Kentucky Fund Allots First Award To Fight Opioid Crisis
February 1, 2023
Morning Briefing
The Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission has awarded $10.5 million to a program offering behavioral health treatment for people with substance use disorder. Also: efforts to help feed children in lower-income areas of West Virginia, rules for physical therapy in Missouri, and more.
Experts Urge More Women To Remove Fallopian Tubes To Avoid Cancer
February 1, 2023
Morning Briefing
The radical step is recommended for women with high genetic risk for ovarian cancer. Meanwhile, a new study suggests obesity can cause similar changes in the brain to Alzheimer’s disease. And Bloomberg reports that some Americans are still drinking toxic bleach products as a cure-all.
Arthritis Drug Humira Challenged By Biosimilar Costing Half As Much
February 1, 2023
Morning Briefing
News outlets cover the new “copycat” drug from Amgen rivalling Humira, which NPR says has had a 20-year and $200 billion revenue history. Bloomberg says the rival may be as much as 55% cheaper. Separately, concerns over bacterial infections from a brand of OTC eye drops.
Covid Variants Could Linger, Evolve In Deer Population: Study
February 1, 2023
Morning Briefing
The New York Times covers a new study that suggests alpha and gamma covid remained and evolved in white-tailed deer once those variants had stopped spreading widely in humans — and could lead to new variants, which could then transfer back to people.
Health System Braces For Financial Hit, Less Flexibility When Covid Emergency Lifts
February 1, 2023
Morning Briefing
When the national emergency expires, health care systems and nursing homes will likely face the end to popular measures like higher Medicare reimbursements for covid admissions, some telehealth flexibility, acute hospital care outside of facilities, and others. American patients can also expect big changes, most of which will cost them more.
Drug Industry Plagued With Shortages and Tainted Medications
February 1, 2023
Morning Briefing
Read about the biggest pharmaceutical developments and pricing stories from the past week in KHN’s Prescription Drug Watch roundup.
Covid Vaccine Makers Decline To Refund Covax $1.4B For Canceled Orders
February 1, 2023
Morning Briefing
The New York Times reports that Gavi, the global foundation that tried to increase access to covid vaccines to the world’s poor via its Covax program, is trying to negotiate with companies to get back some of the prepayments for vaccine orders that were ultimately canceled. The manufacturers involved made $13.8 billion on the vaccines distributed through Covax.
Morning Briefing for Wednesday, February 1, 2023
February 1, 2023
Morning Briefing
Today’s roundup covers a FDA shake up, Medicare, covid vaccines, the pandemic emergency, abortion laws, drug costs, opioids, and more.
Does House Bill Qualify Medicare As ‘Socialist’?, Democrats Ask
February 1, 2023
Morning Briefing
With ongoing negotiations over budget cuts as the backdrop, during a hearing discussion Tuesday Democrats asked if programs like Medicare and Social Security fall under the language of a House Republican’s proposed anti-socialism resolution. Other news from Capitol Hill covers drug prices, veteran health, and more.
In Wake Of Infant Formula Crisis, FDA Shakes Up Leadership Of Food Safety
February 1, 2023
Morning Briefing
FDA Commissioner Robert Califf unveiled a plan Tuesday to put a single person in charge of food policy and regulation within the agency, the Wall Street Journal and other news agencies reported. Califf also said he doesn’t plan to fire or reassign anyone involved in the formula controversy.
First Edition: Feb. 1, 2023
February 1, 2023
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Watch: Covid Increases Risk of Heart Problems, New Data Underlines
February 1, 2023
KFF Health News Original
Céline Gounder, KHN editor-at-large for public health, discusses new data showing an excess of deaths in 2020 related to heart disease.
Nursing Home Owners Drained Cash During Pandemic While Residents Deteriorated
By Jordan Rau
February 1, 2023
KFF Health News Original
As the federal government debates whether to require higher staffing levels at nursing homes, financial records show owners routinely push profits to sister companies while residents are neglected. “A dog would get better care than he did,” one resident’s wife said.
An Arm and a Leg: Can They Freaking Do That?!? (2023 Update)
By Dan Weissmann
February 1, 2023
Podcast
Can a medical provider you’ve never heard of send you an outrageous bill? Sure. Can you fight back and win? Yes, sometimes you can. Here’s how to do it.
New AHA Guidance Reframes TIAs As Warnings, Not Merely ‘Mini Strokes’
January 31, 2023
Morning Briefing
The Washington Post reports on new guidance from the American Heart Association concerning transient ischemic attacks, or TIAs: they should be seen as emergencies, a warning of a bigger stroke to come. Separately, research shows happiness spikes when people are in their 70s and 80s.
Memphis EMTs Fired Amid Controversy After Tyre Nichols’ Death
January 31, 2023
Morning Briefing
News outlets report on the ongoing impact of Nichols’ death following a traffic stop, including the firing of two EMTs and a lieutenant from the Memphis Fire Department. The rise of Valley fever, slow ambulance response times in Boston, and more are also in the news.
Opioid Trial Of Drug Distributor Companies Begins In Georgia
January 31, 2023
Morning Briefing
Cardinal Health Inc., McKesson Corp and JM Smith Corp are accused by families of opioid addicts in Georgia of acting as illegal drug dealers, Reuters reports. Meanwhile, in Detroit a doctor was sentenced to nearly 17 years in prison for a “vast” opioid prescription scheme.
Report: Financial Pressures On Hospital Operating Margins Easing
January 31, 2023
Morning Briefing
A monthly Kaufman Hall analysis found while rising labor costs pushed hospital operating margins down from 2021 to 2022, pressure may be easing as expense growth slowed and inpatient volumes rose. But Bloomberg says Moody’s is warning hospitals of bad debt as Medicaid enrollment changes.
Court Tosses J&J Bankruptcy Strategy To Skirt Talc Cancer Suits
January 31, 2023
Morning Briefing
A federal appeals court in Philadelphia rejected Johnson & Johnson’s strategy of using bankruptcy to freeze around 40,000 lawsuits linking its talc products and cancer, which could force J&J to fight the cases for years in trial courts.
While Deaths Still Rare, Covid Is Eighth-Top Cause Of Child Mortality
January 31, 2023
Morning Briefing
A study published Monday shows that in recent months covid has been the eighth-leading cause of death in children, at a rate of about 1 per 100,000. Also in the news: higher non-white death rates during pregnancy, and higher death rates in California — which can’t be explained by covid alone.