures as surgeon general, and the importance of impartial public health officials with authority.
Potential Competitor To Genomic Sequencing Giant Illumina Emerges From China
If the Chinese company’s technology can do what executives say it can, then the competition it brings into the marketplace could drive down the already-plummeting cost of genome sequencing. Other industry news focuses on hospices, health care systems, and hospitals.
The new $5,850 a year price tag is still higher than cost-effectiveness watchdogs recommend, but it’s a big drop from the original $14,000 a year. Sales never took off for the drug, in part because patients balked at the cost. Meanwhile, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb sounds an alarm over pricey new cancer treatments.
The lack of advance notice left the agencies scrambling to deal with the increase in detained children, according to a new GAO report. The findings also note that the absence of a central database for the migrants was a key factor in complicating and slowing the reunification of families.
New Single-Dose Flu Medication Approved By FDA After Last Year’s Vicious Season
The treatment is the first new influenza drug with a novel mechanism of action that the FDA has approved in nearly 20 years. If patients see their doctors within 48 hours of symptom onset one dose of Xofluza may significantly reduce the duration of flu symptoms.
