Temp Nurses Cost Hospitals Big During Pandemic. Lawmakers Are Now Mulling Limits.
By Bram Sable-Smith
March 17, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Missouri is considering making it a felony to jack up temporary health care staffing prices during a statewide or national emergency. It’s one of at least 14 states looking to reel in travel nurse costs, after many hospitals struggled to pay for needed staffers earlier in the covid pandemic.
California’s Covid Misinformation Law Is Entangled in Lawsuits, Conflicting Rulings
By Bernard J. Wolfson
March 17, 2023
KFF Health News Original
A state law says giving false information to patients about covid-19 constitutes unprofessional conduct for which regulators can discipline doctors. Vaccine skeptics, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., join civil liberties groups and others in arguing that it violates free speech.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Judging the Abortion Pill
March 16, 2023
Podcast
Any day now a conservative federal judge in Texas could upend the national abortion debate by requiring the FDA to rescind its approval of mifepristone, a drug approved in the U.S. more than 20 years ago that is now used in more than half of abortions nationwide. Meanwhile, a controversial study on masks gets a clarification, although it may be too late to change the public impression of what it found. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
Estados Unidos sigue siendo uno de los países con más partos prematuros. ¿Se puede solucionar?
By Sarah Varney
March 16, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Aproximadamente uno de cada 10 nacimientos vivos en 2021 ocurrió antes de las 37 semanas de gestación, según un informe de March of Dimes publicado en 2022. En comparación, investigaciones recientes citan tasas de nacimientos prematuros del 7,4% en Inglaterra y Gales, del 6% en Francia y del 5,8% en Suecia.
Research Roundup: Covid; Autism; Infection Control; Time Perception
March 16, 2023
Morning Briefing
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
Mississippi To Decriminalize Fentanyl Testing Kits
March 16, 2023
Morning Briefing
Gov. Tate Reeves signed a new House bill Monday that will decriminalize illegal-drug testing kits effective July 1. Meanwhile, in Texas, the Senate passed a bill allowing fentanyl distributors to be charged with murder, and in Mexico, the president suggested a ban on using fentanyl in medicine.
Industrial Trichloroethylene Possibly Linked To Parkinson’s Disease
March 16, 2023
Morning Briefing
New research identifies risks from trichloroethylene, which is widely used to degrease aviation components and heavy machinery. It could be linked to Parkinson’s. CNN, separately, reports on pesticide contaminant levels in fruits and vegetables.
Unwinding Of Medicaid Coverage Will Affect Millions
March 16, 2023
Morning Briefing
Various news outlets discuss the reenrollment of Medicaid beneficiaries as the end of the public health emergency ends. Also various report from across the country on gender identity.
Northwestern Medicine Succeeds With Novel Double Lung Transplants
March 16, 2023
Morning Briefing
News outlets report on a new treatment for certain late-stage lunch cancers, with successful procedures carried out on two patients at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. In other news, a push to subject medical devices to placebo tests in the same way drugs are investigated for effectiveness.
Analysis: 30% Of Patients Get Care Without Seeing Primary Provider
March 16, 2023
Morning Briefing
A FAIR Health analysis, reported by Axios, shows that of all patients who received medical services between 2016 and 2022 nearly 30% did not see a primary care physician. The Texas Tribune, meanwhile, reports on how rural Texans must travel long distances for basic health needs.
What The End Of Covid Health Emergency Means
March 16, 2023
Morning Briefing
The federal government and various states are outlining what happens as the public health emergency winds to a close in May.
Maternal Deaths Spiked 40% In 2021, Dropped in 2022
March 16, 2023
Morning Briefing
More than 1,200 U.S. women died in 2021 during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth, according to a final tally by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2022, there were 733 maternal deaths, though AP reports that number is likely to rise.
Judge Sounds Receptive To Challenge Of FDA’s Abortion Pill Approval
March 16, 2023
Morning Briefing
In a Texas court Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk heard arguments from a coalition of anti-abortion medical groups and doctors and the Justice Department in a case that could have broad repercussions for access to a medicated abortion in the U.S. The FDA’s approval process for mifepristone and ability to mail the drug were considered during the hearing.
Morning Briefing for Thursday, March 16, 2023
March 16, 2023
Morning Briefing
Drug pricing, abortion pill hearing, maternal deaths, Medicaid coverage, covid, fentanyl, Parkinson’s disease, and more are in today’s news.
Biden Administration Maps Out Drug Price Negotiation Process
March 16, 2023
Morning Briefing
The federal government will select the Medicare program’s 10 costliest prescription medicines based on gross spending. As part of a multi-step negotiation process it will then negotiate price cuts that will go into effect in 2026.
First Edition: March 16, 2023
March 16, 2023
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
The US Remains a Grim Leader in Preterm Births. Why? And Can We Fix It?
By Sarah Varney
March 16, 2023
KFF Health News Original
American women are more likely to deliver their babies prematurely than women in most developed countries. It’s a distinction that coincides with high rates of maternal and infant death, billions of dollars in costs, and even lifelong disabilities for the children who survive.
Listen to ‘Tradeoffs’: Medical Debt Delivers ‘A Shocking Amount of Misery’
By Noam N. Levey
March 16, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Medical debt in America pushes families to the edge. Ariane Buck and his wife, Samantha, were denied care at their doctor’s office because of an unpaid bill of less than $100. A trip to the emergency room added thousands of dollars to their health care debt, which topped $50,000 by the time they filed for bankruptcy.