Latest KFF Health News Stories
Becoming Eligible For Medicare Is Only First Step In The Process. Here’s What Else You Should Know.
People turning 65 face a lot of decisions about their health care coverage. CBS offers a guide to help navigate through the confusing waters.
Report Slams Iowa Medicaid’s Managed Care Organizations As ‘Stubborn And Absurd’
The report investigates the appeals process of the private companies hired to manage Iowa’s Medicaid program. Medicaid news comes out of Ohio and California, as well.
People Who Experience Sudden, Dramatic Financial Loss Are 50% More Likely To Die Within 20 Years
The study suggests that financial health is more closely tied to wellbeing than might have been previously assumed.
States Shifting Toward Offering Medication-Assisted Treatment For Inmates With Opioid Addiction
A study of a new program in Rhode Island that offers inmates addiction medications found that opioid overdose deaths dropped by nearly two-thirds among recently incarcerated people in the first year of the initiative, which could provide a road map to other states struggling with the same issue. In other news on the crisis: the CMS tweaks its proposal on limiting opioid prescriptions; New Jersey’s governor halts new funding on public service announcements; and more.
The search for the bacteria was a first-of-its-kind hunt to see how widespread it was across the country during a time when drug resistance is becoming a major problem for doctors and hospitals.
The Stat investigation looks at the priorities of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism under Director George Koob. It comes amid a report that NIH researchers were wooing the alcohol industry to support a study about the benefits of moderate drinking.
Grindr Will No Longer Share Users’ HIV Information In Order To ‘Allay People’s Fears’
But the company says the backlash comes from a “misunderstanding of technology.” Chief security officer Bryce Case stressed that the HIV data had only been shared with Apptimize as part of Grindr’s standard rollout procedure for new features on the app, and that it wasn’t used for nefarious purposes or to make money.
Salmonella Risk Prompts FDA To Issue First-Ever Mandatory Recall Over Kratom
The FDA said the company that makes the herbal supplement did not cooperate with the agency’s request for a voluntary recall.
In all, 11.8 million people signed up for coverage through the marketplaces, down about 400,000 from last year. And while premiums did spike, subsidized consumers are actually paying less because of an odd quirk that came about after the Trump administration cut off payments to insurers.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial pages focus on these and other health topics.
Perspectives: VA Needs A Good Soldier To Change Dysfunction, Not A Talker At A Podium
Opinion writers express views on President Donald Trump’s selection of Dr. Ronny Jackson to head up the Department of Veteran Affairs.
Media outlets report on news from Nevada, Ohio, D.C., Virginia, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, California, Illinois, Colorado and Texas.
Buying Into The Hype Around Exciting Genetic Technology? Here’s A Gut Check
Stat offers a three-part documentary series that looks back at the roots of three of today’s most promising genetic technologies. In other public health news: racial disparities and infant mortality; antibiotics and allergies; autism friendly destinations; tai chi; food and depression; and more.
Bringing Food To Low-Income Seniors, Disabled People Helps Cut Costly Emergency Visits
As health care costs continue to skyrocket, people have begun looking at other factors that can contribute to people’s overall wellbeing. By catching problems before they escalate, services such a food deliveries can curb expensive trips to the ER.
Vaping ‘Is Our Demon’: Where E-Cigarettes Help Adults Kick A Habit, Students Are Getting Hooked
There’s been an explosion of vaping among high school and middle school students across the country, and advocates worry the devices are creating a new generation of kids addicted to nicotine.
States, Physicians And Others Stepping Up To Fill Gaps In Gun Violence Research
“Unless we understand what’s going on we cannot prevent it,” said Ali Mokdad, professor of global health, epidemiology at the University of Washington School of Public Health.
Availability Of Legal Medical Marijuana Linked To Lower Opioid Prescription Rates
Over-prescribing has played a major role in the opioid epidemic, and some researchers see the findings in recent studies as a way to help curb the crisis.
Right now, a package of two Evzio auto-injectors has a wholesale price of $3,750 — up from $575 in 2014 when the decades-old version of naloxone won regulatory approval. Advocates urge the White House to invoke a law that would allow the government to use the patented invention without permission. In other news on the crisis: the downside of an addiction drug; DEA’s crackdown nets arrests; Justice Department wants in on settlement negotiations with drugmakers; and more.
Popular Gay Dating App Grindr Is Disclosing Its Users’ HIV Status To Outside Companies
The HIV information is sent together with users’ GPS data, phone ID, and email. “The HIV status is linked to all the other information. That’s the main issue,” said Antoine Pultier, a researcher at the Norwegian nonprofit SINTEF, which first identified the issue.
