Latest KFF Health News Stories
Media outlets report on news from Texas, Ohio, California, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Minnesota and Florida.
UnitedHealth To Acquire Advisory Board’s Health Operation In Latest High-Profile Takeover
UnitedHealth’s health services arm, Optum, has grown rapidly over the years with an aggressive spate of acquisitions.
Defense Secretary To Create Panel To Advise On Implementation Of Transgender Military Ban
In the meantime, transgender troops will be allowed to continue to serve.
Advocates Fear Children’s Health Insurance Could Be Threatened By Efforts To Change ACA
Funding runs out at the end of September for CHIP, which covers 8 million children around the country. But some lawmakers hope to attach more controversial measures to the bill. Also, a federal Medicaid program to help fight substance abuse is getting a slow start while California’s efforts are leading the way. And in Georgia, a new leader is named for the state Medicaid program.
Virginia Madueño says that after she attended a local health care town hall she realized “not only did I have a story to share but I had a cause, if you will. I could relate.”
How Arm-Twisting, Wooing And Cajoling Got 49 Bare Counties In U.S. Down To Zero
Stat talks to the director of Nevada’s insurance exchange, where 14 of 17 counties had no insurers offering coverage under the Affordable Care Act, about lessons learned and the future of the marketplace. Meanwhile, KHN offers a look at the more out-of-the-box ideas on how to stabilize the industry.
‘Fat’ No Longer A Four-Letter Word When It Comes To Healthy Diets
A massive study look at how adults all over the world eat comes down on the side of fat, while carbohydrates get booted to the curb. In other public health news: more on the crackdown on stem cell clinics, dementia, good cholesterol, plastic surgery and more.
Sessions: U.S. Must Create ‘Culture That’s Hostile To Drug Use’ To Combat Opioid Epidemic
“Our current drug epidemic is indeed the deadliest in American history. We’ve seen nothing like it,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday. Meanwhile, officials explain why the crisis hasn’t officially been declared a national emergency yet.
For Houston’s Hospitals That Were Already Struggling, Harvey Is Another Financial Blow
Even before the storm, changes in the health care landscape and other challenges have led Houston hospitals to cut thousands of jobs this year and record millions of dollars in losses. Meanwhile, media outlets give updates on how the flooding is affecting the facilities.
Harvey Brings Myriad Of Health Problems, Both Immediate and Long-Term
Limited drug access, power outages and floodwater injuries are challenges the residents of Houston will have to face right away. But the storm also brings long-term problems, such as mosquitoes, mold and damage to mental health. Meanwhile, experts say that the calls for tetanus shots amid the flooding are buying into an old wives’ tale.
First Edition: August 30, 2017
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
A selection of opinions on public health issues from around the country.
Media outlets report on news from Massachusetts, New York, Iowa, California, Florida, Kansas and Maryland.
Massachusetts Struggling To Cope With Opioid Crisis: ‘These Issues Are So Big And Overwhelming’
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) surveyed more than 80 organizations that provide prevention, treatment, and recovery services for people with substance use disorders.
Gilead Gambles On Kite’s Cancer Therapy, Scooping Up Drugmaker In $11B Deal
The move is a departure from the path currently being followed by the pharmaceutical industry where the pace of acquisitions had largely slowed this year.
Aetna Violated Patients’ Privacy With Envelopes Revealing HIV Status, Lawsuit Alleges
The company sent letters to the patients to notify them about a change in pharmacy benefits, but the words “filling prescriptions for HIV” were able to be seen through the large window on the front of the envelope.
As N.H. Weighs Future Of Medicaid Expansion, Report Highlights Higher Costs For Enrollees
New Hampshire opted to use federal funding for the Medicaid expansion to enroll 43,000 people on private insurance plans on the health law’s marketplace. The report found that those enrollees tended to be on high-cost plans and cost more than the average marketplace customer, even though they were on average younger than the usual customers.
Governors Keeping Details Of Blueprint To Stabilize Marketplace Close To Chest For Now
Govs. John Kasich (R-Ohio) and John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) announce they’ve come up with a bipartisan plan, but they aren’t releasing the details yet. Meanwhile, a sweeping ad campaign focusing on repeal-and-replace efforts is being launched against Republicans. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention releases numbers on how many Americans are uninsured.
Transgender Military Ban Unconstitutional, Civil-Liberties Groups Claim In Lawsuits
The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland files its suit in Baltimore on behalf of six currently serving transgender service members, while Lambda Legal and OutServe-SLDN file a separate suit in Seattle.
Stem Cell Clinic Raid Is Part Of FDA’s Crackdown On Industry’s ‘Unscrupulous Actors’
The California clinic has been using smallpox vaccine on seriously ill cancer patients. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb says he is launching a new working group at the agency “to pursue unscrupulous clinics through whatever legally enforceable means are necessary to protect the public health.”
