International Rights Group Calls Out US for Allowing Hospitals to Push Millions Into Debt
By Noam N. Levey
June 15, 2023
KFF Health News Original
In a new report, Human Rights Watch urges stronger federal and state action to hold hospitals to account for a medical debt crisis that now burdens more than 100 million Americans.
Tech Luminaries Give RFK Jr.’s Anti-Vaccine Message a Boost
By Darius Tahir
June 15, 2023
KFF Health News Original
The views of the leader of a broad anti-vaccine movement who is now running for president are unchallenged in public forums run by several prominent Silicon Valley figures.
Montana Clinics Chip Away at Refugees’ Obstacles to Dental Care
By Erica Zurek
June 15, 2023
KFF Health News Original
As the number of refugees entering the U.S. grows, those arriving in Montana and other rural areas find limited dental care options.
Birth Control Pills Carry A High Risk Of Depression, Study Finds
June 14, 2023
Morning Briefing
Read recent pharmaceutical developments in KFF Health News’ Prescription Drug Watch roundup.
Nevada’s Governor Signs Two Bills Protecting Trans Health Rights
June 14, 2023
Morning Briefing
Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican, is “bucking trends from other Republican governors across the country,” AP argues, by signing two bills that protect transgender rights in his state, although he vetoed a third bill. Other news is from Florida, California, Montana, Georgia, and elsewhere.
Demand For Antibiotic In Short Supply May Impact Sick Children Soon: Pfizer
June 14, 2023
Morning Briefing
Pfizer warned that supply of the pediatric version of its drug Bicillin L-A is expected to be exhausted by the end of this quarter. The adult formulation of the drug is in demand for treating a spike in syphilis infections. The pediatric version isn’t widely used, though, Pfizer said.
Viewpoints: Personal Care Products Contain Unregulated Chemicals; Dental Care Should Be Considered Health Care
June 14, 2023
Morning Briefing
Editorial writers discuss unregulated chemicals, dental care, and skin cancer.
Morning Briefing for Wednesday, June 14, 2023
June 14, 2023
Morning Briefing
Preventive care, Medicare, drug pricing, abortion access, cancer med shortages, maternal health, suicide, and more are in the news.
Facebook Gets Sent Data From Some Suicide Hotline Websites: Investigation
June 14, 2023
Morning Briefing
A new report says, alarmingly, that sensitive visitor data is being quietly sent to Facebook when people visit dozens of websites tied to the national mental health crisis line. Meanwhile, other research hints the body may react differently to calories ingested from different types of food.
Addiction Meds Tend Not To Be Given To Adolescents Seeking Care: Study
June 14, 2023
Morning Briefing
A report in Stat says teens seeking treatment for addiction are more likely to be offered alternative care like horseback riding rather than being given a common, highly effective addiction medication. Separately, research shows people identifying as gay, lesbian, or bi are more likely to have mental health issues.
Overpayments To Medicare Advantage Insurers Now Top $75 Billion Yearly
June 14, 2023
Morning Briefing
Axios reports that the overpayment figure, from researchers at the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics, is higher than estimated. Also in the news, better working conditions demanded by SLU Hospital nurses, growing demand for home health nursing programs, and more.
To Get Cancer Meds, Some Must Now Journey Far Across The Country
June 14, 2023
Morning Briefing
The Wall Street Journal shines a light on the plight of patients who were able to get cancer drugs mailed directly to them during the covid public health emergency but who must now journey perhaps hundreds of miles to pick up medications in person.
Some Who Lost Sense Of Smell From Covid May Never Get It Fully Back
June 14, 2023
Morning Briefing
New research may be bad news for millions of Americans, and many others across the globe, who lost their sense of smell and taste after contracting covid: Effects are still hitting many people, and for some, they may be permanent.
Having A Baby? Alaska Charges The Most, Alabama The Least
June 14, 2023
Morning Briefing
Alaska topped out at $21,525 for an in-network vaginal delivery and $25,518 for a C-section, according to FAIR Health’s new Cost of Giving Birth Tracker. Compare that to Alabama’s $7,840 for an in-network vaginal delivery and $8,913 C-section.
Budget Bill Advancing In House Would Ban Abortion, Transgender Surgery At VA Centers
June 14, 2023
Morning Briefing
The House Appropriations Committee voted along party lines Tuesday to approve a budget bill that would fund Veterans Affairs at a record $320 billion level, as requested by the White House, and ban abortion and gender affirmation procedures at VA medical centers. Also, the latest fallout from Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s block on military promotions due to abortion policy.
Congressional Calls Grow To Rein In PBM Business Tactics
June 14, 2023
Morning Briefing
During a House Oversight Committee hearing Tuesday, Chairman James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, spoke out in favor of breaking up PBMs. On the other end of Capitol Hill, Sen. Bernie Sanders pushes NIH to reinstate a measure that requires reasonable drug pricing when a pharmaceutical company licenses NIH inventions.
Appeals Court OKs Deal That Preserves ACA Preventive Care Measure For Now
June 14, 2023
Morning Briefing
Preventive care procedures and prescription drugs like cancer screenings and HIV prevention medications will remain fully covered, as mandated by the Affordable Care Act, while challenges to the law continue in court.
Foster Kids in Casino Hotels? It Happened in Rural Nevada Amid Widespread Foster Home Shortages
By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez
June 14, 2023
KFF Health News Original
A nationwide decline in foster home spots has led to dire situations in some rural areas, including northeastern Nevada, where a state social worker has been pleading with community leaders to help address a shortage that left officials housing children in casino hotels.
At Least 1.7M Americans Use Health Sharing Arrangements, Despite Lack of Protections
By Markian Hawryluk
June 14, 2023
KFF Health News Original
A new report boosts the estimated number of people enrolled in plans whose members — usually brought together by shared religious beliefs — pay one another’s health costs.