Latest Morning Briefing Stories
Biden’s Nursing Home Staffing Rule Surfaces Horror Stories
The Biden administration’s plan to set minimum staffing levels for nursing homes prompted comments from more than 46,500 people and organizations — including residents of homes and nurses with harrowing stories about conditions inside. Hundreds of comments like these cemented the resolve of officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services last month to […]
An NIH Genetics Study Targets a Long-Standing Challenge: Diversity
In his 2015 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama announced a precision medicine initiative that would later be known as the All of Us program. The research, now well underway at the National Institutes of Health, aims to analyze the DNA of at least 1 million people across the United States to build a diverse health database. The key word there is “diverse.” So […]
Amgen Plows Ahead With Costly, Highly Toxic Cancer Dosing Despite FDA Challenge
The FDA told Amgen to test whether a quarter-dose of its lung cancer drug worked as well as the amount recommended on the product label. It did and with fewer side effects. But Amgen is sticking to the higher dose — which earns it an additional $180,000 a year per patient.
Biden Team’s Tightrope: Reining In Rogue Obamacare Agents Without Slowing Enrollment
Federal regulators face a growing challenge — how to prevent rogue health insurance agents from switching unknowing consumers’ Obamacare coverage without making the enrollment process so cumbersome that enrollment declines.
Las pruebas han detectado el virus en el ganado en nueve estados, principalmente en Texas y Nuevo México, y más recientemente en Colorado. Una persona ha dado positivo para el H5N1.
Las organizaciones sin fines de lucro señalan que California ha vuelto más difícil retener a los trabajadores en tareas de cuidado después que aumentara los salarios en otros sectores vinculados a los servicios y la salud.
Oh, Dear! Baby Gear! Why Are the Manuals So Unclear?
Sure, new parents are an anxious lot. But instruction manuals for devices meant to keep the baby safe and healthy are daunting and add to the anxiety. Why are they so confusing?
Bird Flu Is Bad for Poultry and Dairy Cows. It’s Not a Dire Threat for Most of Us — Yet.
Cattle across the country are infected by the H5N1 bird flu. The virus isn’t spreading among people — but if it evolves to do that, fears of another pandemic could be realized.
‘Breaking a Promise’: California Deficit Could Halt Raises for Disability Workers
Families of children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities say Gov. Gavin Newsom is reneging on an expected pay increase for care workers. If the delay goes through, it could impede services and invite legal challenges from advocates.
In this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” host Dan Weissmann explores what the fallout from a cyberattack says about antitrust concerns in health care.
Millions Were Booted From Medicaid. The Insurers That Run It Gained Medicaid Revenue Anyway.
Big health insurers that have contracts with state Medicaid programs find themselves making more money even as enrollment in Medicaid programs has dropped. Here’s why.
Una prueba genética podría salvar la vida de cientos de pacientes en quimioterapia
Estos tipos de quimioterapia comunes son difíciles de tolerar en general, pero para los pacientes que tienen deficiencia de una enzima que metaboliza la droga, puede ser una tortura o causar la muerte.
Genetics Studies Have a Diversity Problem That Researchers Struggle To Fix
Researchers in Charleston, South Carolina, are trying to build a DNA database of 100,000 people to better understand how genetics affects health risks. But they’re struggling to recruit enough Black participants.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Abortion — Again — At the Supreme Court
For the second time in as many months, the Supreme Court heard arguments in an abortion case. This time, the justices are being asked to decide whether a federal law that requires emergency care in hospitals can trump Idaho’s near-total abortion ban. Meanwhile, the federal government, for the first time, will require minimum staffing standards for nursing homes. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico Magazine join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
FTC Chief Says Tech Advancements Risk Health Care Price Fixing
Technological advances including the widespread use of algorithms make it easier for companies to fix prices without explicitly coordinating, Lina Khan said at a KFF event.
Biden Administration Sets Higher Staffing Mandates. Most Nursing Homes Don’t Meet Them.
The staffing regulation was disparaged by the industry as unattainable. Patient advocates say it doesn’t go far enough. Labor unions welcomed the requirement.
Medical Providers Still Grappling With UnitedHealth Cyberattack: ‘More Devastating Than Covid’
Medical providers say they’re still coping with the Change Healthcare cyberattack disclosed in February even though parent company UnitedHealth Group reported that much is back to normal and its revenue is up over last year.
He Thinks His Wife Died in an Understaffed Hospital. Now He’s Trying to Change the Industry.
Nurses are telling lawmakers that there are not enough of them working in hospitals and that it risks patients’ lives. California and Oregon legally limit the number of patients under a nurse’s care. Other states trying to do the same were blocked by the hospital industry. Now patients’ relatives are joining the fight.
In San Francisco’s Chinatown, a CEO Works With the Community To Bolster Hospital
Jian Zhang, an immigrant from China with a doctorate in nursing, leads the 88-bed Chinese Hospital in San Francisco. The facility faces financial constraints like other independent hospitals, but its strong community support and partnerships have helped it weather tough times.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Too Big To Fail? Now It’s ‘Too Big To Hack’
Congress this week had the chance to formally air grievances over the cascading consequences of the Change Healthcare cyberattack, and lawmakers from both major parties agreed on one culprit: consolidation in health care. Plus, about a year after states began stripping people from their Medicaid rolls, a new survey shows nearly a quarter of adults who were disenrolled are now uninsured. Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Lauren Weber of The Washington Post join KFF Health News’ Mary Agnes Carey to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner interviews Caroline Pearson of the Peterson Health Technology Institute.
