Public Health Archives - Page 37 of 187

The Abortion Pill Goes Back to Court

Episode 298

May 18, 2023

A three-judge appeals court panel heard testimony this week about revoking the FDA’s 22-year-old approval of a key pill used in medication abortion and miscarriage management. The judges all have track records of siding with abortion foes. Meanwhile, as the standoff over raising the federal debt ceiling continues in Washington, a major sticking point is whether to impose work requirements on recipients of Medicaid coverage. Victoria Knight of Axios, Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

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A photo of tents lining a street in California.

State Lawmakers Eye Forced Treatment to Address Overlap in Homelessness and Mental Illness

Democratic politicians in California and Oregon are reconsidering the restrictions of involuntary commitment laws. They argue that not helping people who are seriously ill and living in squalor on the streets is inhumane.

By April Dembosky, KQED, Amelia Templeton, Oregon Public Broadcasting, and Carrie Feibel, NPR

May 17, 2023

Lawyer Fees Draw Scrutiny as Camp Lejeune Claims Stack Up

The Camp Lejeune Justice Act, which became law last year, created a pathway for veterans and their families to pursue damage claims against the government for toxic exposure at the military base. Now, advocates and lawmakers worry high lawyer fees could shortchange those injured.

By Michelle Andrews

May 17, 2023

A wooden picnic table has paper sand brochures laid out on the table and a bench. A banner reading "Greene County Anti-Drug Coalition" hangs on a raining behind the table.

Payback: Tracking Opioid Cash

A Rural County’s Choice: Use Opioid Funds to Pay Off Debt, or Pay Them Forward to Curb Crisis

Greene County, Tennessee, so far has received more than $2.7 million from regional and national settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors. But most of the money is not going to help people and families harmed by addiction.

By Aneri Pattani

May 16, 2023

Cloie Davila, her daughter, Amelia, her husband, Joshua, and her son, Noah, stand outside their home in Clayton, New Mexico. Cloie is visibly pregnant.

New Mexico Program to Reduce Maternity Care Deserts in Rural Areas Fights for Survival

A federally funded program in remote New Mexico has helped hundreds of pregnant mothers stay healthy, but it’s running out of time and money despite a growing national maternity care crisis. The four-year, nearly $3 million grant has provided telehealth, coordinated care, and social services to mothers in need.

By Sarah Jane Tribble

May 15, 2023

KFF Health News On Air

Journalists Give Status Reports on the ‘Personhood’ Debate and the HIV Epidemic

KFF Health News and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

May 13, 2023

What the Health? From KFF Health News

The Crisis Is Officially Ending, but Covid Confusion Lives On

Episode 297

May 11, 2023

The public health emergency declaration for covid-19 ends May 11, ushering in major changes in how Americans can access and pay for the vaccines, treatments, and tests particular to the culprit coronavirus. But not everyone will experience the same changes, creating a confusing patchwork of coverage — not unlike health coverage for other diseases. Meanwhile, outside advisers to the FDA formally recommended allowing a birth control pill to be sold without a prescription. If the FDA follows the recommendation, it would represent the first over-the-counter form of hormonal contraception. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus for “extra credit” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.

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Postcard from Missoula, Montana

On the Night Shift With a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner

Montana and other states are trying to increase the number of nurses specially trained to treat survivors of sexual assault.

By Katheryn Houghton

May 8, 2023

A photo of Rochelle Walensky at a Senate hearing.

Walensky to Leave CDC in June as Covid Emergency Winds Down

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director presided over one of the most tumultuous times in the agency’s history, struggling to regain public trust after it was revealed that Trump officials intervened in its pandemic response.

By Julie Rovner

May 5, 2023

A photo of various cigarette brands being advertised outside of a store.

California Says New Cigarettes Appear to Violate State’s Flavored Tobacco Ban

The attorney general is warning two tobacco companies, R.J. Reynolds and ITG Brands LLC, that their reformulated cigarettes appear to violate the state’s ban on flavored tobacco products, based on marketing materials. R.J. Reynolds said Thursday that its cigarettes comply with the law.

By Don Thompson

May 5, 2023

Lead Contamination Surfaces in Affluent Atlanta Neighborhood

The Environmental Protection Agency recently confirmed high lead levels in an upscale Atlanta neighborhood. The location stands in contrast to many polluted sites investigated by the federal Superfund program — often in former industrial or waste disposal areas where environmental racism has left marginalized groups at risk.

