Overworked And Underpaid: Experts Sound Alarm On Primary Doc Shortage
April 2, 2024
Morning Briefing
Also in the news about health care workers: losing trust in the American medical system; residents and fellows at UChicago Medicine move to unionize; California’s Santa Clara County nurses prepare to strike; and more.
Senate Committee Examines Possible ER Care Damage By Private Equity
April 2, 2024
Morning Briefing
The goal is to examine if private equity’s management of a large share of ERs across the country has harmed patients. Separately, Intermountain Health closed Saltzer Health’s multispecialty clinics after not being able to find a buyer.
Study Finds Many Hospital Pneumonia Diagnoses Are Inappropriate
April 2, 2024
Morning Briefing
Misdiagnosed adults in hospitals are almost always given a full antibiotic course for pneumonia that may not be necessary, according to researchers. Also in the news: safer table saws, exercise-related injuries, mental health, and more.
Morning Briefing for Tuesday, April 2, 2024
April 2, 2024
Morning Briefing
ACA plans, Medicare Advantage payments, bird flu, opioid settlements, patient consent for exams, abortion, and more are in the news.
Biden Administration Confirms 2025 Medicare Advantage Payments To Drop
April 2, 2024
Morning Briefing
Stat notes that the government wasn’t convinced by insurer and lobbyist efforts arguing that Medicare Advantage payouts wouldn’t cover the costs for people using health care. Also, experts warn Medicare coverage for Wegovy could hike monthly payments for many.
First Edition: April 2, 2024
April 2, 2024
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: It’s Time To Abolish The Comstock Act To Protect Women; Should It Be Legal To Sell Your Kidney?
April 2, 2024
Morning Briefing
Editorial writers discuss an arcane law being used against abortion, selling your kidneys, “Havana Syndrome” and more.
California Universities Are Required to Offer Abortion Pills. Many Just Don’t Mention It.
By Jackie Fortiér, LAist and Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, LAist
April 2, 2024
KFF Health News Original
One year after California became the first state to require public universities to provide abortion pills to students, LAist found that basic information for students to obtain the medication is often nonexistent.
More Patients Are Losing Their Doctors — And Trust in the Primary Care System
By Lynn Arditi, The Public’s Radio
April 2, 2024
KFF Health News Original
A shortage of primary care providers is driving more people to seek routine care in emergency settings. In Rhode Island, safety-net clinics are under pressure as clinicians retire or burn out, and patients say it’s harder to find care as they lose connections to familiar doctors.
ACA Plans Are Being Switched Without Enrollees’ OK
By Julie Appleby
April 2, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Insurance agents say it’s too easy to access consumer information on the Affordable Care Act federal marketplace. Policyholders can lose their doctors and access to prescriptions. Some end up owing back taxes.
Track Opioid Settlement Payouts — To the Cent — In Your Community
By Aneri Pattani and Lydia Zuraw and Holly K. Hacker
April 2, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Want to know how much opioid settlement money your city, county, or state has received so far? Or how much it’s expecting in the future? Use our new searchable database to find out.
Download the Data: Opioid Settlement Payouts
By Lydia Zuraw
April 1, 2024
Page
We encourage any news organization to use the data and localize it for your own reporting.
UnitedHealth To Roll Physician Group Stewardship Health Into Optum
April 1, 2024
Morning Briefing
Stat notes the move is a noteworthy departure for UnitedHealth, which has “gobbled up” many independent physician practices over recent years. Also in the news: concierge physician care, for-profit companies’ psychiatric hospitals, more.
H1N2 Case In Pennsylvania Is First US Influenza A Case This Year
April 1, 2024
Morning Briefing
Meanwhile, the latest USDA tests show that highly pathogenic avian flu has been found in dairy herds in Michigan and Idaho, showing it’s spreading to new states. RSV, the measles outbreak, and covid misinformation are also in the news.
Spotlight Falls On NYC Shelter System In Wake Of Subway Shover’s Arrest
April 1, 2024
Morning Briefing
Carlton McPherson had been placed into specialized homeless shelters designed for people suffering severe mental illnesses: the problems with this system are now being examined. Also in the news: overbilling in Missouri, rape crisis centers in Illinois, and more.
Viewpoints: Social Media May Be Able To Address Teen Mental Health; The Fight Over Abortion Rights
April 1, 2024
Morning Briefing
Editorial writers discuss teen mental health, reproductive health, anti-aging drugs, and more.
Morning Briefing for Monday, April 1, 2024
April 1, 2024
Morning Briefing
Concierge physician care, psychiatric hospitals, covid misinfo, sudden infant deaths, flu, reproductive health, and more are in the news.
Study: Unsafe Sleep Practices Linked To Most Sudden Infant Deaths
April 1, 2024
Morning Briefing
An analysis determines that 76% of cases of infants who died suddenly involved unsafe sleep practices like co-sleeping or sleeping in an adult bed. Most were under the age of 3 months.
FDA Warns That Impella Heart Pumps Are Linked To 49 Deaths Globally
April 1, 2024
Morning Briefing
The tiny pumps can puncture the heart wall, and despite the FDA’s concerns, they will be allowed to remain in use. Separately, a biased organ test that kept thousands of Black people from kidney transplants is finally being changed.
Prosecutor Sued For $1M By Woman Charged With Murder After Abortion
April 1, 2024
Morning Briefing
A Texas prosecutor’s office is facing a lawsuit after it brought murder charges against a woman in 2022 for using a drug to self-induce an abortion at 19 weeks pregnant. Meanwhile an “abortion pills” banner was flown over a Texas baseball game Saturday.