Seeking Medicare Coverage for Weight Loss Drugs, Pharma Giant Courts Black Influencers
By Rachana Pradhan
August 8, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Novo Nordisk, the dominant company in the multibillion-dollar market for weight loss drugs, focuses on Black lawmakers and opinion leaders to spread the message that obesity is a chronic disease that needs treatment.
Amid Lack of Accountability for Bias in Maternity Care, a California Family Seeks Justice
By Sarah Kwon
August 8, 2023
KFF Health News Original
April Valentine’s family wants to know whether racism could have played a role in her death. A KFF Health News analysis shows state regulators are ill-equipped to find discrimination in its many forms.
How the Texas Trial Changed the Story of Abortion Rights in America
By Sarah Varney
August 7, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Stark, plaintive testimony from women denied abortion care represents the start of “the 50-year fight to get rid of Dobbs,” one historian says.
Viewpoints: It Won’t Be Long Before AI Replaces Human Doctors; Will Ohio Protect Reproductive Rights?
August 7, 2023
Morning Briefing
Editorial writers discuss AI in health care, abortion rights, lobotomies and more.
Morning Briefing for Monday, August 7, 2023
August 7, 2023
Morning Briefing
Postpartum depression, abortion law, hospital cyberattacks, child vaccination rates, antibiotic resistance, cancer, and more are in the news.
Data: Covid Drove Up Antibiotic Use; Worries Over Antibiotic Resistance
August 7, 2023
Morning Briefing
Even as CIDRAP covers a report on CDC data showing a significant rise in antibiotic use in U.S. hospitals early in the pandemic, Fox news reports on how doctors are warning over rising antibiotic resistance in Americans. Also in the news: how covid tracking has waned, and more.
CDC Confirms Human Swine Flu Cases Linked To Michigan County Fairs
August 7, 2023
Morning Briefing
The first two human swine flu cases in the U.S. this year were linked to infected pigs at public events, the Detroit Free Press reports. Also in the news: a Bay area spa was ordered closed following two deaths associated with Legionnaires disease; warnings over undercooked seafood risks; and more.
Following Pandemic Screening Delays, Late-Stage Cancers Rise: Study
August 7, 2023
Morning Briefing
Confirming what many may have suspected, a new study in Lancet Oncology emphasizes how care disruptions during the pandemic have led to more diagnoses, now, of late-stage cancers of nearly all types. Meanwhile, the Hill reports on which of alcohol or cannabis is worse for you.
Childhood Vaccination Rates Slipping, Even As Fall’s Sickly Season Nears
August 7, 2023
Morning Briefing
News outlets cover worries over the rate of childhood vaccination in the U.S., with about 1 in 6 toddlers missing out on some of the necessary doses against measles, mumps, polio, tetanus, and more, even as the typical fall illness season approaches. Assistant Secretary of Health Rachel Levine spoke on the matter of childhood shots.
Hospitals In At Least 3 States Working To Recover From Cyberattack
August 7, 2023
Morning Briefing
The attack last week hit Prospect Medical Holdings, a private equity company that operates 16 hospitals and 165 outpatient facilities across California, Texas, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania. In some places, emergency departments were forced to close, and health providers reverted to pen and paper.
Appeal Blocks Medical Complications Exemption From Texas Abortion Ban
August 7, 2023
Morning Briefing
The Texas attorney general issued a late-night appeal resulting in a suspension of an earlier injunction from Travis County Judge Jessica Mangrum. This had, for a short while, exempted people with medically complicated pregnancies from Texas’ punitive abortion ban.
FDA Approves Fast-Acting Pill For Postpartum Depression
August 7, 2023
Morning Briefing
Zurzuvae is the first treatment for postpartum that can be taken at home. It works in days, compared with other depression treatments that take weeks.
First Edition: Aug. 7, 2023
August 7, 2023
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
As Many American Cities Get Hotter, Health Systems Face Off Against Heatstroke
By Drew Hawkins, Gulf States Newsroom
August 7, 2023
KFF Health News Original
With millions of Americans suffering under relentless heat waves this summer, more people are seeking medical attention for heat-related illnesses. As temperatures get more extreme, hospitals, fire departments, and ambulance crews are preparing to treat more patients for heat exhaustion and heatstroke.
The NIH Ices a Research Project. Is It Self-Censorship?
By Darius Tahir
August 7, 2023
KFF Health News Original
The National Institutes of Health appeared to be digging into health misinformation. But then the federal agency stepped back. It can’t quite explain why, sometimes even offering contradictory explanations.
Journalists Zero In on Opioid Settlement Cash, Congress, and the Medicaid Unwinding
August 5, 2023
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.
A menudo, adolescentes con adicciones pasan por el proceso de desintoxicación sin medicamentos
By Markian Hawryluk
August 4, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Una nueva investigación ha descubierto que la mayoría de las áreas de Estados Unidos carecen de instalaciones que ofrezcan desintoxicación supervisada por personal médico para pacientes menores de 18 años.
Viewpoints: Why Is Paxlovid Not Being Prescribed?; FDA Must Make Our Food Supply Safer
August 4, 2023
Morning Briefing
Editorial writers discuss antivirals, food-borne illness, assisted suicide and more.
Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
August 4, 2023
Morning Briefing
Each week, KFF Health News finds longer stories for you to enjoy. This week’s selections include stories on “Oppenheimer,” the Mütter Museum, sensory processing disorder, amputations, and more.
New York Extends Medicaid Telehealth Coverage Through End Of 2024
August 4, 2023
Morning Briefing
Among other news from across the states: Connecticut is calling for the closure of a nursing home; a former first-round NBA draft pick is sentenced to prison for health care fraud; proponents of water re-use tackle the end-user “yuck” problem, and more.