KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': A Not-So-Health-y GOP Debate
August 24, 2023
Podcast
The first Republican presidential debate of the 2024 cycle took place without front-runner Donald Trump — and with hardly a mention of health issues save for abortion. Meanwhile, in Florida, patients dropped from the Medicaid program are suing the state for not giving them enough notice or a way to contest their being dropped from the program. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Victoria Knight of Axios join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
Majority Of $1.25B Mallinckrodt Opioid Payout At Risk In Bankruptcy Plan
August 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
The company has reached a plan for bankruptcy for the second time in three years, The New York Times says. The plan would cancel the majority of the previous settlement plan in return for a final payout of just $250 million. Also in the news: AI takes a role in tackling opioid addiction.
Experimental Brain Implants Helping Paralyzed People Communicate Again
August 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
The new technologies, detailed in the journal Nature, rely on brain circuits that become active when a person attempts to speak or just thinks about speaking. In other science news, researchers have finished mapping the Y chromosome.
Research Roundup: Cancer; Dental Antibiotics; Transplant Recipients and Covid; Meningococcal Vaccine
August 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
Each week, KFF Health News compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
Viewpoints: Let’s Bring Back Child Tax Credits To Improve Kids’ Health; Health Care Workers Are Struggling
August 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
Editorial writers discuss child tax credits, front-line workers’ mental health, Wegovy and more.
South Carolina High Court Upholds Abortion Law But Admits It Infringes On ‘Bodily Autonomy’
August 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
The state Supreme Court ruling, which allows restrictions on most abortions around six weeks of pregnancy, came just months after the only female justice left the court in January. In his majority opinion, Justice John Kittredge wrote that “to be sure, the 2023 Act infringes on a woman’s right of privacy and bodily autonomy,” while holding the law was still constitutional.
White House To Reveal Which 10 Drugs Are First For Medicare Negotiation
August 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
The announcement is expected ahead of a celebratory event Tuesday, Politico reports. Meanwhile, Stat says that in what’s “almost a tradition,” many pharmaceutical companies are raising drug prices mid-year. Florida’s attempt to import cheap Canadian drugs is also in the news.
FDA Announces First Deputy Commissioner For Human Foods
August 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
The newly appointed official, James Jones, formerly from the EPA, is part of an effort to reorganize the FDA’s food safety program in the aftermath of the baby formula crisis. Separately, FDA Commissioner Robert Califf is reportedly “fired up” about the drug shortage crisis. Plus: cancer news.
CDC Warns New BA.2.86 Covid Could Infect The Already-Vaccinated
August 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
The new mutation may be more capable than older variants of breaking through the protection offered by either an earlier covid infection or a vaccination. The variant has already been found in U.S. wastewater studies. But CIDRAP notes that treatments like Paxlovid will be effective against it
Justice Dept. Launches Large-Scale Crackdown On Covid Aid Fraud
August 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
The wave of cases, the Washington Post says, comes in connection with the alleged theft of more than $836 million. Reuters reports the total of stolen relief funds seized so far could top $1.4 billion. Meanwhile, research shows how different families felt the pandemic burden in different ways.
Between 2016 And 2019, US Gender-Affirming Surgeries Almost Tripled
August 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
The figures then dipped slightly in 2020, the New York Times reports, with breast and chest surgeries being the most common. But researchers think real totals may be much higher than their analysis suggested. Separately, a Georgia senator’s efforts to target gender-identity rights faces criticism.
The Only Hospital In Eugene, Oregon (Pop. 178,000) To Close
August 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
PeaceHealth is moving the hospital because, as AP reports, it’s “underutilized.” Eugene’s Sacred Heart Medical Center University District currently employs hundreds of staff members. Meanwhile, in Leominster, Massachusetts, UMass Memorial Health is closing a hospital’s maternity unit and will instead transport patients elsewhere to give birth.
Hospital In Indiana Warns Hundreds Of Possible TB Exposure
August 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
An employee at Clark Memorial Health recently tested positive, prompting notifications to about 500 patients. Also in the news: Eastern equine encephalitis virus; leprosy in Florida; chaplains decry Texas school boards’ efforts to install chaplains in schools instead of counselors; and more.
First Edition: Aug. 24, 2023
August 24, 2023
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Timing and Cost of New Vaccines Vary by Virus and Health Insurance Status
By Julie Appleby
August 24, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Flu. Covid. RSV. When and how to get vaccinated against them can be confusing. Here are some of the most important things to know.
Dangers and Deaths Around Black Pregnancies Seen as a ‘Completely Preventable’ Health Crisis
By Sandy West
August 24, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Studies show that high rates of Black fetal and infant deaths are largely preventable — and part of systemic failures that contribute to disproportionately high Black maternal mortality rates.
After Backlash, Feds Cancel Plan That Risked Limiting Breast Reconstruction Options
By Rachana Pradhan and Anna Werner, CBS News and Leigh Ann Winick, CBS News
August 23, 2023
KFF Health News Original
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services backed off from a plan that could have curtailed access to a type of reconstructive surgery known as DIEP flap. Breast cancer patient advocates are relieved.
Viewpoints: How Early Did Wuhan Doctors Know About Covid?; Leprosy In Florida Being Overblown
August 23, 2023
Morning Briefing
Editorial writers examine the beginnings of covid, leprosy in Florida, HIV and health care costs.