Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
March 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
Each week, KHN finds longer stories for you to enjoy. This week’s selections include stories on burn pits, sea moss, brain plasticity, senior care, and more.
‘Tragedy Of Stillbirth’ Report Shows US Rates ‘Unacceptably High’
March 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
The National Institutes of Health report, “Working to Address the Tragedy of Stillbirth,” highlights the bleak statistics of stillborn deaths in the U.S. and how it’s caused by “problems at every level.” Separately, a strong link between physical work and sperm counts is reported.
E. Coli In Meat Linked To Bladder Infections
March 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
The source of some e. coli-derived UTI infections is meat products, researchers say. In other news, new advice on introducing peanuts to babies for allergy avoidance, and guidance on diabetes screening.
Contaminated Water Lawsuits Stack Up For Marine Corps Camp Lejeune
March 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
A report in Roll Call explains how claims and lawsuits are piling up against the government over contaminated drinking water at the Camp, including a “growing percentage” of wrongful death suits. Separately, the UN warns over the impacts of a lack of drinking water around the world.
Utah Law Requires Parental Permission For Kids To Use Social Media
March 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
Utah becomes the first state to restrict use of social media by kids under 18 in an effort to address the platforms’ role in the youth mental health crisis. The law requires parental consent for kids to sign up for accounts or access them overnight and provides parents with more access to their kids’ messages.
Bills Target Trans Minors’ Gender Care And Bathroom Use
March 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, a Republican, signed bills limiting trans rights, the Hill reports: one bans gender treatment for minors, the other mandates which school bathrooms trans students can use. Trans minors’ care, and participation in sports, are meanwhile targeted by Missouri bills.
Morning Briefing for Friday, March 24, 2023
March 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
Autism rates, Medicare Advantage, abortion, covid vaccine requirements, TB, youth mental health, and more are in the news. Plus, weekend reads.
Senators Slam Medicare Advantage Insurers Over ‘Exorbitant Salaries’
March 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Jeff Merkley lobbed criticism in a series of letters to Humana, Centene, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna CVS Health, Molina Health, Elevance Health, and Cigna, Stat reported. Also: Medicaid news from North Carolina, Connecticut, and Montana.
Opioid Deaths Among Latinos Rose Sharply Since 2011
March 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
The rising use of fentanyl is blamed for the increasing number of drug overdose deaths among Latinos. In Texas, legislators are considering a bill to train teachers to deal with overdoses.
TB Faded During Covid But Now It’s Back, CDC Data Shows
March 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
Levels of tuberculosis cases in the U.S. are returning to levels comparable to those before the pandemic, a report from the CDC shows. Stat explains that some of 2022’s increase came from outside the U.S. and high incidence among American Indians and some other groups.
Long Hours, Poor Workplace Services Driving Medical Residents To Unionize
March 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
NPR reports on difficulties facing medical residents across the country which are helping drive staff to join unions, with a goal of improving working conditions. Also, a maternal care desert in suburban Philadelphia, words from the former surgeon general Jerome Adams on public health, and more.
New Hampshire Protects Abortion Rights
March 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
The state’s House of Representatives voted to protect abortion rights and remove civil and criminal penalties for doctors from the 24-week ban.
Appeals Court Rules Against Covid Vaccine Requirement
March 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
The covid vaccine requirement for federal workers was negated by a U.S. Appeals Court. Also, news about other covid-related legislation from Georgia and Alabama.
Autism Rates Rise Again, And More Quickly For Black, Hispanic Kids
March 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
Autism cases in the U.S. continued to trend upward from 2018 to 2020, growing from 1 in 44 kids to 1 in 36. Among Black and Hispanic children, the rise was even more steep, with diagnoses surpassing white youth. News outlets note that more diagnoses may stem from better awareness and screening.
First Edition: March 24, 2023
March 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Health Providers Scramble to Keep Remaining Staff Amid Medicaid Rate Debate
By Keely Larson
March 24, 2023
KFF Health News Original
The ranks of community-based behavioral health providers in Montana have diminished amid rising costs, greater need, and stagnant Medicaid reimbursement rates. Now, as state lawmakers debate solutions, providers are hoping just to cover their costs.
Sen. Sanders Shows Fire, but Seeks Modest Goals, in His Debut Drug Hearing as Health Chair
By Arthur Allen
March 23, 2023
KFF Health News Original
The Vermont independent and former presidential candidate was all fire and brimstone at his first hearing on drug prices as head of the Senate HELP Committee. He also pursued a more modest goal of covid vaccine price reductions. It isn’t clear whether Sanders will succeed in even that, but he has put affordability front and center.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The Policy, and Politics, of Medicare Advantage
March 23, 2023
Podcast
Medicare Advantage, the private plan alternative to traditional Medicare, is embroiled in a growing controversy over whether insurers are being overpaid and what it would mean to reduce those payments. Meanwhile, even as maternal mortality in the U.S. continues to rise, providers of care to pregnant women say they’re leaving states with abortion bans that prevent them from treating pregnancy complications. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join KHN’s chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
Research Roundup: Antibiotics; Gene Therapy; C. Diff; And More
March 23, 2023
Morning Briefing
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.