Morning Briefing for Friday, April 5, 2024
April 5, 2024
Morning Briefing
ALS drug pulled, insulin costs, preeclampsia, youth drug overdoses, birth control, asthma, eclipse injuries, and more. Plus, your weekend reads.
Amylyx Pulls ALS Drug From US Market After Study Shows No Benefit
April 5, 2024
Morning Briefing
Amylyx Pharmaceuticals announced Thursday that it is voluntarily halting sales in the U.S. and Canada of Relyvrio, a drug contentiously approved by the FDA for patients with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. A recent clinical trial showed the medicine failed to extend life or improve symptoms.
First Edition: April 5, 2024
April 5, 2024
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Cada vez mueren más menores por sobredosis. ¿Podrían los pediatras ayudar más?
By Martha Bebinger, WBUR
April 5, 2024
KFF Health News Original
La Academia Americana de Pediatría recomienda ofrecer buprenorfina a los adolescentes adictos a los opiáceos. Sin embargo, según los resultados de una encuesta, solo el 6% de los pediatras informa haberlo hecho alguna vez.
Biden Is Right About $35 Insulin Cap but Exaggerates Prior Costs for Medicare Enrollees
By Samantha Putterman, PolitiFact
April 5, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Most Medicare enrollees likely were not paying a monthly average of $400 — as President Joe Biden stated — before the insulin cap took effect. However, because costs and other factors result in widely varying prices, some Medicare enrollees might have paid that much in a given month.
Dietary Choices Are Linked to Higher Rates of Preeclampsia Among Latinas
By Vanessa G. Sánchez
April 5, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Researchers at the USC Keck School of Medicine found that Latinas who ate vegetables, fruits, and healthy oils-based foods had fewer incidences of preeclampsia. More research is needed to determine the exact diet that could be beneficial.
El tipo de alimentación está vinculado a tasas más altas de preeclampsia en latinas
By Vanessa G. Sánchez
April 5, 2024
KFF Health News Original
No hay una forma de curar o predecir la preeclampsia. La enfermedad puede dañar el corazón y el hígado, y causar otras complicaciones tanto para la madre como para el bebé, incluido el parto prematuro e incluso la muerte.
More Kids Are Dying of Drug Overdoses. Could Pediatricians Do More to Help?
By Martha Bebinger, WBUR
April 5, 2024
KFF Health News Original
The surge in overdose deaths among teens is opening a new path to treatment: pediatricians. A doctor in Massachusetts shows how it works with a 17-year-old patient.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Florida Limits Abortion — For Now
April 4, 2024
Podcast
The Florida Supreme Court handed down dual abortion rulings this week. One said voters will be allowed to decide in November whether to create a state right to abortion. The other ruling, though, allows a 15-week ban to take effect immediately — before an even more sweeping, six-week ban replaces it in May. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden is doubling down on his administration’s health care accomplishments as he kicks off his general election campaign. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins University schools of nursing and public health, and Tami Luhby of CNN join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews health care analyst Jeff Goldsmith about the growing size and influence of UnitedHealth Group in the wake of the Change Healthcare hack.
Unauthorized Sign-Ups Cast Shadow on Obamacare’s Record Enrollment
By Julie Appleby
April 4, 2024
KFF Health News Original
The Biden administration faces what looks like a growing problem for the federal Affordable Care Act’s insurance exchange: disreputable insurance brokers enrolling people who don’t need coverage or switching them to new plans without their authorization. It happened to Michael Debriae, a restaurant server who lives in Charlotte. Unbeknownst to him, an agent in Florida […]
In 2022, New Hepatitis C Cases Fell In The US: No One Knows Really Why
April 4, 2024
Morning Briefing
Experts aren’t sure if the slight drop, reversing a decade-long trend of upticks in cases, is a statistical blip or actually a meaningful change. Separately, scientists find that kids are at disproportionate risk for spreading bacteria that causes pneumonia.
Judge’s Order Supports Challenger To Moderna In Covid Shot Patent Suit
April 4, 2024
Morning Briefing
Arbutus’s case against Moderna was given some support by U.S. District Judge Mitchell Goldberg, who interpreted parts of the patents in Arbutus’ favor. Also in the news: a Chinese drugmaker’s Ozempic biosimilar; Walmart Health’s health center expansion; and more.
First Patient With A Transplanted Pig Kidney Is Discharged From Hospital
April 4, 2024
Morning Briefing
The patient has done so well after the transplant procedure that he is able to go home just two weeks after the landmark surgery. Also in the news: another possible treatment for Alzheimer’s; treating Parkinson’s disease with a similar drug to Ozempic; and more.
North Carolina Looks Set To Finally Launch Special Medicaid Plans In July
April 4, 2024
Morning Briefing
Specialized Medicaid plans for people with complex needs have had multiple delays, North Carolina Health News notes, but now they appear ready to go live in July. Meanwhile, the New York Times looks at questions of Medicaid expansion in red state holdouts.
Research Roundup: Pediatric Mental Health; Covid Vaccines; YKT6
April 4, 2024
Morning Briefing
Each week, KFF Health News compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
Viewpoints: What Country Had The Best Covid Outcomes?; Comstock Act Is A Threat And Must Be Repealed
April 4, 2024
Morning Briefing
Editorial writers discuss covid, reproductive rights, trauma, and more.
Morning Briefing for Thursday, April 4, 2024
April 4, 2024
Morning Briefing
Drug prices, TMJ, employee fertility benefits, telehealth, bird flu, IVF, covid vaccines, and more are in the news.
Biden, Sanders Share A Podium To Promote Low Drug Prices Effort
April 4, 2024
Morning Briefing
President Joe Biden was joined by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) at the White House Wednesday to speak about the problem of high prescription drug costs, with an emphasis on asthma inhalers — including mention of how pharmacy benefit managers can stymie efforts to get lower-price drugs to patients.
Worries Over Litigation Forcing Alabama Hospital To Halt IVF Treatment
April 4, 2024
Morning Briefing
Mobile Infirmary said it won’t offer IVF treatments past the end of 2024 because of the precarious legal situation for IVF caused by a controversial state Supreme Court ruling. Also in the news: abortion care in Florida after the six week ban.
Congress’ Budget Chaos Disrupts Rural Providers, Community Health Centers
April 4, 2024
Morning Briefing
The annual budget battle in Washington, D.C. seems to get draw out longer every year, and that uncertainty has a real-world toll on health care practices and professional, Modern Healthcare reports. Other impact from government health policies relates to tensions between hospitals and insurers, and telehealth access.
