Making An Appointment For The New Covid Shot? It Has A New Nickname
September 18, 2023
Morning Briefing
The word “booster” is missing from pharmacy websites now: The new shot is being called the “2023-2024 covid-19 vaccine” or simply the “updated covid-19 vaccine.” Meanwhile, covid symptoms are getting harder to tell apart from allergy symptoms.
Study Finds Most Rural Residents’ End-Of-Life Wishes Go Unfulfilled
September 18, 2023
Morning Briefing
Data from the St. David’s Foundation offers some insight into how people’s end-of-life health care wishes are fulfilled. A little over a third of people’s wishes actually are — but for rural residents, it’s worse. In other news, rural Pennsylvania hospital uses GoFundMe to try to financially survive.
Chamber Of Commerce Argues Against Drug Price Negotiations In Legal Battle
September 18, 2023
Morning Briefing
The first oral arguments in the landmark case were heard Friday in the Southern District Court of Ohio. The event included a lawyer for the Chamber of Commerce urging a federal judge to block the Biden administration’s plans for negotiating Medicare drug pricing with pharmaceutical companies.
Health Programs On Verge Of Expiring Amid Congressional Gridlock
September 18, 2023
Morning Briefing
A number of federal health programs are caught up in lawmakers’ disarray surrounding spending bills that is threatening to shut down the government. Axios rounds up the list, while other news outlets report on the funding negotiations.
Your Health Insurance Is Set For An Inflation Jump, Even As Inflation Falls
September 18, 2023
Morning Briefing
Labyrinthine economics mean that even as U.S. inflation is “broadly retreating,” as CNBC reports, health insurance costs are set to tick up in October, and again in following months. The Seattle Times says health insurance rates will jump for “thousands.” The Boston Globe warns of rises in Rhode Island.
Morning Briefing for Monday, September 18, 2023
September 18, 2023
Morning Briefing
Mental health parity, Medicare drug pricing, insurance rate jump, masks, covid boosters, abortion bans, and more are in the news.
White House Pushes Insurers For Equal Mental Health Coverage
September 18, 2023
Morning Briefing
The Biden administration is “going after” health insurers for flouting federal laws designed to ensure that they provide mental health care on the same terms as other health care. Meanwhile, AI tools are helping doctors diagnose mental health conditions.
First Edition: Sept. 18, 2023
September 18, 2023
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Watch: Thinking Big in Public Health, Inspired by the End of Smallpox
September 18, 2023
KFF Health News Original
A conversation about how the lessons from the victory over smallpox could be applied to public health challenges today.
Health Workers Warn Loosening Mask Advice in Hospitals Would Harm Patients and Providers
By Amy Maxmen
September 18, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Clinicians, researchers, and workplace safety officers worry new guidelines on face masks from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention might reduce protection against the coronavirus and other airborne pathogens in hospitals.
Legislatura aprueba la propuesta de Newsom para reformar la Ley de Servicios de Salud Mental
By Molly Castle Work
September 16, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Newsom prometió que la recién rebautizada Ley de Servicios de Salud Mental construiría 10,000 nuevas camas y viviendas para personas sin hogar con necesidades de salud mental.
California pionera al aprobar salario mínimo de $25 la hora para trabajadores de salud, el más alto del país
By Don Thompson
September 15, 2023
KFF Health News Original
La medida, aprobada por legisladores estatales el jueves 14 de septiembre, introduciría gradualmente el aumento salarial en hospitales, residencias de adultos mayores y otros proveedores de servicios médicos y psiquiátricos.
California Lawmakers Approve Nation-Leading $25 Minimum Wage for Health Workers
By Don Thompson
September 15, 2023
KFF Health News Original
A sweeping agreement approved by state lawmakers would gradually raise the minimum wage for hundreds of thousands of health workers to a nation-leading $25 an hour. The pact would also end labor’s years-long battle with dialysis clinics.
California Legislature Passes Gov. Newsom’s Proposal to Retool Mental Health Services Act
By Molly Castle Work
September 15, 2023
KFF Health News Original
The California Legislature greenlighted Gov. Gavin Newsom’s latest plan to build more housing and increase addiction treatment as part of his response to the state’s homelessness and drug crises.
Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
September 15, 2023
Morning Briefing
Each week, KFF Health News finds longer stories for you to enjoy. This week’s selections include stories on mental health, Medicaid, aging, toxic cough syrup, polio, and more.
Viewpoints: What’s Behind The Shortage Of ADHD Meds?; How To Combat Soaring Health Care Costs
September 15, 2023
Morning Briefing
Editorial writers tackle ADHD medications, rising costs of health care, the newest covid booster and more.
Lawsuit Challenges North Dakota’s Ban On Minors’ Gender Care
September 15, 2023
Morning Briefing
AP notes this is the latest lawsuit in many states with similar bans. Meanwhile, in Florida, the state is asking an appeals court to allow a new law preventing trans minors from accessing gender care by citing a ruling in a similar case in Alabama last month.
Philadelphia City Council Votes To Ban Most Supervised Injection Sites
September 15, 2023
Morning Briefing
The almost-unanimous vote on the contentious issue came, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports, after a meeting that was “raucous at times.” In other news, Appalachian communities are coming together for a Narcan distribution event to help fight the overdose crisis.
Study: Legionnaires’ Disease Spread From Donor Lungs To Recipients
September 15, 2023
Morning Briefing
The new study notes this may be the first time transplanted organs were the likely source of infection, after the organ donor died from drowning in a river — a place where Legionella bacteria are naturally found. In other news, a pig kidney worked for a record two months in a human patient.
ER Visit Times Stretch Longer As Hospitals Face Staffing Crunch
September 15, 2023
Morning Briefing
Axios reports that hospitals in Washington, D.C., logged the longest median ER visit times in 2022, clocking in at 5 hours and 29 minutes. Other health care industry news is on union membership, rural nursing home staffing, out-of-network ambulance claims, and more.