First Edition: March 4, 2024
March 4, 2024
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
California Pushes to Expand the Universe of Abortion Care Providers
By Laurie Udesky
March 4, 2024
KFF Health News Original
A new California law allows trained physician assistants, also called physician associates, to perform first-trimester abortions without the presence of a supervising doctor. The legislation is part of a broader effort by the state to expand access to abortion care, especially in rural areas. Some doctor groups are wary.
America Worries About Health Costs — And Voters Want to Hear From Biden and Republicans
By Julie Appleby and Phil Galewitz
Updated March 8, 2024
Originally Published March 4, 2024
KFF Health News Original
The presidential election is likely to turn on the simple question of whether Americans want Donald Trump back in the White House. But health care tops the list of household financial worries for adults from both parties.
Journalists Examine Medicaid Unwinding, Farmworkers’ Mental Health, and the Big Opioid Payback
March 2, 2024
KFF Health News Original
KFF Health News and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Cómo la muerte de un amigo hizo que adolescentes de Colorado se volvieran activistas contra las sobredosis
By Rae Ellen Bichell
March 1, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Los amigos de un joven muerto por envenenamiento por fentanilo impulsan una ley estatal para que estudiantes de secundaria puedan llevar Narcan en sus mochilas sin riesgo de ser castigados.
Avanzan en varios estados proyectos de ley extremos sobre el uso de baños por género
By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez
March 1, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Al menos uno de los proyectos de ley es tan extremo como para proponer que se considere delito que una persona transgénero entre en una instalación que no coincida con el sexo indicado en su acta de nacimiento.
Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
March 1, 2024
Morning Briefing
Each week, KFF Health News finds longer stories for you to enjoy. This week’s selections include stories on Castleman disease, Kawasaki disease, phage therapy, Tribeca Pediatrics, and more.
Viewpoints: Rural Patients Suffer Under Stark Law; How ‘Moral Hazard’ Affects Addiction Treatment
March 1, 2024
Morning Briefing
Editorial writers discuss the Physician Self-Referral Law, drug addiction, and IVF.
Funding For Health Measures Still In Limbo Amid Spending Deal Talks
March 1, 2024
Morning Briefing
Such programs were not a part of the stopgap funding measure passed by Congress yesterday, that will keep the government operating further into March. Providers and hospitals hope that extended money for community health centers or a reduction of the Medicare physician pay cut could still make a final spending deal.
RSV Shots: Health Officials Investigate Rare Cases Of Guillain-Barré Syndrome
March 1, 2024
Morning Briefing
The numbers are small, around two cases per 100,000 people who’ve been given the vaccine, and more data is required to properly quantify the risk. Meanwhile, Pfizer says its RSV single dose vaccine Abrysvo protects against the illness through two years.
Staff Shortages, Employee Burnout Are At Crisis Levels In Nursing Homes
March 1, 2024
Morning Briefing
Although the worst of the covid pandemic is over, problems it caused in the U.S. nursing home industry persist. CMS, meanwhile, reports that during the pandemic in 2021, health systems saw deepened racial disparities and worse care outcomes affect their quality measures.
FDA Found Quality-Control Issues In California Neuralink Lab
March 1, 2024
Morning Briefing
The brain implant company was cited for problems with record-keeping and quality controls for animal experiments, Reuters says. The company’s Texas facility was found problem-free. Also in the news, biotech companies worry about government oversight of biosecurity as it pertains to China.
Deaths Linked To Excess Alcohol Hit 488 Per Day During Pandemic: CDC
March 1, 2024
Morning Briefing
Excessive alcohol consumption drove a spike in deaths at the height of the pandemic, new CDC data show. Separately, the WHO is warning that effective anti-obesity medication isn’t going to be enough to solve a problem that affects over a billion people around the world.
Rural Emergency Hospital Program Gets Go-Ahead From Florida Senate
March 1, 2024
Morning Briefing
The goal is to ensure health care access in rural areas by creating a new type of health facility. Also in the news, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles launched a new Small Baby Unit; a shigellosis outbreak hits unhoused people in Santa Cruz; a Michigan study of marijuana health benefits; more.
Morning Briefing for Friday, March 1, 2024
March 1, 2024
Morning Briefing
Medical debt, IVF, overdoses, ransomware attack, nursing home staffing shortages, RSV shots, and more are in the news. Plus, your weekend reads.
Health Providers Struggle To Get Paid As Ransomware Attack Stretches On
March 1, 2024
Morning Briefing
Hospitals, health systems, and pharmacies that work with the UnitedHealth subsidiary are now feeling the effects of the cyberattack on Change Healthcare as payments are frozen. More patients are also experiencing difficulty in getting their medical prescriptions filled amid reports that the ransomware outage could last several more weeks.
Judge Strikes Down 3 Montana Anti-Abortion Laws As Unconstitutional
March 1, 2024
Morning Briefing
Laws that included banning abortions after 20 weeks were struck down by District Court Judge Kurt Krueger. Meanwhile, Missouri accused Planned Parenthood of “trafficking” minors for abortions. The death of a pregnant Amish woman is among other news.
Alabama Lawmakers Advance Bills To Shield IVF Clinics
March 1, 2024
Morning Briefing
Alabama’s House and Senate both passed similar bills Thursday that will be swapped and debated next week. The measures aim to address fallout from the state’s Supreme Court ruling granting “personhood” to frozen embryos. News outlets also examine the reverberations from that case outside of Alabama.
First Edition: March 1, 2024
March 1, 2024
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.