Viewpoints: How Damaging Are Private Equity Firms To Health Care?; Ohio Backtracks On Transgender Care
January 11, 2024
Morning Briefing
Editorial writers discuss private equity firms, transgender health care, botox and more.
Morning Briefing for Thursday, January 11, 2024
January 11, 2024
Morning Briefing
Obamacare enrollment, anti-hunger programs, covid deaths, cancer, abortion law, doctors’ conflicts of interest, and more are in the news.
Record-Breaking 20 Million Sign Up For 2024 Obamacare Plan
January 11, 2024
Morning Briefing
With the Jan. 17 open enrollment deadline approaching, CMS announced Wednesday that over 20 million people have signed up so far for an Affordable Care Act marketplace insurance plan. That number surpasses last year’s record tally of 16 million.
Anti-Hunger Programs For Kids May Lose Out In Spending Negotiations
January 11, 2024
Morning Briefing
While demand for WIC increases, Congress appears poised to not add any money to federal spending as negotiations to avert a shutdown continue. The Agriculture Department warns that could leave many mothers and kids without food assistance. In related news, find out if your state opted in or out of a new federal program to help feed children over the summer.
Austin’s Secret Cancer Battle Seen As Missed Chance To Spread Awareness
January 11, 2024
Morning Briefing
The Defense Department chief had an opportunity to educate both his troops and other men about the risks of prostate cancer, which affects 1 in every 6 Black men during their lifetime. There are many reasons why people keep their diagnoses secret, and it’s hardly new among public officials.
‘Not Acceptable’: WHO Reports Almost 10,000 Died From Covid In December
January 11, 2024
Morning Briefing
The WHO also notes that hospital admissions in almost 50 countries jumped 42% in December, mostly in Europe and the Americas. Inside the U.S., ABC News reports on the last week of complete CDC data, showing 1,614 covid deaths during the week ending Dec. 9.
Maine Democrats To Push For Abortion-Rights Protections In Constitution
January 11, 2024
Morning Briefing
Maine Senate Democrats announced that the Judiciary Committee would hold a public hearing on a proposed constitutional amendment this month. And in New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, used his State of the State address to condemn attacks on abortion rights.
First Edition: Jan. 11, 2024
January 11, 2024
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Delicate Labor-Industry Deal in Flux as Newsom Revisits $25 Minimum Health Wage
By Don Thompson
January 11, 2024
KFF Health News Original
In spite of labor concern about any rollback, Gov. Gavin Newsom is revisiting California’s planned $25 minimum wage for health workers less than three months after approving the measure despite an uncertain price tag. The projected $4 billion first-year cost forms part of the state’s estimated $38 billion deficit.
Hoping to Clear the Air in Casinos, Workers Seek to Ban Tobacco Smoke
By Sandy West
January 11, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Casinos in several states are fighting efforts to ban smoking, and trying to roll back existing anti-smoking laws. One planned facility even moved outside a city’s limits because of voter-approved smoking restrictions.
Delays in State Contracts Leave Montana Health Providers Strapped
By Katheryn Houghton
Updated January 16, 2024
Originally Published January 11, 2024
KFF Health News Original
The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services is months behind in paying organizations contracted to connect people to care. The interruption is likely to have lasting effects, even after the state catches up.
Viewpoints: Thanks To Remote Work, Many Are Now Working While Sick; ER Staff Need To Be Safe
January 10, 2024
Morning Briefing
Editorial writers tackle working while sick, ER violence, Medicaid expansion and tobacco issues.
Medicare Physician Payments Up In Air Amid Spending Deal Talks
January 10, 2024
Morning Briefing
Doctors are lobbying Congress to use the next spending package to reverse physicians’ Medicare payments cuts that took effect Jan. 1—as lawmakers have done previous years. Meanwhile, talk grows of another short-term fix to fund the federal government.
Austin’s Hospitalization Due To Prostate Cancer Surgery Complications
January 10, 2024
Morning Briefing
The Pentagon revealed Tuesday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalization—which made headlines as it was undisclosed to most in the Biden administration—was the result of an infection from prostate cancer surgery last month. News outlets report on the procedure and diagnosis, while the White House reviews its health disclosure procedures.
No Such Thing As A Free Lunch: GOP Governors Resist School Meal Effort
January 10, 2024
Morning Briefing
Reports say Republican governors in 15 states are rejecting a new federally funded summer program that would help feed around 21 million less well-off children beginning in June. Separately, House Republicans in Ohio are deciding whether to override a gender care ban veto from Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican.
Doctors At Salem Hospital Push For Unionization In Face Of Budget Cuts
January 10, 2024
Morning Briefing
Complaints of overflowing beds, budget cuts, and being cut out of key decisions are cited as reasons behind the physicians’ push to organize a union at Salem Hospital in Salem, Massachusetts. Meanwhile, in Michigan, three hospitals in the Thumb region are merging to become one single health system.
Defense Dept. Will Track Overdoses Among Troops, Issue Naloxone
January 10, 2024
Morning Briefing
A new law requires that the Pentagon track drug overdoses within the military, which were not previously tracked. It must also make overdose-reversing drugs available to battle the crisis. Also in the news: alcohol abuse; the salmonella cantaloupe outbreak; pets and decreased dementia risks; and more.
Bayer’s Non-Hormonal Drug Appears To Help Menopausal Hot Flashes; Bivalent Covid Vax Is A Winner In Kids
January 10, 2024
Morning Briefing
Read recent pharmaceutical developments in KFF Health News’ Prescription Drug Watch roundup.
Morning Briefing for Wednesday, January 10, 2024
January 10, 2024
Morning Briefing
Covid test lags, online safety for teens, Medicare, abortion law, drug overdoses, mammography AI, menopause, and more are in the news.