If You’re A Minority Child In The US, Your Health Care Is Worse: Report
January 18, 2024
Morning Briefing
Surprising no one, a meta-analysis of studies into health care quality for minority children in the U.S. found that quality is universally worse than it is for white kids. Reports also show that women and minorities in the U.S. experience more medical misdiagnoses.
Researchers Mapped Covid Virus 2 Weeks Before China Disclosed To World
January 18, 2024
Morning Briefing
The Wall Street Journal reports that a Chinese lab sequenced the coronavirus in December 2019. The Chinese government did not reveal details for another 2 weeks, raising further questions about information transparency in the early days of the pandemic.
CMS Approves Texas’ Plan For A Year Of Medicaid Coverage For New Mothers
January 18, 2024
Morning Briefing
Texas mothers will now be able to stay on Medicaid for a year after childbirth, in a move aimed at helping those on low-incomes. Meanwhile, also in Texas parents in Uvalde are said to be bracing themselves for a long-awaited report into police response failures in the mass shooting in the town.
Insurance Claims Study: Kentucky Is Top State For Ozempic Prescriptions
January 18, 2024
Morning Briefing
Claims data analyzed by PurpleLab show that in Kentucky, about 2 in 100 people were prescribed an obesity drug like Ozempic in 2023. Meanwhile, an interesting development in the sometimes controversial field of male birth control is in the news, with a contraceptive called “Plan A.”
San Francisco’s Overdose Deaths Reached Record Highs Last Year
January 18, 2024
Morning Briefing
Fatalities in the first 11 months of 2023 surpassed the previous peak of 726 deaths in all of 2020, new data from the medical examiner’s office show. In South Dakota an effort to make xylazine (the animal sedative showing up in illegal fentanyl doses) a controlled substance advanced.
Morning Briefing for Thursday, January 18, 2024
January 18, 2024
Morning Briefing
Prior authorization delays, copays, Medicare doc payments, cancer cases rise, covid, Medicaid, weight-loss drugs, and more are in the news.
Biden Admin Rule Forces Insurers To Not Dilly-Dally On Prior Authorization
January 18, 2024
Morning Briefing
A new rule now applies to health insurance companies that offer Medicare, Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program, and Obamacare plans. It forces insurers to explain specifically why they denied coverage, and to speed up the pre-approval process.
Copay Coupons Will Count Toward Deductibles
January 18, 2024
Morning Briefing
The Biden administration on Tuesday withdrew its appeal of a September ruling, meaning insurers must count drug copay coupons when calculating deductibles and patient spending caps, in most cases. Meanwhile, a report in The New York Times digs into the thorny issue of why drug prices are so astronomically high in the U.S.
Doc Pay Fix, Health Centers Fail To Make Spending Deal Cut In Talks
January 18, 2024
Morning Briefing
Stat reports that, for the moment, efforts have stalled to add health policy measures—including the Medicare doctor pay rates and more funding for community health centers—to the federal spending measures under negotiation.
First Edition: Jan. 18, 2024
January 18, 2024
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Women and Minorities Bear the Brunt of Medical Misdiagnosis
By Liz Szabo
January 18, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Hundreds of thousands of Americans become disabled or die each year because of a diagnostic error. But some patients are at higher risk than others.
‘Emergency’ or Not, Covid Is Still Killing People. Here’s What Doctors Advise to Stay Safe.
By Amy Maxmen
January 18, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Thousands of people are still dying of covid, but government has mostly handed over responsibility to the people to weather the seasonal surges with their own strategies.
Mamografías que usan inteligencia artificial cuestan dinero extra… pero, ¿vale la pena?
By Michelle Andrews
January 17, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Este software puede identificar patrones y anomalías que los radiólogos humanos podrían pasar por alto. Pero no es el estándar de atención.
Escuelas ignoran normas federales sobre restricción y aislamiento de estudiantes
By Fred Clasen-Kelly
January 17, 2024
KFF Health News Original
La ley federal exige que los distritos escolares informen al Departamento de Educación de Estados Unidos cada vez que aíslan o restringen físicamente a un estudiante.
Viewpoints: Think Your Pharmacist Is Protecting Your Health Data? Think Again; BMI Shouldn’t Affect IVF
January 17, 2024
Morning Briefing
Editorial writers discuss private health information, IVF, a measles outbreak, and more.
Ahead Of Roe Decision Anniversary, House GOP Turns To Pregnancy Laws
January 17, 2024
Morning Briefing
House Republicans are said to be focusing efforts on laws relating to pregnancies, including banning the Department of Health and Human Services from limiting federal funds for so-called pregnancy centers. Other news relating to abortion is from Texas, Oklahoma, Minnesota, and elsewhere.
RSV Shots Are Driving Demand For Care Among Older Americans
January 17, 2024
Morning Briefing
Axios reports on a “side effect of the new RSV shots,” which is that older patients are coming in for checkups. In covid news: hospitalization rates, vaccines and long covid, California’s covid guidance, and more.
Report Delves Into Poorer Patient Outcomes At Private Equity-Owned Hospitals
January 17, 2024
Morning Briefing
A new report aims to hold private equity buyers of hospital systems accountable, in light of data showing patient health outcomes are poorer in such facilities. Meanwhile, in New Jersey, a long-term-care hospital and its investors settle over Medicare overbilling claims.
Justices Refuse To Wade Into Indiana’s Fight Over Transgender Bathrooms
January 17, 2024
Morning Briefing
The decision lets stand a lower court ruling allowing transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity. Meanwhile, in California, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom says he’ll veto a measure to ban youth tackle football.