Tennessee Gives This Hospital Monopoly an A Grade — Even When It Reports Failure
By Brett Kelman
May 29, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Ballad Health, a 20-hospital system in Tennessee and Virginia, benefits from the largest state-sanctioned hospital monopoly in the United States and is the only option for hospital care for a large swath of Appalachia.
Farmworkers Face High-Risk Exposures to Bird Flu, but Testing Isn’t Reaching Them
By Tony Leys Amy Maxmen
Updated May 30, 2024
Originally Published May 29, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Federal officials are offering $75 to dairy workers who agree to be tested for bird flu. Advocates say the payments aren’t enough to protect workers from lost wages and health care costs if they test positive.
Psychoactive Drugs Are Having a Moment. The FDA Will Soon Weigh In.
By Dawn Megli
May 29, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Mounting evidence suggests psychoactive drugs including LSD, ketamine, mushrooms, and MDMA can be powerful treatments for severe depression and PTSD. But not everyone is convinced. And even if such drugs gain FDA approval, safety protocols could render them extremely expensive.
Trabajadores agrícolas están en alto riesgo de exposición a la gripe aviar, pero las pruebas les son esquivas
By Tony Leys Amy Maxmen
May 29, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Los trabajadores agrícolas enfrentan algunas de las exposiciones más intensas al virus de la gripe aviar, pero defensores dicen que muchos de ellos no tienen recursos a los que recurrir si se enferman.
In Lawsuit, Uvalde Families Accuse 3 Companies Of Cultivating Criminality
May 28, 2024
Morning Briefing
Gunmaker Daniel Defense, Meta, and Activision all “knowingly exposed [the mass shooter] to the weapon, conditioned him to see it as a tool to solve his problems, and trained him to use it,” the lawsuit contends.
Viewpoints: AI Is Worsening The Medical Misinformation Crisis; Telehealth Needs Closed Captioning
May 28, 2024
Morning Briefing
Editorial writers discuss misinformation, telehealth, pandemic treaties, and more.
Morning Briefing for Tuesday, May 28, 2024
May 28, 2024
Morning Briefing
Maternal health, dementia, weight loss drugs, bird flu, abortion pills, forever chemicals, patient privacy, and more are in the news.
Abortion Pills Will Soon Be Illegal Without A Prescription In Louisiana
May 28, 2024
Morning Briefing
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed a bill Friday that will put mifepristone and misoprostol in the same controlled-substance category as opioids. The law takes effect Oct. 1.
After ‘Pandemic Treaty’ Fails, WHO Assembly Eyes Future Preparedness
May 28, 2024
Morning Briefing
The weeklong meeting of the World Health Assembly kicked off Monday in Geneva. Other related news is on summer covid, the new FLiRT subvariants, long covid patients of color, and more.
Study: Raw Milk Contaminated With Bird Flu Virus Infects Mice
May 28, 2024
Morning Briefing
Reuters reports on the study, which was published Friday in the New England Journal of Medicine. Other related news is on dairy cows, an experimental mRNA vaccine, and more.
Who Should Prescribe Methadone? Industry Leaders Sound Off At Summit
May 28, 2024
Morning Briefing
At issue is a bill from Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) that would wrest methadone from the control of specialized clinics and allow any board-certified addiction doctor or addiction psychiatrist to prescribe the medication directly to patients, Stat reports.
Health Network In Florida Gave Patients’ Data To Meta, Lawsuit Alleges
May 28, 2024
Morning Briefing
Other news from around the nation is on cesarean sections outside of hospitals, childhood vaccine requirements, “just brutal” heat in Phoenix, and more.
Moms Exposed To Forever Chemicals May Put Child At Risk For Obesity
May 28, 2024
Morning Briefing
A study examining the childhood obesity epidemic keys in on the effect of endocrine disruptors in utero. Other news stories look at the promises and pitfalls of popular weight loss drugs.
First Edition: May 28, 2024
May 28, 2024
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Florida Allows Doctors To Perform C-Sections Outside of Hospitals
By Phil Galewitz
May 28, 2024
KFF Health News Original
A Florida law was enacted this spring making the Sunshine State the first in the nation to let cesarean sections be performed in settings other than hospitals — leading to warnings about increased risks for pregnant women and their babies.
New Help for Dealing With Aggression in People With Dementia
By Judith Graham
May 28, 2024
KFF Health News Original
A sedative shouldn’t be the first thing tried to help people with dementia who exhibit distressing behaviors. A new website is a comprehensive, free resource that offers guidance to caregivers.
Florida es el primer estado en permitir que se realicen cesáreas fuera de hospitales
By Phil Galewitz
May 28, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Esta primavera, se promulgó una ley que permite los “centros de parto avanzados”, donde los médicos pueden asistir partos vaginales o por cesárea en mujeres consideradas de bajo riesgo de sufrir complicaciones. Muchos se oponen.
La vacuna contra el sarampión es segura y eficaz. No te dejes engañar por los escépticos
By Amy Maxmen Céline Gounder
May 27, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Este año, el 80% de los casos ha sido en personas no vacunadas o con un estatus de vacunación desconocido. Muchos padres han sido influenciados por una avalancha de desinformación difundida por políticos y personalidades en redes sociales, podcasts, y en la TV.
Journalists Zero In on Bird Flu and Weight Loss Drugs
May 25, 2024
KFF Health News Original
KFF Health News and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
The South Can Be a Dangerous Place To Be Black and Pregnant
By Lauren Sausser
May 24, 2024
KFF Health News Original
In much of the developed world, dying while pregnant or delivering a child is practically unknown. In Australia, for example, there were just 3 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births in 2021. But that’s not the case in the American South. And especially not for Black women. In South Carolina, Black women were more […]
