Morning Briefing for Tuesday, November 12, 2024
November 12, 2024
Morning Briefing
Uninsured rate, Trump and RFK Jr.’s search for health appointees, birth control, seniors living alone, vaccines, alcohol abuse, and more.
CDC Data: Uninsured Rate In US Steadies At 7.6%
November 12, 2024
Morning Briefing
The latest numbers collected from April to June show that about 25.3 million Americans don’t have health insurance — numbers consistent with the 2023 all-time low uninsured rate. Nearly 40% of people are insured under public programs like Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, or military plans.
RFK Jr. Vetting Candidates For Trump’s Appointees To Top Health Jobs
November 12, 2024
Morning Briefing
News outlets report on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s role in the Trump transition reviewing and recommending people to serve in federal health agency posts. Kennedy is eyeing about 600 terminations at the National Institutes of Health and is reportedly crowdsourcing names for possible appointees.
Trump Seeks To Flout Confirmation Rules As He Staffs His Cabinet
November 12, 2024
Morning Briefing
Despite Republicans having a majority in the Senate, President-elect Donald Trump wants to bypass that chamber’s responsibility to debate and vote on nominees. Candidates for majority leader are open to the idea. Also, a look at the nominees already tapped for cabinet roles.
Demand For Abortion Pills, Birth Control Explodes After Trump Win
November 12, 2024
Morning Briefing
Also in abortion news, Wisconsin grapples with its Civil War-era law to end abortion rights. In Florida, the battle continues over its six-week abortion ban. Plus: Missouri’s House speaker is challenged due to support for abortion law, and a Georgia woman suffers through agonizing wait for miscarriage care.
Prison Health Care Provider Wellpath Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
November 12, 2024
Morning Briefing
Bloomberg reports that the H.I.G. Capital-backed firm is dealing with debt and high labor costs. Other health industry news is on Kaiser Permanente, Henry Ford Health’s integrated insurer, St. Vincent Charity Community Health Center, Denver Health, and more.
23andMe Lays Off 40% Of Its Employees, Ends Therapy Programs
November 12, 2024
Morning Briefing
As the company restructures, it will pivot to selling genetic tests to consumers and using that data for research. Also: medicinal and tech advancements in cancer care; research monkeys roundup.
North Carolina Areas Hit Hard By Helene Still Cut Off From Crucial Care
November 12, 2024
Morning Briefing
Providers are finding ways to get essential items to rural areas, but residents are still coping with the loss of dental services, which were limited even before the storm. In the mountains, VA teams are still navigating rough terrain as they try to care for veterans.
BCBS Of Michigan Must Pay $12.7M For Firing Worker Who Refused Covid Vax
November 12, 2024
Morning Briefing
Former IT specialist Lisa Domski had worked at Blue Cross for more than 30 years and worked 100% remotely during the pandemic. She said the vaccine went against her Catholic beliefs. The ruling could affect many other cases, including 179 more vaccine requirement cases against BCBSM.
First Edition: Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024
November 12, 2024
Morning Briefing
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Oficiales de salud en California responden rápido a los casos de dengue
By Claudia Boyd-Barrett
November 12, 2024
KFF Health News Original
En lo que va del año, las autoridades han identificado al menos 13 casos de dengue de transmisión local, frente a dos en 2023, con 11 en el condado de Los Ángeles y dos en el área de San Diego.
California Dengue Cases Prompt Swift Response From Public Health Officials
By Claudia Boyd-Barrett
November 12, 2024
KFF Health News Original
With the arrival in California of dengue, a dangerous mosquito-borne disease present mainly in more tropical climates, public health authorities are deploying a range of strategies to beat back the Aedes mosquitoes that spread the virus.
Older Americans Living Alone Often Rely on Neighbors or Others Willing To Help
By Judith Graham
November 12, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Diverse networks of friends, former co-workers, neighbors, and extended family are often essential sources of support for older adults living alone. Often it is the elderly caring for the elderly.
Many Voters Backed Abortion Rights and Donald Trump, a Challenge for Democrats
By Sarah Varney
November 8, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Despite widespread support for protecting abortion rights, voters said the cost of gas, housing, food, and health care was more important to their choice for president.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Trump 2.0
November 8, 2024
Podcast
As Donald Trump readies for his return to the White House — with the backing of a GOP majority in the Senate and, possibly, the House — the entire health care industry is waiting to see what happens next. Clearly on the agenda: the future of abortion and reproductive rights, Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and public health’s infrastructure. Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Jackie Fortiér, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-Washington Post “Bill of the Month” feature, about a 2-year-old who had a very expensive run-in with a rattlesnake.
Voters in These Red States Okay Paid Sick Leave
By Samantha Liss
November 8, 2024
KFF Health News Original
Voters in Missouri and Nebraska approved ballot measures Tuesday that guarantee paid leave for sick workers. Alaska voters seem poised to pass a similar measure that has a wide lead. These two Republican-led states join 15 others and D.C. — largely Democratic-controlled places — in requiring some employers to provide workers with paid sick leave. Proponents cheered […]
ACA, Abortion Rights Among Health Care Priorities Of New Senate Dems
November 8, 2024
Morning Briefing
Roll Call lays out what newly elected members have championed in the past and what perspective they might bring to the GOP-controlled Senate. Meanwhile, one more government spending battle looms in Congress.
Bird Flu Cases Among Dairy Workers Flew Under The Radar, Study Finds
November 8, 2024
Morning Briefing
As a result, the CDC recommends all workers on farms with infected animals be tested and offered treatment.
FDA Aims To Yank From The Market A Common But Ineffective Decongestant
November 8, 2024
Morning Briefing
The ingredient, called oral phenylephrine, is commonly used in cough and cold medicines. Also: Monkeys are on the loose from a South Carolina research facility; a North Carolina hospital files for bankruptcy; a Maine hospital ends labor and delivery services; a historic fetal surgery at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; and more.
