Senators Launch Bipartisan Inquiry Of Private Equity Ownership Of Hospitals
December 8, 2023
Morning Briefing
This is not the first investigation into the issue. But Stat reports that the Senate Budget Committee probe encompasses hospitals in Rhode Island — home state of committee chair Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat — as well as hospitals in California, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere.
Deadline Is Today: FDA Soon To Decide On Sickle Cell Treatment Using CRISPR
December 8, 2023
Morning Briefing
The treatment, called exa-cel, would be the first approved medicine in the U.S. to use the gene-editing tool to alter DNA. In other pharma news, an unusual surge in stock trading before Abbvie’s big announcement Wednesday has raised eyebrows.
Michigan Expands Medicaid Coverage To Community Health Workers
December 8, 2023
Morning Briefing
CHWs, as they’re known, are trained public health professionals. The new benefit goes into effect Jan. 1. Other state health news is on California’s statewide minimum wage for health care workers, an investigation of a New York hospital’s weight-loss surgery rates, Ohio’s new marijuana law, and more.
Draft Defense Bill Requires Review Of Troops Discharged Over Covid Vaccine
December 8, 2023
Morning Briefing
A measure included in the current draft of the annual defense bill would require the Department of Defense to consider reinstating military personnel who left after refusing to comply with the Pentagon’s covid vaccine mandate.
Morning Briefing for Friday, December 8, 2023
December 8, 2023
Morning Briefing
Maternal health, Medicare enrollment, abortion law, AI, covid shots, gene editing, and more are in the news. Plus, your weekend reads.
Texas Judge Allows Woman To Have Emergency Abortion Despite Ban
December 8, 2023
Morning Briefing
Travis County District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble on Thursday granted a temporary restraining order to Kate Cox that would allow her to terminate her pregnancy, despite Texas’ strict abortion ban. Cox’s doctors told her that continuing the nonviable pregnancy posed a risk to her health and future fertility. After the decision, state Attorney General Ken Paxton warned Houston-area hospitals not to carry out the procedure and that doing so could still be prosecuted under the law.
First Edition: Dec. 8, 2023
December 8, 2023
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Being Black and Pregnant in the Deep South Can Be a Dangerous Combination
By Lauren Sausser
December 8, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Being Black has always been dangerous for pregnant women and infants in the South. And researchers say things are continuing to move in the wrong direction.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Democrats See Opportunity in GOP Threats to Repeal Health Law
December 7, 2023
Podcast
Sensing that Republicans are walking into a political minefield by threatening once again to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the Biden administration is looking to capitalize by rolling out a series of initiatives aimed at high drug prices and other consequences of “corporate greed in health care.” Meanwhile, the Supreme Court hears a case that could determine when and how much victims of the opioid crisis can collect from Purdue Pharma, the drug company that lied about how addictive its drug, OxyContin, really was. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Rachana Pradhan of KFF Health News join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Dan Weissmann of KFF Health News’ sister podcast, “An Arm and a Leg,” about his investigation into hospitals suing their patients over unpaid bills.
Colorado culpa a Biden y a farmacéuticas por retrasar importaciones de medicamentos de Canadá
By Phil Galewitz
December 7, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Los consumidores estadounidenses pagan algunos de los precios más altos del mundo por medicamentos de marca. En Canadá, el gobierno controla los precios.
Programas ponen los medicamentos sin usar en manos de pacientes que los necesitan
By Kate Ruder
December 7, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Recogen de centros de salud, residentes, farmacias o prisiones los medicamentos sin abrir y sin caducar que se acumulan cuando los pacientes son dados de alta, cambian de medicina o mueren, y los redistribuyen a pacientes vulnerables.
Encuesta revela que persiste la discriminación racial en la atención médica
By Colleen DeGuzman
December 7, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Casi la mitad de los pacientes hispanos, los Indio americanos y los nativos de Alaska sienten que no se los respeta.
Dodging the Medicare Enrollment Deadline Can Be Costly
By Susan Jaffe
December 7, 2023
KFF Health News Original
As open enrollment ends, many people are tuning out. They could wind up with a surprise next year: higher costs and less access to health care providers.
Candidates Clashed But Avoided Talk of Abortion at 4th GOP Primary Debate
By KFF Health News and PolitiFact staffs
December 7, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Obamacare had its moment, but not until the faceoff’s final minutes. Front-runner Donald Trump again was not on the debate stage, leaving the other Republican presidential hopefuls to slug it out to break through and gain voters’ attention.
‘Terrible Commute’ Awaits Manager Of First Pharmacy On A Small NC Island
December 7, 2023
Morning Briefing
North Carolina Health News speaks to the manager of what will be Ocracoke Island’s first pharmacy who more or less works from home, living above the Ocracoke Health Center Pharmacy — islanders have until now had to rely on next-day pharmacy services from a neighboring island.
Research Roundup: Lung, Colorectal Cancers; Covid; Racism In The NEJM
December 7, 2023
Morning Briefing
Each week, KFF Health News compiles a selection of health policy studies and briefs.
Viewpoints: Woman Must Sue Texas To Receive Needed Abortion Care; What’s Happened To The NHS?
December 7, 2023
Morning Briefing
Editorial writers tackle abortion rights, NHS failures, pollution near hospitals, and medically complex children.
After Roe, More Than Twice As Many Crossed State Lines For Abortion Care
December 7, 2023
Morning Briefing
The number of people traveling out of state for abortion care in the first half of 2023 was over twice that for a similar period in 2020, new data show, showing patients are having to travel much further distances to seek abortions. Also in the news: worries over electronic health data for this sort of care.
Nationwide Test2Treat.Org Launches At-Home Flu, Covid Treatment System
December 7, 2023
Morning Briefing
The idea of the new nationwide federal program is that any adult who’s currently positive for flu or covid can get access to free telehealth care and have necessary medication delivered to their home. Meanwhile, researchers find that using both nose and throat covid swabs improves testing sensitivity.
Gunman Kills 3 In Las Vegas, Forcing Many To Relive 2017 Nightmare
December 7, 2023
Morning Briefing
A fourth person was critically hurt after the shooter opened fire on the UNLV campus Wednesday afternoon. The suspect, who was shot and killed by police, was identified as a 67-year-old professor who had recently been turned down for a job at the university.