Nearly 7.3 Million Have Enrolled So For A 2024 Obamacare Plan
December 7, 2023
Morning Briefing
HHS says that number is split between 1.6 million new applicants and 5.7 people who were enrolled for a marketplace plan in 2023. For most in the U.S., the open enrollment deadline for full 2024 coverage is Dec. 15, while sign-ups for any plan end Jan. 15.
White House Moves On High-Priced Drugs By Targeting Pharma Patents
December 7, 2023
Morning Briefing
The Biden administration is expected to assert Thursday that NIH has march-in rights to seize drugmakers’ patents to medicines that were developed with federal funding. If employed, the move could provide the White House with another tool to try to lower prescription drug costs.
First Edition: Dec. 7, 2023
December 7, 2023
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Colorado Blames Biden Team and Drugmakers for Delaying Canadian Imports
By Phil Galewitz
December 7, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Colorado officials say they haven’t been able to stand up a program to import drugs from Canada because of drugmaker opposition — and the Biden administration’s inaction.
Food Sovereignty Movement Sprouts as Bison Return to Indigenous Communities
By Jim Robbins
December 7, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Native American leaders see bison herds and ancestral gardens as ways to bring healthy eating to their people.
Social Security Clawbacks Hit a Million More People Than Agency Chief Told Congress
By David Hilzenrath and Jodie Fleischer, Cox Media Group
December 6, 2023
KFF Health News Original
More than 2 million people a year have been sent notices that Social Security overpaid them and demanding they repay the money. That’s twice as many as the head of Social Security disclosed at a congressional hearing in October.
Watch: The Long-Term Care Crisis: Why Few Can Afford to Grow Old in America
By Jordan Rau
December 6, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Long-term care options in the U.S. are costly, complex, and often inadequate. KFF Health News’ Jordan Rau and Reed Abelson of The New York Times host a Zoom panel to explore the challenges of providing — and affording — care.
Viewpoints: Incarceration Of Mentally Ill Makes Them Worse; Blood Transfusion By Paramedics Saves Lives
December 6, 2023
Morning Briefing
Editorial writers tackle mental illness, EMS, weight loss drugs, and more.
Fla. Health Workers Protest Bounced Pay Checks, Insurance Coverage
December 6, 2023
Morning Briefing
Citing a “pattern of disrespect,” health workers at a Plantation, Fla. health system are speaking out about repeated issues with their paychecks bouncing. They also say that insurance payments are withdrawn from their pay, but that their insurance companies tell them their policies have lapsed. A Connecticut long-term care provider is also accused of being months behind on worker pay.
Joint Commission To Offer Certification Program For Patient Data Privacy
December 6, 2023
Morning Briefing
The goal is to protect patient privacy and also create standards for secondary use of health care data which has had identifiers stripped from it. Also in the news: the HHS cyberattack that took the department offline in 2020 as covid hit was worse than originally thought.
Experts Worry Over Tech Glitches As Florida’s Medicaid Portal Launches
December 6, 2023
Morning Briefing
The state is in the middle of its Medicaid unwinding process, which has thrown a spotlight on its decision to revamp the technology running its MyAccess website. Meanwhile, in California, reports say new HIV cases in San Francisco are declining, except among the Latino population.
Doctors Find Indications Of Fetal Fentanyl Exposure Syndrome
December 6, 2023
Morning Briefing
At least 10 infants have been found to have distinctive physical birth defects after being born to mothers who said they’d used drugs including fentanyl while pregnant, pointing to a potential new syndrome being identified. A possible monthly overdose prevention treatment is also in the news.
Air Force To Review Cancers Among Nuclear Missile Workers
December 6, 2023
Morning Briefing
The Air Force is already reviewing whether service members who worked with nuclear missiles have had higher-than-normal rates of cancer, but is now expanding this review. Also in the news: a U.S. Army veteran is suing the government, alleging a VA computer system delayed a cancer diagnosis.
Pfizer Says It’s Leaving BIO, In Major Blow To Pharmaceutical Trade Group
December 6, 2023
Morning Briefing
Stat says the drugmaker’s plan to leave the Biotechnology Innovation Organization is the latest in a growing trend of pharma companies leaving trade groups. Meanwhile, BIO is reported to have selected its new CEO: John Crowley, a longtime biotech executive.
Health Agency Warns About Possibility Of Unsafe Swine Vaccines; Old Drug Gets The Go-Ahead For STI Prevention
December 6, 2023
Morning Briefing
Read recent pharmaceutical developments in KFF Health News’ Prescription Drug Watch roundup.
Morning Briefing for Wednesday, December 6, 2023
December 6, 2023
Morning Briefing
The ACA, abortion policy, smoking, drug pricing, health worker conditions, military health, fentanyl, Medicaid, and more are in the news.
Tuberville Lifts Most Military Holds Amid Protest Over Abortion Policy
December 6, 2023
Morning Briefing
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a Republican from Alabama, is ending his months-long blockade on all but 11 military leadership promotions in protest of the Pentagon’s abortion policies.
FDA Tells Court It Should Allow Graphic Images As Cigarette Warnings
December 6, 2023
Morning Briefing
The Biden administration is pressing a federal appeals court to allow a new regulation requiring graphic cigarette package health warnings to take effect — tobacco companies had challenged the rule. Also, strong lobbying efforts from critics are delaying the ban on menthol cigarettes.
Consumer Drug Prices Likely Won’t Fall, Despite CVS’ Simpler-Pricing Plan
December 6, 2023
Morning Briefing
Drug pricing experts, Stat reports, are dubious that the company’s plan to simplify its drug pricing methods will lower consumer costs and instead may merely pad its profits. Axios, though, suggests that the move may point to a bigger industry movement toward more transparent pricing.