Morning Briefing for Monday, April 1, 2024
April 1, 2024
Morning Briefing
Concierge physician care, psychiatric hospitals, covid misinfo, sudden infant deaths, flu, reproductive health, and more are in the news.
Study: Unsafe Sleep Practices Linked To Most Sudden Infant Deaths
April 1, 2024
Morning Briefing
An analysis determines that 76% of cases of infants who died suddenly involved unsafe sleep practices like co-sleeping or sleeping in an adult bed. Most were under the age of 3 months.
FDA Warns That Impella Heart Pumps Are Linked To 49 Deaths Globally
April 1, 2024
Morning Briefing
The tiny pumps can puncture the heart wall, and despite the FDA’s concerns, they will be allowed to remain in use. Separately, a biased organ test that kept thousands of Black people from kidney transplants is finally being changed.
Prosecutor Sued For $1M By Woman Charged With Murder After Abortion
April 1, 2024
Morning Briefing
A Texas prosecutor’s office is facing a lawsuit after it brought murder charges against a woman in 2022 for using a drug to self-induce an abortion at 19 weeks pregnant. Meanwhile an “abortion pills” banner was flown over a Texas baseball game Saturday.
A Health Care Election? Voters Say It’s No Longer A Top Issue
April 1, 2024
Morning Briefing
A new Gallup Poll ranks health care as the 16th-most important problem facing Americans today. This is a big departure from polling in recent election cycles when the issue was much higher on voters’ priority list.
First Edition: April 1, 2024
April 1, 2024
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Four Years After Shelter-in-Place, Covid-19 Misinformation Persists
By Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu, PolitiFact
April 1, 2024
KFF Health News Original
False claims that covid vaccines cause deaths and other diseases are still prevalent despite multiple studies showing the vaccines are safe and saved lives.
For-Profit Companies Open Psychiatric Hospitals in Areas Clamoring for Care
By Tony Leys
April 1, 2024
KFF Health News Original
State institutions and community hospitals have closed inpatient mental health units, often citing staffing and financial challenges. Now, for-profit companies are opening psychiatric hospitals to fill the void.
Hospitals Cash In on a Private Equity-Backed Trend: Concierge Physician Care
By Phil Galewitz
April 1, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Hospitals are increasingly stretching a velvet rope, offering “concierge service” to an affluent clientele. Critics say the practice exacerbates primary care shortages.
How Primary Care Is Being Disrupted: A Video Primer
By Julie Appleby and Hannah Norman and Oona Zenda
April 1, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Under pressure from increased demand, consolidation, and changing patient expectations, the model of care no longer means visiting the same doctor for decades.
Journalists Dig Into Measles, Abortion Access, and Medicaid Expansion
March 30, 2024
KFF Health News Original
KFF Health News and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media in recent weeks to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Viewpoints: Florida Pharmacists May Soon Become Prescribers; How Accurate Are Early Alzheimer’s Tests?
March 29, 2024
Morning Briefing
Editorial writers tackle the physician shortage, early Alzheimer’s testing, abortion rights, and more.
Change Restores Systems But Has Ways To Go With Recovery, Notifications
March 29, 2024
Morning Briefing
Change Healthcare offered an update on its efforts to fully recover from the ransomware attack and urged its customers to reconnect to the system. News outlets review the ways that the company may notify people about data breaches, the financial impact on hospitals, and more.
More Than 7 In 10 Americans Support Medication Abortion Access
March 29, 2024
Morning Briefing
A new Axios-Ipsos poll shows overwhelming support from the American public for medication abortions, and also underlines the FDA’s drug-regulating authority. Other reproductive care news is from Kansas and Idaho.
White House Makes Progress On Limits For PFAS In Tap Water
March 29, 2024
Morning Briefing
Politico calls the plan for nationwide forever chemical limits a “landmark;” The White House just finished a review of the EPA’s PFAS regulation proposal. Separately, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s vice presidential pick voices controversial views on IVF.
Simply Asking ER Patients If They’d Get Flu Shots Lifts Uptake Rate: Study
March 29, 2024
Morning Briefing
Plus, adding in a helpful video or printed material to support the vaccinations helps even more, a new study shows. Meanwhile, U.S. tuberculosis rates were found to be at a decade-high level in 2023, and mpox cases are rising again.
New Study Links Dementia Risks To Symptoms Of Delirium
March 29, 2024
Morning Briefing
Scientists are focusing in on delirium as a key symptom for flagging dementia risks in older people. Also in the news: risks from secondhand vaping; human milk and the gut microbiome; covid’s impact on heart tissue; and more.
Walgreens Now Set To Close Nearly Half Of Its VillageMD Clinics
March 29, 2024
Morning Briefing
The Walgreens-backed business has shut 140 clinics already this year, and now another 20 seem set to join them, totaling about 50% of the original number of VillageMD facilities. Walgreens has lost nearly $6 billion in its second quarter, AP says.
In Texas, Churches Step Up To Help With Mental Health Issues
March 29, 2024
Morning Briefing
Meanwhile, in Florida, a grand jury that’s examining issues relating to covid vaccines has asked for a six-month extension. Other health news is from North Carolina, Kentucky, Georgia, and elsewhere.
Morning Briefing for Friday, March 29, 2024
March 29, 2024
Morning Briefing
Medicare Advantage, ‘junk’ insurance plans, latest on Change hack, PFAS, abortion pills, dementia, flu shots, and more are in the news.