Morning Briefing for Thursday, August 22, 2024
August 22, 2024
Morning Briefing
KFF Health News will host a full day of panels at the 2024 Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 6. Check out the program and buy tickets here .
HIV-Positive Citizens May Join Military, Judge Rules, Citing ‘Irrational’ Policy
August 22, 2024
Morning Briefing
Meanwhile, the Health Resources and Services Administration is setting aside $1.4 billion to help low-income Americans pay for HIV/AIDS treatment.
Walz Accepts VP Nomination As Dems Champion Health Care Freedom
August 22, 2024
Morning Briefing
“When we Democrats talk about freedom, we mean the freedom to make a better life for yourself and the people that you love,” Tim Walz said Wednesday at the Democratic National Convention. In a surprise appearance, Oprah Winfrey — who said she votes as an independent — declared that without reproductive choice, “There is no American dream.”
Florida Abortion Ballot Will Include Peculiar Financial Language
August 22, 2024
Morning Briefing
The wording of the measure, which was approved by the state’s Supreme Court, calls into question whether Floridians will wind up paying for the procedure. Meanwhile, health care providers are finding themselves in difficult positions after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to weigh in on the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act.
HHS Report Warns Of Risks For Kids From Too Much Fluoride In Water
August 22, 2024
Morning Briefing
The report found, “with moderate confidence,” that fluoride in drinking water at twice the recommended limit may be linked to lower IQ in kids. Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy has received over 540,000 compensation claims related to contaminated water at North Carolina’s Camp Lejeune.
Study Details Long Covid Symptoms In Kids — And They Differ From Adults
August 22, 2024
Morning Briefing
The symptoms include back or neck pain, trouble with focus, fear of crowded spaces, and refusal to go to school, researchers determined. Also, an updated covid vaccine might be available within days.
First Edition: Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024
August 22, 2024
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
A Teen’s Murder, Mold in the Walls: Unfulfilled Promises Haunt Public Housing
By Fred Clasen-Kelly and Renuka Rayasam
August 22, 2024
KFF Health News Original
For years, federal lawmakers have failed to deliver the money needed to fix derelict public housing, leaving tenants — mostly people of color and families with low incomes — living with mold and gun violence that has had lasting health consequences.
Biden Administration Blocks Two Private Sector Enrollment Sites From ACA Marketplace
By Julie Appleby
August 22, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Regulators have been under the gun to curb unauthorized Obamacare enrollment and switching of plans. Separately, a pending lawsuit was amended with additional defendants and new allegations regarding tactics to garner greater ACA sales commissions.
The Rapidly Evolving Field of Street Medicine
By Angela Hart
August 21, 2024
KFF Health News Original
The rapidly evolving field of street medicine — the practice of providing health care to homeless people living outside — is getting a jolt in California with a new player: a medical group devoted exclusively to homeless people. And it’s actually making money. Sachin Jain, who worked on federal Medicaid policy during his tenure in […]
As Cancer Afflicts Younger Generations, Employers Wary Of Expenses Ahead
August 21, 2024
Morning Briefing
In terms of health care costs, catastrophic claims and specialty medications are driving up increases, a survey has found. Meanwhile, in a study conducted during the covid pandemic, researchers found that playing video games does indeed have health benefits.
Mpox Cases Suspected In Travelers To Argentina And Thailand
August 21, 2024
Morning Briefing
Argentinian authorities have quarantined a cargo ship and Thai officials are monitoring dozens of people as both countries aim to stop the new fast-spreading variant of the disease. Meanwhile, Africa is almost ready to roll out mpox vaccinations.
New Jersey Forgives $100M In Medical Debt For Nearly 50,000 People
August 21, 2024
Morning Briefing
The initiative, announced Tuesday by Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, will be one of the largest efforts by a state to help people unable to pay medical bills. Also in the news: how Maine’s deadliest shooting could have been averted; another measles case in Georgia; and more.
Morning Briefing for Wednesday, August 21, 2024
August 21, 2024
Morning Briefing
Bill disputes, HIV, abortion ballot measures, obesity drugs, IVF, long cancer medical debt, mpox, cancer in younger people, and more
Abortion Measures Make The Ballots In Arizona, Montana
August 21, 2024
Morning Briefing
Protections of abortion rights until fetal viability in the state constitutions of both states will be decided by voters this November after separate decisions by the Arizona Supreme Court and the Montana Secretary of State.
Democratic Convention: Abortion, IVF At Top Of Speakers’ Minds On Day 2
August 21, 2024
Morning Briefing
Kate Cox, who made headlines after being forced to leave Texas to have an abortion, said during the Texas roll call that she is pregnant again. Plus, former President Barack Obama cracks a joke about the name of Obamacare.
Zepbound Appears To Dramatically Lower Risk Of Developing Diabetes
August 21, 2024
Morning Briefing
Eli Lilly says that its Phase 3 trial data show that people with prediabetes who took the company’s obesity drug had a 93% lower risk of progressing to diabetes as opposed to the people in the study who took the placebo.
FTC Lacks The Authority To Ban Noncompete Deals, Federal Judge Rules
August 21, 2024
Morning Briefing
Many health care organizations include noncompete agreements in job contracts, Modern Healthcare reminds us. Also in industry news: electronic health record company Epic; Steward Health; Baptist Health and Florida Blue; Molina Healthcare; and more.
J&J Treatment For Most Common Type Of Lung Cancer Wins FDA Approval
August 21, 2024
Morning Briefing
The treatment for non-small cell lung cancer is a non-chemotherapy combination of J&J’s cancer drug Rybrevant and existing drug lazertinib. Meanwhile, a judge ruled that lawsuits claiming Tylenol causes ADHD in children of mothers who took the drug in pregnancy can’t proceed.