States Begin Tapping Medicaid Dollars to Combat Gun Violence
By Samantha Young
January 5, 2024
KFF Health News Original
The Biden administration is allowing states to use money from the insurance program for low-income and disabled residents to pay for gun violence prevention. California and six other states have approved such spending, with more expected to follow.
Listen to ‘Tradeoffs’: How the Loss of a Rural Hospital Compounds the Collapse of Care
January 5, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Six years ago, the hospital in Fort Scott, Kansas, shuttered, leaving residents in the small community without a cornerstone health care institution. In the years since, despite new programs meant to save small hospitals, dozens of other communities have watched theirs close.
Older Americans Say They Feel Trapped in Medicare Advantage Plans
By Sarah Jane Tribble
January 5, 2024
KFF Health News Original
As enrollment in private Medicare Advantage plans grows, so do concerns about how well the insurance works, including from those who say they have become trapped in the private plans as their health declines.
Los médicos son tan vulnerables a la adicción como cualquier persona
By Bernard J. Wolfson
January 4, 2024
KFF Health News Original
El alcohol es una droga muy común entre los médicos, pero su fácil acceso a los analgésicos es también un riesgo particular.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': New Year, Same Abortion Debate
January 4, 2024
Podcast
Some Supreme Court justices were wrong if they assumed overturning “Roe v. Wade” would settle the abortion issue before the high court. At least two cases are awaiting consideration, and more are in the legal pipeline. Meanwhile, Congress once again has only days until the next temporary spending bill runs out, with no budget deal in sight. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Victoria Knight of Axios join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Sandro Galea, dean of the Boston University School of Public Health, about how public health can regain public trust.
Most People Dropped in Medicaid ‘Unwinding’ Never Tried to Renew Coverage, Utah Finds
By Phil Galewitz
January 4, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Medicaid officials in Utah conducted a survey to answer a burning question in health policy: What happened to people dropped from the program in the post-pandemic “unwinding”?
‘Forever Chemicals’ Contaminate America’s Freshwater Fish
By Hannah Norman
January 4, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Gone fishing? Depending on the lake, your catch may not be safe to eat. A group of chemicals collectively known as PFAS are found in hundreds of consumer goods, including dental floss, rain jackets and nonstick cookware. Over decades, these chemicals have spewed from manufacturing plants and landfills into local ecosystems, polluting surface water and […]
Research Roundup: Brain Tumors; UTIs In Children; Human Sexuality
January 4, 2024
Morning Briefing
Each week, KFF Health News compiles a selection of health policy studies and briefs.
Citing Debunked Risks, Florida’s Top Health Official Says MRNA Covid Shots Should Stop
January 4, 2024
Morning Briefing
Scientists have debunked a claim that using mRNA-based vaccines could harm a patient’s DNA, but that hasn’t stopped Florida’s Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo from issuing a new state bulletin calling for a halt of the shots. News outlets, meanwhile, chronicle the ongoing covid surge.
Being Hospitalized For Covid Cost You More As The Pandemic Went On: Study
January 4, 2024
Morning Briefing
New research shows that even though vaccines and new treatments arrived throughout the course of the pandemic, and variants changed the virus’ risks, the cost of hospital treatment for covid in the U.S. rose by 26% from 2020 to 2022. Also in the news: BrightSpring Health, health care hacking, and more.
Worries Rise Pentagon Abortion Access Policy Could Be Forced To Change
January 4, 2024
Morning Briefing
A former Pentagon undersecretary argued in an op-ed that the Defense Department’s abortion policy could be changed at the whim of an incoming administration. An Arkansas Air Guard Commander recently resigned in protest over the policy.
After Fast Closure Of Missouri Nursing Home, One Resident Is Still Missing
January 4, 2024
Morning Briefing
The Northview Village Nursing Home in St. Louis made headlines when it abruptly shut last month, leaving residents and families scrambling: and one former resident still hasn’t been located, prompting a the issuance of a silver advisory. Other news is from California, Texas, and elsewhere.
Study Links Acetaminophen Use In Pregnancy With Language Delays
January 4, 2024
Morning Briefing
News coverage of the study, which came from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, notes that children of moms who took acetaminophen during pregnancy had smaller vocabularies and shorter sentence lengths. That was especially pronounced when it was taken during the third trimester. Also in the news: hearing aids as a lifesaver, the Mediterranean diet wins again, and the reason urine is yellow.
Morning Briefing for Thursday, January 4, 2024
January 4, 2024
Morning Briefing
A new antibiotic, affordable treatments, insulin costs, covid vaccines and cases, Medicare, abortion access, and more are in the news.
Novel Roche Antibiotic Works Against Dangerous Drug-Resistant Bacteria
January 4, 2024
Morning Briefing
The new zosurabalpin drug proved able to fight carbapenem-resistant acinetobacter baumannii in mice. The drug-resistant bug, also known as CRAB, kills in as many as 60% of cases. It’s top of the WHO’s hit-list for pathogens that need new drugs.
CVS Will Soon Recommend Biosimilars Instead Of AbbVie’s Humira
January 4, 2024
Morning Briefing
CVS Health will drop the rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira from some of its lists of preferred drugs for reimbursement as of April 1 in favor of rival biosimilars. Separately, news outlets report on how more Americans will pay just $35 a month for insulin treatments now that the price cap is in effect.
Cigna Is In Advanced Talks To Sell Its Medicare Business
January 4, 2024
Morning Briefing
The Wall Street Journal explains the deal is an about-face for the giant health insurer, which has been expanding its footprint in the sector. The deal for Medicare Advantage is said to be with Health Care Service Corp. and worth up to $4 billion. Also in the news: problems for some asthma patients from new Medicaid rebate rules.
First Edition: Jan. 4, 2024
January 4, 2024
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Doctors Are as Vulnerable to Addiction as Anyone. California Grapples With a Response.
By Bernard J. Wolfson
January 4, 2024
KFF Health News Original
The Medical Board of California, which licenses MDs, is developing a program to evaluate, treat, and monitor doctors with alcohol and drug problems. But there is sharp disagreement over whether those who might volunteer for the program should be subject to public disclosure and over how much participants should pay.