Research Roundup: The Latest Science, Discoveries, And Breakthroughs
January 2, 2025
Morning Briefing
Each week, KFF Health News compiles a selection of the latest health research and news.
Largest Blastomycosis Outbreak In US History Identified In Michigan
January 2, 2025
Morning Briefing
The outbreak took place between 2022 and 2023 and was the first such outbreak to take place in an industrial setting. In other news: broccoli recalls; vapes are still being shipped through the mail, even though it’s illegal; and more.
Nursing Homes Face Dilemma With Uncertain Future Of CMS’ Staffing Rule
January 2, 2025
Morning Briefing
Some nursing homes are preparing for the new staffing regulations from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services slated to take effect in 2025. Others are holding back, waiting to see if the rule is likely to survive the Trump administration.
Inflation Reduction Act Spending Cap For Medicare Is Now In Effect
January 2, 2025
Morning Briefing
Meanwhile, drugmakers are expected to raise prices on over 250 medications in the new year; rules for hospital price transparency are updated; and more.
CDC Keeps Its Eyes Open For Signs Of Bird Flu Turning Into A Pandemic
January 2, 2025
Morning Briefing
The agency says it is looking for red flags, but the risk to the public still remains low. Meanwhile, samples collected from a Louisiana patient with a severe case of bird flu showed worrying mutations. Other outbreak news includes surges in covid and norovirus.
First Edition: Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025
January 2, 2025
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
For Many Rural Women, Finding Maternity Care Outweighs Concerns About Abortion Access
By Lillian Mongeau Hughes
January 2, 2025
KFF Health News Original
A legislative effort to expand access to prenatal care in rural Oregon with mobile clinics was scuttled because those clinics would have provided abortions in rural areas. Opposition to the proposal shows that, even in states that ensure access to abortions, that care isn’t universally available or accepted.
In Year 7, ‘Bill of the Month’ Gives Patients a Voice
December 30, 2024
KFF Health News Original
In the seventh year of KFF Health News’ “Bill of the Month” series, patients shared their most perplexing, vexing, and downright expensive medical bills, and reporters analyzed $800,000 in charges — including more than $370,000 owed by 12 patients and their families.
Incineradores de basura dañan de manera desproporcionada a hispanos
By Daniel Chang
December 27, 2024
KFF Health News Original
El dilema que se revela en el sur de Florida es indicativo de lo que algunos ven como una tendencia más amplia en la lucha nacional por la justicia ambiental.
LGBTQ+ People Relive Old Traumas as They Age on Their Own
By Judith Graham
December 24, 2024
KFF Health News Original
The generation that faced discrimination, ostracism, and the AIDS epidemic now faces old age. Many struggle with isolation along with a host of pressing health problems.
‘Waiting List to Nowhere’: Homelessness Surveys Trap Black Men on the Streets
By Angela Hart
December 23, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Homelessness experts and community leaders say vulnerability questionnaires have worsened racial disparities among the unhoused by systematically placing white people in front of the line ahead of Black people. Now places like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Austin, Texas, are developing alternative surveys to reduce bias.
Caseworkers Coax Homeless People out of Las Vegas’ Tunnels for Treatment
By Angela Hart
December 23, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Street medicine providers and homeless outreach workers who travel into Las Vegas’ drainage tunnels have noticed an uptick in the number of people living underground, and it can be difficult to persuade them to come aboveground for medicine and treatment.
Trash Incinerators Disproportionately Harm Black and Hispanic People
By Daniel Chang
December 23, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Across the country, trash incinerators disproportionately overburden majority-Black and -Hispanic communities. Though the number of incinerators has declined nationwide since the 1980s, Florida offers financial incentives to waste management companies that expand existing facilities or build new ones.
An Arm and a Leg: Revisiting ‘Christmas In July’
By Dan Weissmann
December 23, 2024
Podcast
From the archives of “An Arm and a Leg”: a family tragedy, a 40-year tradition, and a million dollars in medical debt erased.
Journalists Wrap Up 2024 With Topics From Trump 2.0 to Frustration With Health Industry
December 21, 2024
KFF Health News Original
KFF Health News staff made the rounds on national and local media in the last two weeks to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
In Settling Fraud Case, New York Medicare Advantage Insurer, CEO Will Pay up to $100M
By Fred Schulte
December 20, 2024
KFF Health News Original
A whistleblower suit alleged a health insurer bilked Medicare by exaggerating how sick patients were.
Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
December 20, 2024
Morning Briefing
Each week, KFF Health News finds longer stories for you to enjoy. Today’s selections are on syphilis, medical sexism, euthanasia, the year’s best public health books, and more.
Viewpoints: If Congress Doesn’t Act, ACA Will Soon Become Unaffordable
December 20, 2024
Morning Briefing
Opinion writers discuss these public health issues.
