Human Bird Flu Case Provides CDC With Information On Virus
April 4, 2024
Morning Briefing
The CDC released details Wednesday from its analysis of samples taken from the person in Texas who contracted bird flu from exposure to an infected animal. CDC Director Mandy Cohen tells NPR that the agency will monitor potential virus changes but for now there is no instance of human-to-human transmission.
The Horrors of TMJ: Chronic Pain, Metal Jaws, and Futile Treatments
By Brett Kelman Anna Werner, CBS News
April 4, 2024
KFF Health News Original
TMJ disorders affect as many as 1 in 10 Americans and yet remain poorly understood and ineffectively treated. Many common treatments used by dentists lack scientific evidence.
First Edition: April 4, 2024
April 4, 2024
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Feds Join Ranks of Employers with Generous Fertility Benefits
By Michelle Andrews
April 4, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Starting this year, federal employees can choose plans that cover a broad menu of fertility services, including up to $25,000 annually for in vitro fertilization procedures. At the same time, politics around IVF and reproductive health have become a central issue in the current election-year debate.
End of Internet Subsidies for Low-Income Households Threatens Telehealth Access
By Sarah Jane Tribble
April 4, 2024
KFF Health News Original
A federal program that helped pay for more than 23 million low-income households’ internet access runs out of money soon. The end of the subsidy launched earlier in the pandemic could have profound impacts on health care access.
The GOP Keeps Pushing Medicaid Work Requirements, Despite Setbacks
By Renuka Rayasam Andy Miller
April 3, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Work requirements in Medicaid expansion programs are back on the agenda in many statehouses — despite their lackluster track record. In Mississippi, the idea has momentum from GOP lawmakers advancing legislation to expand Medicaid. In Kansas, the Democratic governor proposed work requirements to try to soften Republican opposition to expansion. (She’s had little luck, so […]
Viewpoints: Too Many Americans Can’t Afford Health Insurance; Why Is Lyme Disease So Ignored?
April 3, 2024
Morning Briefing
Editorial writers tackle health insurance, Lyme disease, Dengue fever, and more.
Experts: Opioid Use Disorder Sufferers Dehumanized By Health Workers
April 3, 2024
Morning Briefing
Politico quotes the deputy assistant administrator for the Drug Enforcement Administration saying that oftentimes, medical professionals call sufferers “them” and say they don’t want to deliver treatment. Separately, NIDA’s director has positive hopes for beating the opioid crisis.
Researchers Find ‘Acid Wall’ Clue To Cancer’s Immune System Defenses
April 3, 2024
Morning Briefing
The discovery may open new avenues for drug development targeting cancer cells. Also in the news: local “decolonization” efforts and multidrug-resistant pathogens; heart failure and e-cigarettes; left-handedness; and more.
Bavarian Nordic Launches Mpox Vaccine As Commercial Product
April 3, 2024
Morning Briefing
The vaccine can now be made available outside of designated clinics that were administering doses from the U.S. government’s supply. U.S. mpox cases are racing ahead of last year’s levels. Also in the news: Genmab, Providence, Aegis, and more.
Potentially More Than 1 Million People In Colorado Have Medical Debt
April 3, 2024
Morning Briefing
The Colorado Sun and KFF Health News take a closer look at the scale, impact, and causes of medical debt in Colorado. In other news from around the country, worker heat protections in California, polychlorinated biphenyls at North Carolina State University, and more.
CMS Responds To Pharma Offers In Medicare Drug Price Negotiations
April 3, 2024
Morning Briefing
Negotiations over the prices of 10 prescriptions drugs proceed to the next phase, as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services say they have rejected initial price offers from manufacturers, Politico reports. Each company will have three chances to meet with CMS during the negotiations, with final prices to be announced on Aug. 1.
White House Plan To Fix Drug Supplies Leverages Hospital Medicare Payments
April 3, 2024
Morning Briefing
The plan will base Medicare pay to hospitals on how well the facilities’ business practices aim at avoiding drug shortages. Meanwhile, supplies of Eli Lilly’s diabetes drug Mounjaro are in short supply through April, and ADHD meds shortages drag on.
A Focus On Women’s Shrinking Abortion Options In Florida After Ruling
April 3, 2024
Morning Briefing
NPR notes that over 80,000 Floridians seek abortions in a typical year, about 1 in 12 across the country…but after a ruling that allowed a six week ban to go into effect, most similar abortion-seekers this year will have to find a different solution elsewhere.
Survey Shines Light On Health Care Discrimination Against LGBTQ+ People
April 3, 2024
Morning Briefing
Members of the LGBTQ+ community are twice as likely to experience discrimination in health care, a survey found. Separately, the Department of Justice is suing Utah and its corrections department for discriminating against a trans woman.
Morning Briefing for Wednesday, April 3, 2024
April 3, 2024
Morning Briefing
Medical debt, worker heat protections, Medicare drug price talks, bird flu, opioid use, cancer, vaccines, and more are in today’s news.
Biden Administration Health Officials Brief Lawmakers On ‘Low’ Bird Flu Risk
April 3, 2024
Morning Briefing
Federal health agencies are preparing for possible new cases of human infections from the avian flu virus spreading in dairy and egg farms in the U.S. FDA, CDC, and other officials briefed congressional leaders and committees on the outlook during a call Tuesday.
First Edition: April 3, 2024
April 3, 2024
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Heat Protections for California Workers Are in Limbo After Newsom Abandons Rules
By Angela Hart Samantha Young
April 3, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Proposed rules to protect millions of workers from potentially dangerous heat inside workplaces are dead after Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration refused to sign off. Labor advocates and state regulators are calling for emergency regulations before temperatures soar this summer.
Medical Debt Affects Much of America, but Colorado Immigrants Are Hit Especially Hard
By Rae Ellen Bichell Lindsey Toomer, Colorado Newsline
April 3, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Colorado is ahead of the curve on policies to prevent medical debt, but the gap between the debt load in places inhabited primarily by people of color versus non-Hispanic white residents is greater than the national average.
