Morning Briefing for Friday, October 18, 2024
October 18, 2024
Morning Briefing
Storm fallout on health care, teen tobacco use, Medicare Advantage plans, flu shot, emergency abortion care, and more. Plus, your weekend reads.
CDC: Teen Use Of Tobacco Products Falls 20% To Lowest Level In 25 Years
October 18, 2024
Morning Briefing
The CDC released data Thursday that shows teen use of at least one tobacco product — such as cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, nicotine pouches and hookahs — fell to the lowest level since the survey started in 1999. Also, young Instagram users are being warned about sextortion.
CVS Ousts CEO Amid Company’s Struggles To Drive Up Profits, Stocks
October 18, 2024
Morning Briefing
CVS announced Friday that CEO Karen Lynch will be replaced by David Joyner, as consumer spending drops at the company’s retail pharmacies and Aetna, its insurance unit, faces higher medical costs.
Former Medicare Chief Warns About Medicare Advantage Pay Rates
October 18, 2024
Morning Briefing
Donald Berwick, who ran Medicare during the Obama administration, says Medicare Advantage plans run by private insurers need a lot more regulation. He suggests a two-pronged system fix that would take the overpayments out of MA and use that money to cover vision, dental, and hearing service in traditional Medicare, Stat says.
Tennessee Doctors Who Do Emergency Abortions Shouldn’t Fear Punishment, Judges Say
October 18, 2024
Morning Briefing
Although a panel of Tennessee judges agrees that providers can’t be punished in the professional realm, they noted physicians still may face criminal charges. Meanwhile, a federal judge clamped down on Florida’s threat to go after networks that run abortion ads, calling the action “unconstitutional coercion.”
First Edition: Friday, Oct. 18, 2024
October 18, 2024
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
California Continues Progressive Policies, With Restraint, in Divisive Election Year
By Don Thompson
October 18, 2024
KFF Health News Original
This legislative cycle, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed bills affirming reproductive rights and mandating insurance coverage of in vitro fertilization, but the Democrat was reluctant to impose new regulations and frequently cited costs for vetoing bills.
Mountain Town Confronts an Unexpected Public Health Catastrophe
By Kim Dinan
October 18, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Flooding wrought by Hurricane Helene devastated communities around Asheville, North Carolina. A host of government programs are helping restore water, food, and medicine.
Helene and CVS Land Double Whammy for 25,000 Patients Who Survive on IV Nutrition
By Arthur Allen
Updated October 18, 2024
Originally Published October 18, 2024
KFF Health News Original
A Massachusetts woman ended up stranded in the hospital because CVS stopped providing the IV nutrition she needs to survive at home. Without it, she’d starve.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': LIVE From KFF: Health Care and the 2024 Election
October 17, 2024
Podcast
The Affordable Care Act has not been a major issue in the 2024 campaign, but abortion and reproductive rights have been front and center. Those are just two of the dozens of health issues that could be profoundly affected by who is elected president and which party controls Congress in 2025. In this special live episode, Tamara Keith of NPR, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Cynthia Cox and Ashley Kirzinger of KFF join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss how health policy has affected the campaign and how the election results might affect health policy. Plus, the panel answers questions from the live audience.
As Hospitals Get Bigger, Medical Debt Is Harder for Patients To Shake
By Noam N. Levey
October 17, 2024
KFF Health News Original
If you get sick in America, there’s a good chance you’ll end up in debt. Four in 10 U.S. adults have some form of health-care debt, KFF has found. One surprising risk: living in a community where hospitals have consolidated — an increasingly common development as health systems merge or large systems gobble up smaller hospitals. That’s […]
Chemo-Radiation-Chemo Combo For Cervical Cancer Cuts Death Risk By 40%
October 17, 2024
Morning Briefing
Researchers found that a quick blast of chemotherapy ahead of standard treatment not only improves survival chances but also reduces the chance of the cancer returning.
FDA Can Approve Cheaper Copycat Of Heart-Failure Drug Entresto, Judge Says
October 17, 2024
Morning Briefing
Novartis, which made more than $6 billion in revenue from the drug last year, says it will appeal the ruling. In other news: A study shows that people with HIV can safely receive donated kidneys from deceased donors who also had HIV.
Oropouche Virus Spreads; CDC Warns It Might Be Sexually Transmissible
October 17, 2024
Morning Briefing
CIDRAP reports that federal health officials know of 90 cases of Oropouche virus from five states, mostly from Florida, although none of the cases is known to have been sexually transmitted. Plus: Novavax’s trial of its covid-flu shot stalls after one of the participants reported nerve damage.
Alcohol Safety Study Stirs Controversy Ahead Of New Dietary Guidelines
October 17, 2024
Morning Briefing
A study this year from the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking, intended to inform dietary guidelines for 2025-30, is causing outrage among a group of lawmakers, led by the co-chairs of the Congressional Wine Caucus.
Archdiocese Of Los Angeles Settles Childhood Sex Abuse Claims For $880M
October 17, 2024
Morning Briefing
“My hope is that this settlement will provide some measure of healing for what these men and women have suffered,” Archbishop José H. Gomez said. News from around the nation also includes psychiatric hospital changes in Maryland, meningococcal disease in Texas, and more.
Research Roundup: Metformin; Covid; Mpox; RSV; Breakdancing (Yes, Really)
October 17, 2024
Morning Briefing
Each week, KFF Health News compiles a selection of health policy studies and briefs.
Morning Briefing for Thursday, October 17, 2024
October 17, 2024
Morning Briefing
Gun violence survivors, drug overdose deaths, mifepristone access, election news, insurer denials, cancer, alcohol safety, and more.
