Officials Propose Rule To Improve Health IT, Software Interoperability
July 11, 2024
Morning Briefing
The new rule from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology is designed to improve interoperability between payers, public health bodies, and providers via a voluntary certification system. Also in the news: Doctors use AI chatbots to battle insurance denials.
Death Toll From Extreme Heat Nears 30
July 11, 2024
Morning Briefing
The bulk of heat-related deaths are in California and Oregon, states that have seen a string of triple-digit temperatures. Meanwhile in Texas, where Hurricane Beryl blew through, officials have opened NRG Arena to hospital patients who have been discharged but cannot safely return home just yet.
Morning Briefing for Thursday, July 11, 2024
July 11, 2024
Morning Briefing
KFF Health News is on Instagram and TikTok ! Watch our videos and follow along as we break down health care headlines and policy.
Feds Plan To Sue CVS, UnitedHealth, Cigna Over Drug Rebates: Source
July 11, 2024
Morning Briefing
A person familiar with the investigation who asked not to be named said the complaint is still being drafted but could be filed this month, the Los Angeles Times reported. In other pharmaceutical news: the price of Ozempic, updates on the Abbott trial, tanning pills, and more.
‘A Bottomless Pit’: How Out-of-Pocket TMJ Costs Drive Patients Into Debt
By Brett Kelman and Anna Werner, CBS News
July 11, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Millions of Americans suffer from temporomandibular joint, or TMJ, disorders. The high cost and poor insurance coverage of TMJ care can bury patients in debt even as the treatments do more harm than good.
First Edition: July 11, 2024
July 11, 2024
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Finland Is Offering Farmworkers Bird Flu Shots. Some Experts Say the US Should, Too.
By Amy Maxmen and Arthur Allen
July 11, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Even with a stockpile of bird flu vaccinations, the federal government is not offering them to those at high risk. Along with testing and measures to prevent spread, vaccinations may protect people and stop the outbreak from becoming a pandemic.
Colorado Dropped Medicaid Enrollees as Red States Have, Alarming Advocates for the Poor
By Rae Ellen Bichell
July 11, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Colorado defended its high disenrollment rates following the covid crisis by saying that what goes up must come down. Advocates and researchers disagree.
Colorado expulsó a beneficiarios de Medicaid como si fuera un estado republicano
By Rae Ellen Bichell
July 11, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Es el único estado demócrata entre un grupo de estados republicanos con altas tasas de desafiliación, que incluye a Idaho, Montana, Texas y Utah, en un proceso de Medicaid que comenzó en la primavera de 2023.
Finlandia ofrece vacunas contra la gripe aviar a sus trabajadores agrícolas. Estados Unidos debería hacer lo mismo, dicen expertos
By Amy Maxmen and Arthur Allen
July 11, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Hay controversia sobre el momento para comenzar a vacunar contra la gripe aviar. Algunos piensan que debe hacerse ya, otros que hay que esperar para analizar la evolución del virus.
Rural Hospital Networks Are Sprouting, This Time In North Dakota
July 10, 2024
Morning Briefing
The Rough Rider High-Value Network is made up of 23 critical access hospitals in the state and aims to improve treatment and coordinate care, Modern Healthcare reported. A similar collaboration recently launched in rural Minnesota.
Hidden Costs Of Extreme Heat Landed California With $7.7B Bill
July 10, 2024
Morning Briefing
A new report says a decade’s worth of indirect costs from heat waves, such as lost productivity and health care for heat-related injuries, totaled more than $7.7 billion in California. Separately, the Sacramento Bee reports on how California police are spending $50 million on wellness care.
Newest Pitch To Resistant Dairy Farmers: Anonymous Bird Flu Testing
July 10, 2024
Morning Briefing
Public health officials, hoping to get a bigger picture of the spread of the spread of the H5N1 virus, think anonymous testing might encourage fearful farmers, Axios reports. Covid, plague, measles, and Jamestown Canyon virus are also in the news.
Historic Second Pig Kidney Transplant Patient Has Now Died
July 10, 2024
Morning Briefing
At the end of May, the 54-year-old New Jersey woman had to have the organ removed after just 47 days because it was damaged by inadequate blood flow from a heart pump she’d received before the genetically modified pig kidney. Also in the news: a larynx transplant, acupuncture, and more.
Shortage Of Chemo Drug Cisplatin Ends; Troubled Norovirus Vax Is Discontinued
July 10, 2024
Morning Briefing
Read recent pharmaceutical developments in KFF Health News’ Prescription Drug Watch roundup.
Viewpoints: AI Has Potential To Be A Life-Saver In Health Care; We Need To Reframe Approach To Overdose Crisis
July 10, 2024
Morning Briefing
Editorial writers tackle AI’s role in aiding diagnoses, the overdose crisis and the anti-abortion movement.
In Closer Look At PBMs, FTC Faults Them For Driving Up Drug Costs
July 10, 2024
Morning Briefing
The agency’s sharp criticism of these drug middlemen has not led to lawsuits or other actions, but it might provide Congress and states with incentive to amp up regulations.
Falsified Data: Hundreds Of Popular US Generic Drugs May Have Safety Issues
July 10, 2024
Morning Briefing
The FDA has learned that a research company in India falsified the data used in key studies to gain approval of their medications, which include the generic versions of Viagra and Lipitor, Bloomberg reported. The findings could have major implications about whether the drugs are safe to take and whether insurers will retroactively decide not to cover them.
Physician Burnout Rate Dips Below 1 In 2 For First Time Since Covid Hit
July 10, 2024
Morning Briefing
The American Medical Association annual survey has good news for the medical industry in the form of lower stats for physicians reporting at least one burnout symptom. The Los Angeles Times, meanwhile, covers LGBTQ+ “medical refugees” and health care workers fighting for trans rights.