Latest KFF Health News Stories
Vice President Harris Aims To Reduce High US Maternal Death Rate
A report in Bloomberg detailing the plan calls the U.S. maternal mortality rate “alarmingly high.” The strategy calls for extending postpartum coverage under Medicaid to 12 months. Meanwhile, USA Today details where to find the best hospitals in which to have a baby.
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Plans To Add $3.4B For Health Care Research
The Facebook founder and his wife are adding the money to their charitable foundation over 15 years. In other health industry news, United Healthcare loses a $60 million lawsuit, and Centene settles with the state of Kansas with a $28 million payment.
Young People Face ‘Devastating’ Mental Health Crisis: Surgeon General
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy says there was a mental health crisis among younger Americans even before the pandemic struck, with one in three high school students reporting persistent sadness or hopelessness. News outlets cover other mental health issues.
Taking Viagra Linked To Huge Reduction In Risk Of Alzheimer’s
A study of health insurance data for more than 7.2 million people showed a nearly 70% lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s in the next six years among those who took sildenafil (originally designed as a heart drug) versus those who didn’t. News outlets note, however, that correlation isn’t causation.
Biden Panel Disagrees On Adding More Justices
A plan to shift the political leanings of the Supreme Court did not get support from a bipartisan presidential panel on judicial reform.
House Passes Bill To Ease Debt Ceiling Crisis And Avert Medicare Cuts
The legislation would halt planned reductions in Medicare reimbursements. Senate Republican leaders say they will support the measure.
A Plant-Based Covid Vaccine Shows Promise
Medicago and GlaxoSmithKline reported positive results for a clinical trial of what they said is the first plant-based coronavirus vaccine. Other vaccine news is more discouraging: only 60% of Americans are vaccinated and those who won’t get a shot are unlikely to let their children get a shot either.
U.S. Military Largely Complies With Vaccine Mandate
Among news about vaccinations, vaccination mandates and vaccination refusals, 27,000 active-duty military personnel have refused orders to get covid shots. But that translates to over 95% compliance. Businesses in New York City react to the mayor’s proposal that all employers in the city force their employees to vaccinate.
Biden Vaccine Mandates Blocked Again
A federal judge in Georgia blocked nationwide the Biden mandates that federal contractors’ employees must be vaccinated. Meanwhile Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb of Indiana expressed frustration Tuesday at the “absurd” reasons some cite for refusing vaccinations.
Worst Covid Cases Concentrated In Six States
Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York and Illinois account for the majority of the country’s increase in covid hospitalizations. And an Illinois lawmaker wants unvaccinated hospital patients in Illinois to pay their own coronavirus medical bills out of pocket.
Covid-Spreader Event At Anime Convention Studied
CDC hopes that an investigation of the omicron variant spread at a New York City anime convention provides insights. Other news on the spread of the variant.
Early Lab Work Heightens Worry Omicron Resists Antibodies
The covid variant may elude some of the protections offered by antibodies and the Pfizer vaccine, but boosters may counter the virus.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Different Takes: How To Improve US Maternal Health Outcomes; Rethinking Labels For Disabilities
Editorial pages tackle these public health issues.
Opinion writers weigh in on these covid issues.
US To Inject $400M Into Global Covid Vaccine Program
The money will help support vaccine distribution, including the cold temperature conditions some covid shots require. Meanwhile, authorities added a number of new European countries to the “very high risk” list as omicron continues to spread.
Self-Check For Dementia Test Works Faster Than Old System: Study
The “self-administered gerocognitive examination” test detected cognitive decline six months earlier than standard testing. Separately, product recalls were issued for adult portable bed rails and some meat products, plus news on pregnant homicide rates, and marijuana and sleep.
Prescription Drug Cost Managing Company To Pay Kansas $27.6M
The legal settlement comes after an investigation over whether the company, hired for the Medicaid program, overcharged the state. The trial of Theranos’ founder Elizabeth Holmes, financial dealings at J&J, neurodegeneration treatments from Flagship Pioneering and more are also in the news.
Navy To Address Honolulu Drinking Water Fuel Contamination Issue
The Hawaii Department of Health ordered the Navy to sort out drinking water contamination problems, linked to a fuel storage complex, which had led to worries over public health. In other news, a new study has highlighted the high costs of extreme heat in Phoenix.
Wisconsin Hospitals Revved Up Debt Collection, Especially Against Blacks
Researchers from Yale and Stanford reported in the journal Health Affairs that the rate of medical debt collection lawsuits in the state increased by more than a third from 2001 to 2018, Bloomberg and other news outlets reported. The targets were disproportionately Black patients, data show.