By Andy Miller

May 5, 2023

What the Health? From KFF Health News

Health Programs Are at Risk as Debt Ceiling Cave-In Looms

Episode 296

May 4, 2023

A warning from the Treasury Department that the U.S. could default on its debt as soon as June 1 has galvanized lawmakers to intervene. But there is still no obvious way to reconcile Republican demands to slash federal spending with President Joe Biden’s demand to raise the debt ceiling and save the spending fight for a later date. Meanwhile, efforts to pass abortion bans in conservative states are starting to stall as some Republicans rebel against the most severe bans. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Rachel Cohrs of Stat, and Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

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A digital illustration in watercolor and pencil shows a hand holding a box of sanitary pads that are used for menstruation. On the cover of the box, a diagram shows different layers of material that make up the pad. The list of ingredients, however, remains a mystery and reads only as a confusing series of the letter “X.”

Federal Rules Don’t Require Period Product Ingredients on Packaging Labels. States Are Stepping In.

New York and California have passed laws requiring disclosure of ingredients on menstrual product packaging. Advocates want more transparency across the U.S.

By Erica Zurek

May 3, 2023

An older woman sits in a darkened room and is illuminated by light through a window.

Payback: Tracking Opioid Cash

Listen: How Are States Spending Money From the Opioid Settlements? It’s Not Easy to Know

KFF Health News senior correspondent Aneri Pattani appeared on NPR’s “1A” on May 1 to discuss issues related to how opioid settlement funds are being distributed.

May 1, 2023

A digital illustration in bright copic marker and pencil shows a Black woman back-to-back with a mirror image of herself. On the left side, she wears her hair in a natural afro — the way, she was told, was required for an EEG procedure, allowing no product or protective styles. The version of herself on the right shows her hair in protective braids, which are separated to reveal parts of her scalp where an EEG device would need to be placed. That hairstyle would actually make it easier to get an accurate reading from the procedure, despite the instructions she was given.

How One Patient’s Textured Hair Nearly Kept Her From a Needed EEG

An EEG can help diagnose conditions like epilepsy, sleep disorders, and brain tumors. But a design flaw and outdated Eurocentric practices make the test less effective on thicker, denser, and curly hair types, potentially excluding or deterring some people from getting screened.

By Tarena Lofton

April 27, 2023

As US Life Expectancy Falls, Experts Cite the Health Impacts of Incarceration

In a nation with one of the highest incarceration rates in the world, imprisonment speeds the aging process, research shows. Some experts complain the federal government isn’t collecting or releasing data that could identify disease patterns and prevent deaths.

By Fred Clasen-Kelly

April 27, 2023

COVID-19

As Federal Emergency Declaration Expires, the Picture of the Pandemic Grows Fuzzier

The pandemic gave federal officials expanded power to access crucial data about the spread of covid-19, but that authority will change when the public health emergency sunsets in May. That, along with the end of popular covid trackers, will make it harder for policymakers and the public to keep an eye on covid and other threats.

By Sam Whitehead

April 26, 2023

A person wearing military fatigues and holding a gun stands centrally in the foreground. Behind them is a sign that reads "Welcome to Fort Detrick" and cars driving past a guard house.

Did a Military Lab Spill Anthrax Into Public Waterways? New Book Reveals Details of a US Leak

“Pandora’s Gamble” describes how 2,000 to 3,000 gallons of wastewater potentially containing anthrax, Ebola, and other deadly pathogens spilled from an Army facility in Frederick, Maryland, in 2018.

By Alison Young

April 25, 2023

A digital illustration in watercolor and pencil shows a human with a melancholy expression at the center of the image. Their head is encircled by air pollution that billows up from surrounding smoke stacks. The background depicts a city at night.

Depressed? Anxious? Air Pollution May Be a Factor

A growing body of research is finding links between air quality and mental health, as therapists report seeing patients with symptoms linked to pollution.

By Jim Robbins

April 25, 2023

A photo of officials visiting public health workers.

US Officials Want to End the HIV Epidemic by 2030. Many Stakeholders Think They Won’t.

The federal government’s ambitious plan to end the HIV epidemic, launched in 2019, has generated new ways to reach at-risk populations in targeted communities across the South. But health officials, advocates, and people living with HIV worry significant headwinds will keep the program from reaching its goals.

By Daniel Chang and Sam Whitehead

April 24, 2023

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