Latest KFF Health News Stories
News outlets report on health issues in Michigan, Connecticut, North Carolina, Kansas, Rhode Island, Alabama, Oregon, Georgia and Indiana.
R.I. Seeks To Recoup Millions That Was Overpaid To Insurers For Medicaid
State officials say they expect to collect most of the money, but critics question whether the state acted quickly enough on the problem. Meanwhile, in Alabama, the legislature approves a budget that the governor has vowed to veto because of low Medicaid funding.
Philanthropist Aims To Shed Light On ‘Dark Matter Of Bioscience’ With $100M Commitment
Billionaire philanthropist Paul Allen’s goal is to give money to scientists who have out-of-the-box ideas and unconventional approaches to projects in tissue regeneration, antibiotic resistance, gene editing and the development of brain circuitry.
Congress Goes On Recess Without Zika Funding Vote And Officials Scramble To Buy Time
Health officials say they’re so strapped for resources that they’re moving money away from other critical health programs. In other public health news, parents may inaccurately project their own sleep problems on to their children, animal therapy relieves stress for health care providers, and scientists wonder if the trend of poor mental health in transgender individuals is a result from external or internal factors.
Tenn. Law Criminalizing Women Who Give Birth To Drug-Dependent Babies Set To End
The legislation will sunset on July 1, after a tied extension vote. Critics say the bill discouraged women from seeking treatment when they needed it.
Fentanyl’s Lethal Role In Sweeping Drug Epidemic
The powerful synthetic drug is causing scores of overdoses throughout the states, and its use with heroin is only spreading. Heroin is highly addictive, Bridget Brennan, New York’s special narcotics prosecutor says. “You put fentanyl in there, and all bets are off.”
Novartis Agrees To SEC Settlement
The company will pay about $25 million in a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission related to bookkeeping failures. Bristol-Myers-Squib will acquire a privately held company that will move it into the auto-immune disease drug market, and Propeller Health enters a digital partnership. News outlets also provide the latest on biosimilars and blood thinners,
Idaho Lawmakers Fail To Vote On Medicaid Expansion, Opt For New Studies Instead
The legislature does not finalize an expansion proposal as it nears adjournment. In other news, KHN examines Indiana’s novel Medicaid expansion.
HHS Proposes Expanding Diabetes Prevention Initiative After Pilot Program’s Successful Results
The program, which was implemented by YMCAs, was developed with an $11.8 million innovation grant under the health law. Participants who were at high risk of developing diabetes lost about 5 percent of their body weight. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said expanding the initiative within Medicare would save $2,650 over 15 months per beneficiary.
Burwell Touts Health Law But Notes Public’s Frustration With High Costs
The secretary of health and human services on the sixth anniversary of the law recalls the gains in coverage but acknowledges that health care is still an expensive item for many Americans. The law’s supporters elsewhere also extol its successes on the anniversary. At the same time, the GAO releases a new report on cybersecurity concerns for the law’s online insurance marketplace.
Keeping Fit May Keep Aging Minds Agile, Study Finds
A recent study links strenuous exercise with positive cognitive benefits in older Americans.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Supreme Court Seems Split After Oral Arguments In Contraception Case
Justice Anthony Kennedy — seen as the possible swing vote in the challenge on the health law’s contraception mandate case — asked whether the accommodation is making the groups “complicit in a moral wrong” by hijacking their insurance plans.
Viewpoints: Obamacare’s Next Step; Contraception Mandate Challenge At The Supreme Court
A selection of opinions from around the country.
News outlets report on health issues in Florida, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Ohio and Connecticut.
After Brussels Bombing, Ohio Hospitals Say They’re Prepared For Mass Casualty Event
But they say cuts in federal funding could jeopardize future preparedness. Elsewhere, The News Service of Florida reports on hospital developments in the Sunshine state.
Cost Of Aid-In-Dying Medication Doubled To More Than $3,000 Last Year
“It’s just pharmaceutical company greed,” said David Grube, a family doctor in Oregon, who says he remembers back in 2009 when a lethal dose of the drug, Seconal, was less than $200.
Two More California Hospitals Face Ransom Requests From Hackers
The demand to unlock the hospital computer systems is reportedly similar to what happened last month at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles.
A Glass (Or Two) Of Wine A Day May Not Keep The Doctor Away
A new analysis of the best research studies on alcohol’s effects pokes holes in the logic that a certain amount can lead to better health, including that moderate drinkers tend to be healthier anyway. In other public health news, mindfulness can work better than pain medication in fighting lower back pain, and a new study shows that less than 3 percent of Americans are living a healthy lifestyle.
Jails Train Inmates On Naloxone, Aiming To Empower Overdose-Vulnerable Population To ‘Save A Life’
Although proponents acknowledge the “antidote” isn’t a permanent fix, they say providing it to soon-to-be released inmates could save the lives of a group of people that is particularly hard hit by overdose deaths. In other news, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that fentanyl is responsible for nearly 1,000 deaths in Ohio over a 17-month time frame and a hearing focuses on a section in Social Security Act that some say is standing in the way of addiction treatment.
