Though There Were Fewer Health Care Hacks In Early 2023, They Were Bigger
August 25, 2023
Morning Briefing
The health industry has been hit by fewer but larger cybersecurity breaches in the first half of 2023, which experts suggest may show a shift in targets and tactics. Among other news, Cigna has removed preauthorization requirements for about 25% of medical services.
Wegovy Shown To Reduce Heart Failure Symptoms For Obese Patients
August 25, 2023
Morning Briefing
Separately, researchers are calling for governments to raise the legal smoking age to 22. Also: Charles River Laboratories signed an agreement to help protect horseshoe crabs, whose blue blood is useful for medical testing purposes.
Canadian Wildfire Smoke Drove Up ER Visits For Asthma
August 25, 2023
Morning Briefing
The spikes in visits were particularly bad in the New York area, AP reports. In other news, West Nile virus remains the most common mosquito-borne disease in the U.S., and a death linked to the virus has been reported in Northern California.
First Edition: Aug. 25, 2023
August 25, 2023
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Illustrated Report: How Gun Violence Goes Viral
By Oona Zenda and Liz Szabo
August 25, 2023
KFF Health News Original
As chatter and images about guns and violence slip into the social media feeds of more teens, viral messages fueled by “likes” can lead to real-world conflict and loss.
‘All We Want Is Revenge’: How Social Media Fuels Gun Violence Among Teens
By Liz Szabo
Illustrations by Oona Zenda
August 25, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Teens share photos or videos of themselves with guns and stacks of cash, sometimes calling out rivals, on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, or TikTok. When posts go viral, fueled by “likes” and comments, the danger is hard to contain.
California’s Medical Board Can’t Pay Its Bills, but Doctors Resist Proposed Fixes
By Annie Sciacca
August 25, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Patient advocates have long alleged the Medical Board of California is ineffective at policing doctors. But a proposal to beef up its budget and overhaul procedures faces stiff resistance from the doctors’ lobby.
California Offers Lifeline to 17 Troubled Hospitals
By Bernard J. Wolfson
August 24, 2023
KFF Health News Original
California’s new lending program for distressed hospitals will provide Madera Community Hospital with interest-free loans of up to $52 million if it can agree on a viable reopening plan with Adventist Health. The state will offer an additional $240.5 million in interest-free loans to 16 other troubled hospitals.
Republican Debate Highlights Candidates’ Views on Abortion
By KFF Health News and PolitiFact staffs
August 24, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Though health policies in general got little airtime, the discussion of whether candidates support a federal abortion ban underscored how Republicans, in a post-Roe environment, face political challenges on the issue.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': A Not-So-Health-y GOP Debate
August 24, 2023
Podcast
The first Republican presidential debate of the 2024 cycle took place without front-runner Donald Trump — and with hardly a mention of health issues save for abortion. Meanwhile, in Florida, patients dropped from the Medicaid program are suing the state for not giving them enough notice or a way to contest their being dropped from the program. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Victoria Knight of Axios join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
Majority Of $1.25B Mallinckrodt Opioid Payout At Risk In Bankruptcy Plan
August 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
The company has reached a plan for bankruptcy for the second time in three years, The New York Times says. The plan would cancel the majority of the previous settlement plan in return for a final payout of just $250 million. Also in the news: AI takes a role in tackling opioid addiction.
Experimental Brain Implants Helping Paralyzed People Communicate Again
August 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
The new technologies, detailed in the journal Nature, rely on brain circuits that become active when a person attempts to speak or just thinks about speaking. In other science news, researchers have finished mapping the Y chromosome.
Research Roundup: Cancer; Dental Antibiotics; Transplant Recipients and Covid; Meningococcal Vaccine
August 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
Each week, KFF Health News compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
Viewpoints: Let’s Bring Back Child Tax Credits To Improve Kids’ Health; Health Care Workers Are Struggling
August 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
Editorial writers discuss child tax credits, front-line workers’ mental health, Wegovy and more.
South Carolina High Court Upholds Abortion Law But Admits It Infringes On ‘Bodily Autonomy’
August 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
The state Supreme Court ruling, which allows restrictions on most abortions around six weeks of pregnancy, came just months after the only female justice left the court in January. In his majority opinion, Justice John Kittredge wrote that “to be sure, the 2023 Act infringes on a woman’s right of privacy and bodily autonomy,” while holding the law was still constitutional.
White House To Reveal Which 10 Drugs Are First For Medicare Negotiation
August 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
The announcement is expected ahead of a celebratory event Tuesday, Politico reports. Meanwhile, Stat says that in what’s “almost a tradition,” many pharmaceutical companies are raising drug prices mid-year. Florida’s attempt to import cheap Canadian drugs is also in the news.
FDA Announces First Deputy Commissioner For Human Foods
August 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
The newly appointed official, James Jones, formerly from the EPA, is part of an effort to reorganize the FDA’s food safety program in the aftermath of the baby formula crisis. Separately, FDA Commissioner Robert Califf is reportedly “fired up” about the drug shortage crisis. Plus: cancer news.
CDC Warns New BA.2.86 Covid Could Infect The Already-Vaccinated
August 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
The new mutation may be more capable than older variants of breaking through the protection offered by either an earlier covid infection or a vaccination. The variant has already been found in U.S. wastewater studies. But CIDRAP notes that treatments like Paxlovid will be effective against it
Justice Dept. Launches Large-Scale Crackdown On Covid Aid Fraud
August 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
The wave of cases, the Washington Post says, comes in connection with the alleged theft of more than $836 million. Reuters reports the total of stolen relief funds seized so far could top $1.4 billion. Meanwhile, research shows how different families felt the pandemic burden in different ways.