Damar Hamlin Now Alert And On Path To Neurological Recovery
January 6, 2023
Morning Briefing
Media outlets report on the health of Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin, whose collapse on the field drew attention to heart health. Hamlin is alert, but experts worry over his organ health. Other reports cover issues relating to sports, cardiac health, and airline medical kits for in-flight emergencies.
Viewpoints: MRNA Cancer Vaccine Looks Promising; What We Should Know About Variant XBB.1.5
January 6, 2023
Morning Briefing
Editorial writers delve into these public health topics.
Morning Briefing for Friday, January 6, 2023
January 6, 2023
Morning Briefing
Friday’s roundup covers private equity in health care, abortion, XBB.1.5, covid testing, autism, drug prices, and more. Plus, weekend reads.
First-Of-Its-Kind Autism Test Could Help With Earlier Diagnosis
January 6, 2023
Morning Briefing
LinusBio researchers say they’ve developed a test using a single strain of hair that could be used by clinicians as a diagnostic tool before symptoms of autism manifest. Other news reports on mpox, polio, Parkinson’s, and others.
Biden Will Use Title 42 Health Policy To Expel Migrants From 4 Nations
January 6, 2023
Morning Briefing
President Joe Biden has repeatedly decried use of the pandemic-era border measure and even declared Thursday, “I don’t like Title 42” — just moments after making a speech saying he would rapidly expel migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela entering the U.S. illegally.
NIH Launches Remote Program For Covid Testing, Consults, Treatments
January 6, 2023
Morning Briefing
The National Institutes of Health’s new pilot program is designed to allow people to receive free covid-related telehealth care, and it’s thought up to 8,000 people may use the “Home Test to Treat” site. Meanwhile, the latest worrisome covid variant is driving up hospitalizations on the East Coast.
FDA Steady On Abortion Pills: Rejects Pushes To Widen, Restrict Access
January 6, 2023
Morning Briefing
Media outlets report on efforts to: limit abortion pill access, from a conservative group; and to expand access, from a medical group seeking more use of mifepristone in miscarriages. Meanwhile, the Boston Globe reports on how some pharmacies may, or may not, decide to dispense the drugs.
Idaho’s High Court Tosses Out Lawsuits Challenging Near-Total Abortion Ban
January 6, 2023
Morning Briefing
Idaho’s Supreme Court upheld three state laws that ban nearly all abortion and allow prosecution of medical providers, ruling that there is “no implicit right” to abortion in the Idaho constitution. On the heels of South Carolina’s high court ruling the other way, the contradictory decisions offer a prime example of the complicated legal landscape in the U.S.
South Carolina’s 6-Week Abortion Ban Overturned By State’s Supreme Court
January 6, 2023
Morning Briefing
In a 3-2 decision, the South Carolina Supreme Court struck down a state law banning abortion when an ultrasound detects a fetal heartbeat. Justice Kaye Hearn wrote in the majority opinion: “Six weeks is, quite simply, not a reasonable period of time for these two things to occur, and therefore the act violates our constitution’s prohibition against unreasonable invasions of privacy.”
First Edition: Jan. 6, 2023
January 6, 2023
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
More Orthopedic Physicians Sell Out to Private Equity Firms, Raising Alarms About Costs and Quality
By Harris Meyer
January 6, 2023
KFF Health News Original
While some doctors seem eager for a huge payoff, others are warily watching what happens when private equity firms take charge of orthopedic practices.
During In-Flight Emergencies, Sometimes Airlines’ Medical Kits Fall Short
By Vignesh Ramachandran
January 6, 2023
KFF Health News Original
U.S. airlines have response plans for passengers who run into health issues in flight, but planes carry limited and sometimes incomplete medical supplies that can put travelers at risk.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Year-End Bill Holds Big Health Changes
January 5, 2023
Podcast
The year-end spending bill passed by Congress in late December contains a wide array of health-related provisions, including a structure for states to begin to disenroll people on Medicaid whose coverage has been maintained through the pandemic. Meanwhile, the Biden administration is taking steps to make the abortion pill more widely available. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post join KHN’s chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Mark Kreidler, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about a billing mix-up that took about a year to sort out.
Sueño alterado y nervios de punta: la contaminación acústica afecta la mente y el cuerpo
By Rachel Bluth
January 5, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Décadas de investigación vinculan la contaminación acústica no solo con la interrupción del sueño, sino también con una serie de afecciones crónicas, como enfermedades cardíacas, deterioro cognitivo, depresión y ansiedad.
NY requiere que doctores receten naloxona a algunos pacientes que toman analgésicos opioides
By Michelle Andrews
January 5, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Aunque los titulares son por las muertes por sobredosis de drogas ilícitas vendidas en la calle, el riesgo de sufrirlas también es real para los pacientes que toman opioides recetados por sus médicos.
Large Toxic ‘Forever’ Chemical Plume Hits Lake Michigan
January 5, 2023
Morning Briefing
News outlets cover a sizeable plume of toxic PFAS chemicals that have leaked into Lake Michigan’s Green Bay from a plant that makes firefighting foam. Some detected levels far exceed EPA drinking water health limits. Other news comes from New Jersey, Massachusetts, Texas, and elsewhere.
TikTok Weight Loss Buzz Leads To Diabetes Drug Shortage
January 5, 2023
Morning Briefing
Bloomberg reports on how an online meme is leading to serious supply shortages of Type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic. In other health industry news, Aetna wins a N.C. contract, Moderna buys a Japanese drugmaker to boost its mRNA drug efforts, and more.
Report: Clot Buster Linked To Patient Death In Alzheimer’s Drug Trial
January 5, 2023
Morning Briefing
A patient’s death during what’s said to be a “closely watched” trial of Eisai’s lecanemab Alzheimer’s drug has now been linked to a blood clot buster drug given after the patient had a stroke. Success of a blood cancer drug and an inflammatory bowel disease drug are among other science news.
Research Roundup: Acute Heart Failure; Chemotherapy; Covid; Nasal Swabs For ‘Stealthy’ Viruses
January 5, 2023
Morning Briefing
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.