First Edition: Nov. 3, 2022
November 3, 2022
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
California’s Proposed Flavored Tobacco Ban Gives Hookah a Pass
By Rachel Scheier
November 3, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Californians will decide Nov. 8 whether to approve a statewide ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes. But the measure, known as Proposition 31, exempts hookah tobacco. Anti-smoking activists criticize the carve-out, calling it the latest example of businesses using identity politics to profit from a deadly product.
Colorado Voters to Decide Whether All Schoolkids Get a Free Lunch
By John Daley, Colorado Public Radio and Ivy Winfrey, NPR
November 3, 2022
KFF Health News Original
In September, a popular pandemic benefit expired: free school lunch for all children attending public schools. Some states are stepping up to try to keep the free food available, and it is on the ballot next week in Colorado.
Haven’t Seen Your Doctor in a Few Years? You May Need to Find a New One
By Michelle Andrews
November 3, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Some primary care physicians will drop seldom-seen patients. That’s a particular problem for those who postponed doctor visits during the pandemic.
Dobbs Decision Drove Two Big Spikes In Medication Abortion Requests
November 2, 2022
Morning Briefing
Data from Aid Access, a nonprofit online telemedicine service that provides medication for a self-managed abortion, shows that before the Supreme Court’s abortion decision leaked that requests averaged around 83 a day. After the leak, that number jumped to 137. And since the court decision was formally announced, the daily average has increased to nearly 214.
CMS Aims To Kickstart Rural ACOs With Medicare Payment Changes
November 2, 2022
Morning Briefing
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services finalized updates Tuesday to the Medicare Shared Savings Program that include upfront payments to health providers in rural or underserved areas that join. Participation in the program has stalled since 2018.
With Any Luck, This Could Be The Last Year RSV Ravages Children, Families
November 2, 2022
Morning Briefing
Pfizer’s announcement Tuesday that an RSV vaccine in moms-to-be was nearly 82% effective at preventing severe cases in their babies’ first months of life was welcome news after decades of setbacks and delays. The findings won’t help this year’s surge, but it’s possible a vaccine could be available before next fall’s RSV season.
Morning Briefing for Wednesday, November 2, 2022
November 2, 2022
Morning Briefing
Wednesday’s roundup covers abortion travel and pills, RSV, Medicare and ACOs, medical supply shortages, alcohol misuse, and more.
State Bans Forcing Patients To Travel More Than Twice As Long For An Abortion
November 2, 2022
Morning Briefing
JAMA published more than a dozen studies on the immediate impact on reproductive care in a post-Roe U.S. Researchers find that patients are traveling an average of 100 minutes to receive abortion services — up from an average of 30 minutes.
Perspectives: Lessons From Covid Collaboration Should Be Used For Other Illnesses
November 2, 2022
Morning Briefing
Read recent commentaries about drug-cost issues.
As Texas Stalls Maternal Death Data, Sneak Peek Shows High Risk For Blacks
November 2, 2022
Morning Briefing
As the Houston Chronicle noted, the rate of life-threatening hemorrhaging among Black women during childbirth in Texas increased through 2020 while the rate for all other groups dropped. The data were obtained by a Democratic state lawmaker; the report was supposed to be released Sept. 1. Critics say every day wasted is a missed chance to help women.
Study: Many Adult Americans Dying Of Excessive Alcohol Use
November 2, 2022
Morning Briefing
Research published Tuesday in JAMA said that from 2015 to 2019, an estimated 1 in 5 deaths of people ages 20 to 49 were attributable to excessive alcohol use; for those ages 20 to 64, it was 1 in 8. Those rates have most likely climbed since then because of the pandemic, The New York Times reports.
Another Medical Supply Shortage: Tracheostomy Tubes
November 2, 2022
Morning Briefing
The shortage is most likely to affect pediatric patients because there are few alternatives, the FDA warns. Other pharmaceutical news is on anesthesia, nonaddictive painkillers, drones that carry defibrillators, a $12 billion opioid settlement, and more.
Long Before Mehmet Oz’s Senate Run, His Surgical Research Was Banned
November 2, 2022
Morning Briefing
The Washington Post reported that in 2003, Mehmet Oz faced a controversy over his research on heart bypass surgery and was banned from presenting research to the American Association for Thoracic Surgery conference for the next two years. Oz is now the Pennsylvania’s Republican nominee for U.S. Senate.
Unreliable Pulse Oximeter Readings Due To Skin Color Reviewed By FDA Panel
November 2, 2022
Morning Briefing
The FDA’s Medical Devices Advisory Committee examined clinical data Tuesday and discussed interim steps — like box labels to warn of potentially inaccurate readings for patients with darker skin tones — to provide more time for the agency to investigate. The devices have been widely used by consumers during the covid pandemic.
First Edition: Nov. 2, 2022
November 2, 2022
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Cash for Colonoscopies: Colorado Tries to Lower Health Costs Through Incentives
By Markian Hawryluk
November 2, 2022
KFF Health News Original
State employees could receive checks ranging from $50 to thousands of dollars if they choose the right provider.
Hurricane Ian’s Deadly Impact on Florida Seniors Exposes Need for New Preparation Strategies
By Judith Graham
November 2, 2022
KFF Health News Original
Lengthy checklists from public health officials on handling emergencies miss vulnerable seniors who can’t always follow the recommendations.
Equitable Access To Covid Drugs Is Improving
November 1, 2022
Morning Briefing
Read about the biggest pharmaceutical developments and pricing stories from the past week in KHN’s Prescription Drug Watch roundup.