Sign Here? Financial Agreements May Leave Doctors in the Driver’s Seat
By Katheryn Houghton
April 30, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Agreeing to an out-of-network doctor’s own financial policy — which generally protects their ability to get paid and may be littered with confusing insurance and legal jargon — can create a binding contract that leaves a patient owing.
Toxic Gas Adds to a Long History of Pollution in Southwest Memphis
By Andy Miller
Updated May 1, 2024
Originally Published April 30, 2024
KFF Health News Original
People across the nation claim cancer-causing emissions from local sterilizing plants are making them sick. It’s an example of environmental racism, say residents of one predominantly Black area in southwest Memphis, Tennessee, where life expectancy is much shorter than county and state averages.
FTC Set To Tighten Rules On Health Apps Sharing Users’ Data
April 29, 2024
Morning Briefing
The Federal Trade Commission has finalized its Health Breach Notification Rule, emphasizing that it applies to health apps, in an effort to limit how sensitive user data is shared with other companies. Also in the news: Centene updates prior authorization; growing financial differences between hospitals; and more.
Menthol Cigarette Ban Temporarily Dropped In White House Reversal
April 29, 2024
Morning Briefing
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra has not said when or if the administration will reconsider the controversial ban, Roll Call notes, and did not discuss a similar proposed ban on flavored cigars. Also in the news: Pfizer’s $3.5 million gene therapy price, eye drop superbug affects dogs, and more.
Viewpoints: We Have No Idea How Many Humans Have Bird Flu; Finally, OTC Birth Control Is On Shelves
April 29, 2024
Morning Briefing
Editorial writers discuss H5N1 in humans, birth control, veterans’ health care, and more.
Another Covid-Era Requirement On Hospital Data Collection Ends
April 29, 2024
Morning Briefing
Hospitals are no longer required to collect and report respiratory disease data related to admissions and other stats, marking another milestone in the nation’s recovery from the covid pandemic.
Texas Slipped Up: Bid Data ‘Leak’ Triggered A Medicaid Contract Spat
April 29, 2024
Morning Briefing
The Texas Tribune reports on a contractual and legal muddle stirred up when the state Health and Human Services agency mistakenly sent rival health plans’ data to insurance giant Aetna — which was set to win the local Medicaid contract. Meanwhile, Kansas blocked Medicaid expansion.
Interstate Abortion Access Coming Down To One Thing: How You Vote
April 29, 2024
Morning Briefing
Voters in nearly a dozen states will weigh in on whether abortion restrictions should be reversed. Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell doesn’t think his colleagues would have enough votes to pass a national abortion ban.
30% Of Teens Who Denied Suicide Risk During Survey Later Killed Themselves
April 29, 2024
Morning Briefing
The study examined youths ages 13-17 who filled out the commonly used Personal Health Questionnaire (PHQ), which is used to screen for depression severity. In other news, Norway found that bullying decreased dramatically when schools banned smartphones.
Unusual, Severe Symptoms Reported By Doctors Treating Syphilis
April 29, 2024
Morning Briefing
Vision issues, headaches, and hearing loss are among unusual symptoms being reported in the current syphilis surge. Separately, reports detail how St. Louis, facing the highest syphilis rates per capita in any Missouri county, will tackle the outbreak.
Police Sedation Practice Left Dozens Of Detainees Dead, Investigation Finds
April 29, 2024
Morning Briefing
Injections intended to calm people who are being restrained and “reduce violence and save lives has resulted in some avoidable deaths,” according to a special report by the Associated Press, Frontline, and the Howard Centers for Investigative Journalism.
Morning Briefing for Monday, April 29, 2024
April 29, 2024
Morning Briefing
Bird flu, Medicaid, respiratory disease data, abortion bans, teen suicide, Agent Orange, unusual syphilis symptoms, and more are in the news.
FDA Testing So Far Finds Milk Pasteurization Kills Bird Flu
April 29, 2024
Morning Briefing
Dairy cows in Colorado tested positive for bird flu, adding a ninth state to the list where it’s been detected. The FDA plans to continue to test milk samples, but so far has found that the pasteurization process makes it safe from the virus.
First Edition: April 29, 2024
April 29, 2024
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
What Florida’s New 6-Week Abortion Ban Means for the South, and Traveling Patients
By Christopher O’Donnell, Tampa Bay Times
April 29, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Florida has served as a haven for Southern pregnant women with little or no access to abortions. But the Florida Supreme Court upheld a six-week abortion restriction that begins in May — so now women across much of the South seeking abortions will have to look farther afield.
Exposed to Agent Orange at US Bases, Veterans Face Cancer Without VA Compensation
By Hannah Norman Patricia Kime
April 29, 2024
KFF Health News Original
The Department of Veterans Affairs has long given vets who served in Vietnam disability compensation for illness connected to Agent Orange harm. But those exposed at U.S. bases are still waiting for the same benefits.
En Colorado, reevalúan leyes formuladas para proteger a los menores
By Kristin Jones
April 27, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Hay esfuerzos en Colorado y otros estados para revertir las leyes que obligan a informar sobre sospechas de abuso o negligencia, argumentando que el resultado ha sido demasiados informes infundados, que perjudican desproporcionadamente a las familias que son pobres, negras, indígenas o tienen miembros con discapacidades.
Journalists Drill Down on Bird Flu Risks, Opioid Settlement Payouts, and Fluoride in Drinking Water
April 27, 2024
KFF Health News Original
KFF Health News and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media over the past two weeks to discuss recent stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Whatever Happened to Biden’s Public Option?
By Elisabeth Rosenthal
April 26, 2024
KFF Health News Original
In the 2020 elections, then-candidate Joe Biden and many of his congressional colleagues loudly advocated for a federal “public option” health insurance plan. It was framed, at the time, as part of his incoming administration’s response to the pandemic. “Low-income Americans will be automatically enrolled in the public option at zero cost to them, though […]
Millions Were Booted From Medicaid. The Insurers That Run It Gained Medicaid Revenue Anyway.
By Phil Galewitz
April 26, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Big health insurers that have contracts with state Medicaid programs find themselves making more money even as enrollment in Medicaid programs has dropped. Here’s why.
