Syringe Exchange Fears Hobble Fight Against West Virginia HIV Outbreak
By Taylor Sisk
January 3, 2025
KFF Health News Original
Health workers and researchers say an HIV outbreak in West Virginia that three years ago was called “the most concerning” in the U.S. continues to spread after state and local officials restricted syringe service programs.
Stimulant Users Are Caught in Fatal ‘Fourth Wave’ of Opioid Epidemic
By Lynn Arditi, The Public’s Radio
January 3, 2025
KFF Health News Original
The migration of fentanyl into illicit stimulants such as cocaine is especially dangerous for people who are not regular opioid users. That’s because they have a low tolerance for opioids, putting them at greater risk of an overdose. They also often don’t take precautions — such as not using alone and carrying the opioid reversal medication naloxone — so they’re unprepared if they overdose.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Francis Collins on Supporting NIH and Finding Common Ground
January 2, 2025
Podcast
Francis Collins led the National Institutes of Health for 12 years, under three presidents. During the Biden administration, he added White House science adviser to his long list of roles. Now he runs his own lab on the NIH campus, and his latest book, “The Road to Wisdom: On Truth, Science, Faith, and Trust,” came out in September. In this special holiday episode of KFF Health News’ “What the Health?” Collins joins host and chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss health misinformation, the Trump administration’s plans for the NIH, and bringing together a fractured society.
UnitedHealth Doctors Got Diagnoses Checklists To Boost Medicare Payouts
January 2, 2025
Morning Briefing
The Wall Street Journal reports how UnitedHealth provided lists of potential, often obscure diagnoses to its doctors and forced them to weigh in on them for each Medicare Advantage patient, in order to capitalize on the government system that pays private insurers based on how sick doctors say a patient is.
AI System Identifies Early Warning Signs Of Atrial Fibrillation
January 2, 2025
Morning Briefing
The tool developed by British researchers examines patient data to calculate risks for people who might develop the condition. Meanwhile, Stat reports on a study of pulse oximeters, which are currently not calibrated to work as well for people with darker skin. Other news includes antibiotic resistance, GLP-1 withdrawal, and more.
Maryland Extends Medicaid Enrollment Freeze On Behavioral Health Providers
January 2, 2025
Morning Briefing
Also in the news: Experts in Texas make a case for mental health funds; New Yorkers will receive paid leave for prenatal care; Colorado explores psychedelic therapy; and more.
Research Roundup: The Latest Science, Discoveries, And Breakthroughs
January 2, 2025
Morning Briefing
Each week, KFF Health News compiles a selection of the latest health research and news.
Largest Blastomycosis Outbreak In US History Identified In Michigan
January 2, 2025
Morning Briefing
The outbreak took place between 2022 and 2023 and was the first such outbreak to take place in an industrial setting. In other news: broccoli recalls; vapes are still being shipped through the mail, even though it’s illegal; and more.
Nursing Homes Face Dilemma With Uncertain Future Of CMS’ Staffing Rule
January 2, 2025
Morning Briefing
Some nursing homes are preparing for the new staffing regulations from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services slated to take effect in 2025. Others are holding back, waiting to see if the rule is likely to survive the Trump administration.
Inflation Reduction Act Spending Cap For Medicare Is Now In Effect
January 2, 2025
Morning Briefing
Meanwhile, drugmakers are expected to raise prices on over 250 medications in the new year; rules for hospital price transparency are updated; and more.
CDC Keeps Its Eyes Open For Signs Of Bird Flu Turning Into A Pandemic
January 2, 2025
Morning Briefing
The agency says it is looking for red flags, but the risk to the public still remains low. Meanwhile, samples collected from a Louisiana patient with a severe case of bird flu showed worrying mutations. Other outbreak news includes surges in covid and norovirus.
First Edition: Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025
January 2, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
For Many Rural Women, Finding Maternity Care Outweighs Concerns About Abortion Access
By Lillian Mongeau Hughes
January 2, 2025
KFF Health News Original
A legislative effort to expand access to prenatal care in rural Oregon with mobile clinics was scuttled because those clinics would have provided abortions in rural areas. Opposition to the proposal shows that, even in states that ensure access to abortions, that care isn’t universally available or accepted.
In Year 7, ‘Bill of the Month’ Gives Patients a Voice
December 30, 2024
KFF Health News Original
In the seventh year of KFF Health News’ “Bill of the Month” series, patients shared their most perplexing, vexing, and downright expensive medical bills, and reporters analyzed $800,000 in charges — including more than $370,000 owed by 12 patients and their families.
Incineradores de basura dañan de manera desproporcionada a hispanos
By Daniel Chang
December 27, 2024
KFF Health News Original
El dilema que se revela en el sur de Florida es indicativo de lo que algunos ven como una tendencia más amplia en la lucha nacional por la justicia ambiental.
LGBTQ+ People Relive Old Traumas as They Age on Their Own
By Judith Graham
December 24, 2024
KFF Health News Original
The generation that faced discrimination, ostracism, and the AIDS epidemic now faces old age. Many struggle with isolation along with a host of pressing health problems.
‘Waiting List to Nowhere’: Homelessness Surveys Trap Black Men on the Streets
By Angela Hart
December 23, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Homelessness experts and community leaders say vulnerability questionnaires have worsened racial disparities among the unhoused by systematically placing white people in front of the line ahead of Black people. Now places like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Austin, Texas, are developing alternative surveys to reduce bias.
An Arm and a Leg: Revisiting ‘Christmas In July’
By Dan Weissmann
December 23, 2024
Podcast
From the archives of “An Arm and a Leg”: a family tragedy, a 40-year tradition, and a million dollars in medical debt erased.
