As Bans Spread, Fluoride in Drinking Water Divides Communities Across the US
By Melba Newsome
April 12, 2024
KFF Health News Original
The broad availability of over-the-counter dental products containing fluoride has some community leaders arguing that its addition to public drinking water is no longer necessary. But public health experts worry that, much like vaccines, fluoridation may be a victim of its own success.
California Fails to Adequately Help Blind and Deaf Prisoners, US Judge Rules
By Don Thompson
April 12, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Thirty years after prisoners with disabilities sued and 25 years after a federal court first ordered accommodations, a judge found that California prison and parole officials still are not doing enough to help deaf and blind prisoners — in part because they are not providing readily available technology such as video recordings and laptop computers.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Arizona Turns Back the Clock on Abortion Access
April 11, 2024
Podcast
A week after the Florida Supreme Court said the state could enforce an abortion ban passed in 2023, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that state could enforce a near-total ban passed in 1864 — over a half-century before Arizona became a state. The move further scrambled the abortion issue for Republicans and posed an immediate quandary for former President Donald Trump, who has been seeking an elusive middle ground in the polarized debate. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Molly Castle Work, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature, about an air-ambulance ride for an infant with RSV that his insurer deemed not medically necessary.
Research Roundup: Cancer; Covid; UTIs; Pneumococcus
April 11, 2024
Morning Briefing
Each week, KFF Health News compiles a selection of health policy studies and briefs.
Viewpoints: Poverty Has Deadly Health Consequences; Is Therapy Always The Answer For Struggling Kids?
April 11, 2024
Morning Briefing
Editorial writers discuss end-stage poverty, pediatric mental health, zombie laws, and more.
Medicare Says Leqembi Alzheimer’s Drug Will Cost It $3.5 Billion
April 11, 2024
Morning Briefing
The figure, Stat reports, is “well beyond” what Wall Street or even its maker Biogen had projected. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit accusing Regeneron Pharmaceuticals of Medicare price manipulation for its costly eye disease treatment Eylea.
Scientists May Have Stumbled Onto Source Of Severe Covid
April 11, 2024
Morning Briefing
Interstitial macrophage immune cells may be involved in turning a typical covid case into a serious one. The surprising findings might also explain why monoclonal antibodies didn’t work well on severe covid, Medical Xpress reported.
First Of Its Kind: Labcorp’s At-Home Mpox PCR Test Gets Green Light
April 11, 2024
Morning Briefing
The collection kit has received EUA status from the FDA as mpox cases continue to rise. Also in the news: measles, bird flu, whooping cough, and more.
Feds End Gun Show Loophole In Effort To Keep Firearms From Violent People
April 11, 2024
Morning Briefing
The Justice Department has finalized rules that would close a loophole that allowed people to sell guns online, at shows, or at other informal events without carrying out background checks.
Appeals Court To Examine Arkansas’ Historic Ban On Trans Minors’ Care
April 11, 2024
Morning Briefing
A federal appeals court will hear arguments today over the state’s ban, which was the first in the nation. Arkansas is appealing an earlier federal ruling that the ban was unconstitutional. Also in the news: Mississippi may expand Medicaid.
Proposed Inpatient Hospital Payments Won’t Cover Inflation, AHA Says
April 11, 2024
Morning Briefing
The American Hospital Association called the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ proposal to increase reimbursements by just 2.6% “woefully inadequate.”
EPA To Water Utilities: Reduce ‘Forever Chemicals’ To Near-Zero Levels
April 11, 2024
Morning Briefing
In a first, the Environmental Protection Agency is mandating that municipal water systems remove perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, from tap water. Also in the news: a new director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy, the PACT Act, and more.
Arizona Republicans Stymie Attempts To Repeal 1864 Abortion Ban
April 11, 2024
Morning Briefing
AP reports the Arizona Legislature collapsed into shouts of “shame!” as GOP lawmakers twice shut down discussion of winding back the state’s strict abortion ban. Also: How the GOP molded the court that made that decision, and the man behind the original law.
Trump Denies He’d Sign A Federal Abortion Ban If Reelected
April 11, 2024
Morning Briefing
Former President Trump says Arizona’s abortion ban goes too far. However, Trump also argued it would be OK if other states chose to enact laws that punished abortion doctors.
First Edition: April 11, 2024
April 11, 2024
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Arkansas Led the Nation in Measuring Obesity in Kids. Did It Help?
By Kavitha Cardoza
April 11, 2024
KFF Health News Original
For more than 20 years, children in Arkansas have been measured in school as part of a statewide effort to reduce childhood obesity. But the letters have had no impact on weight loss — and obesity rates have risen. Still, the practice of sending letters has spread to other states.
After Uphill Battle, Company Is Poised for Takeover of Bankrupt California Hospital
By Melissa Montalvo, The Fresno Bee and Bernard J. Wolfson
April 11, 2024
KFF Health News Original
American Advanced Management, a steadily growing operator of small hospitals, is expected to get the green light from a bankruptcy court next week to take over the shuttered Madera Community Hospital. Some community groups worry about the company’s track record.
The NIH Hopes To Make TMJ ‘Bearable.’ It Has a Long Way To Go.
By Brett Kelman
April 10, 2024
KFF Health News Original
The National Institutes of Health is spending more money than ever to solve the mysteries of TMJ disorders — little-understood ailments that afflict as many as 33 million Americans. Temporomandibular joint disorders, known as TMJ or TMD, cause pain in the jaw and face that can range from discomfort to disabling, with severe symptoms far […]
Study: Taking Acetaminophen In Pregnancy Not Linked To Autism Risk
April 10, 2024
Morning Briefing
Read recent pharmaceutical and tech updates in KFF Health News’ Prescription Drug Watch roundup.