Freshly Signed California Law Moves Toward Universal Health Care
October 10, 2023
Morning Briefing
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill Saturday to move California toward care systems such as single-payer ones. Meanwhile, Newsom’s signature on new laws also banned red dye No. 3, other potentially harmful food additives from consumer goods, and required pharmacies to report prescription errors.
Financial Struggles Threaten More Hospitals; Rural Providers Seek Help
October 10, 2023
Morning Briefing
The financial difficulties facing some hospitals and health centers is in the spotlight as a Kansas facility shutters and a Connecticut hospital nears negative cash flow. And rural health providers are urging lawmakers to step in to help shore up their practices.
Walgreens Pharmacy Workers’ Walkout Shutters Some Stores
October 10, 2023
Morning Briefing
Work stoppages are planned through Wednesday by several hundred pharmacists, technicians, and support staff to protest working conditions. The walkouts forced some stores to close Monday while others operated on skeleton staffs.
Kaiser Permanente Strikes End For Now As Bargaining Talks Extended
October 10, 2023
Morning Briefing
More than 75,000 Kaiser Permanente employees are back at work after an historic 3-day strike, without any new contract agreement. Labor unions say that they will give the talks the next 3 weeks before a second strike.
Mifepristone Starts To Become Available At Some Pharmacies
October 10, 2023
Morning Briefing
GenBioPro, the maker of generic mifepristone, published a list of 19 pharmacies in nine states that are now certified to dispense the abortion pill, the result of a Biden administration rule change.
Morning Briefing for Tuesday, October 10, 2023
October 10, 2023
Morning Briefing
Medical device lawsuits, health worker strikes, abortion pill, covid, depression, hospitals’ financial struggles, and more are in the news.
Viewpoints: Seniors Are Struggling To Get The New RSV Vaccines; A Kennedy Is Pushing For Mental Health Reform
October 10, 2023
Morning Briefing
Editorial writers discuss vaccines, mental health, placebo effects, and more.
First Edition: Oct. 10, 2023
October 10, 2023
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Epidemic: Bodies Remember What Was Done to Them
October 10, 2023
Podcast
Trust is hard to build and easy to break. In Episode 6 of the “Eradicating Smallpox” podcast, meet Chandrakant Pandav, a health worker who used laughter and song to try to rebuild trust with communities harmed by India’s sometimes violent and coercive family planning campaign.
‘I’m So Burned Out’: Fighting to See a Specialist Amplified Pain for Riverside County Woman
By Molly Castle Work
October 10, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Teresa Johnson has been in extreme pain for more than a year after what she believes was a severe allergic reaction to iodine. Her Medi-Cal plan approved her referral to a specialist, but it took her numerous phone calls, multiple complaints, and several months to book an appointment.
Thousands Got Exactech Knee or Hip Replacements. Then, Patients Say, the Parts Began to Fail.
By Fred Schulte
October 10, 2023
KFF Health News Original
In a torrent of lawsuits, patients accuse Florida device maker Exactech of hiding knee and hip implant defects for years. The company denies the allegations.
First Edition: October 6, 2023
October 6, 2023
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Trump Misplaced Blame When He Said Drug Shortages Were Biden’s Fault
By Michelle Andrews
October 6, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Former President Donald Trump, who’s running for another term in the White House, recently blamed drug shortages on his successor, President Joe Biden. Our findings don’t align with Trump’s claims; by some measures, drug shortages increased more on Trump’s watch than on Biden’s.
Mothers of Color Can’t See if Providers Have a History of Mistreatment. Why Not?
By Sarah Kwon
October 6, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Many women, especially Black women, have reported discrimination in maternity care, but expectant mothers lack tools to see where this happens. Funding and regulations to measure disparities have been slow in arriving, but some innovators are trying to fill the void.
First Edition: October 5, 2023
October 5, 2023
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': An Encore: 3 HHS Secretaries Reveal What the Job Is Really Like
October 5, 2023
Podcast
In this special encore episode, KFF Health News’ “What the Health?” asks three people who have served as the nation’s top health official: What does a day in the life of the U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services look like? And how much of their agenda is set by the White House? Taped in June before a live audience at Aspen Ideas: Health, part of the Aspen Ideas Festival, in Aspen, Colorado, host and chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner leads a rare conversation with the current and two former HHS secretaries. Secretary Xavier Becerra and former secretaries Kathleen Sebelius and Alex Azar talk candidly about what it takes to run a department with more than 80,000 employees and a budget larger than those of many countries.
Feds Rein In Use of Predictive Software That Limits Care for Medicare Advantage Patients
By Susan Jaffe
October 5, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Software sifts through millions of medical records to match patients with similar diagnoses and characteristics and then predicts what kind of care an individual will need and for how long. New federal rules will ensure human experts are part of the process.
Social Security Chief Orders Broad Review of Benefit Overpayments
By David Hilzenrath and Jodie Fleischer, Cox Media Group
October 4, 2023
KFF Health News Original
In the wake of an investigation by KFF Health News and Cox Media Group, the SSA acting commissioner said a special team will review “overpayment policies and procedures” and report directly back to her.
First Edition: October 4, 2023
October 4, 2023
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
What Mobile Clinics in Dollar General Parking Lots Say About Health Care in Rural America
By Sarah Jane Tribble
October 4, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Dollar General’s pilot mobile clinic program has been touted by company officials, rural health experts, and analysts as a model that could help solve rural America’s primary care shortage. But its Tennessee launch has been met with local skepticism.