Un sistema de salud gigante casi salvó a un hospital de Madera. Ahora quiere “sacarle cada dólar”
By Bernard J. Wolfson and Melissa Montalvo, The Fresno Bee
July 21, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Problemas como el de Madera son comunes en otros hospitales pequeños con situaciones financieras precarias en California, y en todo el país.
Viewpoints: The Worst Extreme Heat Is Yet To Come; Why Is Mental Health Care So Hard To Access?
July 21, 2023
Morning Briefing
Editorial writers delve into extreme heat, mental health care, medical debt, AI in medicine, and more.
Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
July 21, 2023
Morning Briefing
Each week, KFF Health News finds longer stories for you to enjoy. This week’s selections include an astonishing video of a patient singing during “fun” brain surgery, how tech developments may help deaf people, an experiment in drug decriminalization, and more.
Trans Patients Are Impacted As Drug Shortage Hits Hormone Therapy
July 21, 2023
Morning Briefing
The ongoing drug supply crunch is impacting another set of patients: transgender people who take hormones as part of gender-affirming care. Also in the news, a federal judge blocked an anti-trans sports bill in Arizona, and how gender dysphoria is a protected disability in some states.
Researchers Link Chronic Constipation With Cognitive Decline
July 21, 2023
Morning Briefing
A study finds that defecation frequency may impact cognitive function. Also in the news, the benefits of maternal strep B vaccines, health care disruptions linked to preventable hospital admissions, and goals of building a real-life “bionic” person.
Morning Briefing for Friday, July 21, 2023
July 21, 2023
Morning Briefing
Injuries from extreme heat, Medicaid unwinding, abortion law, PBMs, drug shortages, sport supplements, and more are in thew news.
PBM Oversight Act Introduced By Sens. Carper And Grassley
July 21, 2023
Morning Briefing
The bipartisan bill would provide the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services with oversight powers for pharmacy benefit managers. Sen. Bernie Sanders, meanwhile, is in a NIH nominee standoff with the White House over drug pricing.
FDA Approves Emergent BioSolution’s Anthrax Vaccine For Adults
July 21, 2023
Morning Briefing
The drug, Cyfendus, was authorized for use following suspected or confirmed anthrax exposure. The FDA also approved Daiichi Sankyo’s blood cancer drug. In other industry news, J&J’s finances look healthy, Philip Morris’ health care push stumbles, private equity’s impact on health costs, and more.
Study Finds Some Sports Supplements Contain Prohibited Drugs
July 21, 2023
Morning Briefing
A study makes startling reading for people who consume sports supplements: as well as possibly having misleading labels, some include drugs prohibited by the FDA. Energy drink “ambassadors,” and how football headers are linked to memory issues are among other public health news.
Congress Works On Preparedness, Pollutants, And Global Health Security Bills
July 21, 2023
Morning Briefing
In health policy action on Capitol Hill: a bipartisan pandemic preparedness bill advances; lawmakers try to tackle plastic pellet and PFAS pollution; and Senate appropriators approve additional money for global health security and fentanyl-related measures.
White House Asks Businesses To Extend Insurance Sign Up For Employees Who Lose Medicaid
July 21, 2023
Morning Briefing
The Biden administration’s letter Thursday asked employers and insurers to extend the usual 60-day window to July 31, 2024 for workers who are losing Medicaid due to redeterminations. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden is urged by consumer groups to do more to tackle medical debt.
Missouri Supreme Court Rules Against AG On Abortion Rights Ballot Measure
July 21, 2023
Morning Briefing
The justices ruled that Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey overstepped his authority by trying to inflate the projected cost of a ballot measure to restore abortion rights. Estimates say the measure has no cost to the state. Other abortion news is from Florida, Texas, Iowa, and elsewhere.
Drug Shortages Could Be Intensified By Tornado Damage At Pfizer Factory
July 21, 2023
Morning Briefing
News outlets report experts’ worries about the ongoing medical supplies across the country and world: Pfizer’s North Carolina factory damaged this week makes lots of the company’s sterile injectable medicines. Also in the news: wildfire smoke and air quality.
People Are Dying, Receiving Second-Degree Burns From Extreme Heat
July 21, 2023
Morning Briefing
NBC News says the burn injuries are happening as people fall or pass out on sun-scorched surfaces. Axios, meanwhile, says 18 heat deaths have been confirmed in metro Phoenix. And AP explains how homes can become “air fryers” in an extreme heat event. The hot weather is expected to continue.
Amid The Heat Wave, Bacteria Shut Many Massachusetts Beaches
July 21, 2023
Morning Briefing
High bacterial levels detected in the water are closing many beaches in New England . Also in the news, where mold is most prevalent in New York, possible covid upticks in Massachusetts, E. coli sickened a California town, and more.
First Edition: July 21, 2023
July 21, 2023
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Medical Debt Is Making Americans Angry. Doctors and Hospitals Ignore This at Their Peril.
By Noam N. Levey
July 21, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Doctors and hospitals hold an exalted position in American life, retaining public confidence even as other institutions such as government, law enforcement, and the media are losing people’s trust. But with health care debt out of hand, medical providers risk their good standing.
Industry Groups in California Vie for New Medicaid Money
By Angela Hart and Samantha Young
July 21, 2023
KFF Health News Original
State officials have promised to boost funding for California’s Medicaid program by $11.1 billion starting next year, with most of that money earmarked for higher payments to doctors, hospitals, and other providers. But the details have yet to be worked out, and powerful health industry groups are jockeying for position.
Doctors Created a Primary Care Clinic as Their Former Hospital Struggled
By Cecilia Nowell
July 21, 2023
KFF Health News Original
With the community’s help, former co-workers came together to fill gaps in care left by the loss of doctors and departments at a Gallup, New Mexico, hospital.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Let’s Talk About the Weather
July 20, 2023
Podcast
It’s been the summer of broken weather records around the world — for heat, rain, and wildfire smoke — advertising the risks of climate change in a big way. But, apparently, it’s not enough to break the logjam in Washington over how to address the growing climate crisis. Meanwhile, in Texas, women who were unable to get care for pregnancy complications took their stories to court, and Congress gears up to — maybe — do something about prescription drug prices. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join Julie Rovner, KFF Health News’ chief Washington correspondent, to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Meena Seshamani, the top administrator for the federal Medicare program.