Latest Morning Briefing Stories

Planned Parenthood’s ‘Risky Strategy’ To Update Its Image

KFF Health News Original

The nation’s largest reproductive health services provider is in the midst of a high-stakes effort to showcase what it considers its vital role in providing community health care.

Workplace Wellness Programs Barely Move The Needle, Study Finds

KFF Health News Original

New research published in JAMA detected some changes in healthy behavior like weight and stress, but little overall impact in workers’ health status or employer health care spending.

Watchdogs Cite Lax Medical And Mental Health Treatment Of ICE Detainees

KFF Health News Original

The Adelanto ICE Processing Center houses nearly 2,000 people in California. Federal, state and watchdog reviews say the Florida-based firm that runs the facility fails to provide adequate health care.

Heavy Rains, End Of Drought Could Help Keep West Nile Virus Subdued — For Now

KFF Health News Original

Scientists say drought can spur transmission of the disease and that wetter winters since 2015 have helped reduce the number of infections in California. In the long term, however, climate change could mean more drought — and more infections.

Big Soda Pours Big Bucks Into California’s Capitol

KFF Health News Original

The soda industry spent $11.8 million to influence policy statewide in 2017 and 2018. As politicians once again consider bills that would tax and label sugary drinks, more big money is expected to flow.

Exemptions Surge As Parents And Doctors Do ‘Hail Mary’ Around Vaccine Laws

KFF Health News Original

In California, medical exemptions to skip childhood vaccinations are on the rise. The trend underlines how hard it is to get parents to comply with vaccination laws meant to protect public safety when a small but adamant population of families and physicians seems determined to resist.

Crece la preocupación por posible vínculo entre popular herbicida y el cáncer

KFF Health News Original

El glifosato es el herbicida más utilizado en los Estados Unidos, y probablemente en todo el mundo. Se usa en casi cada acre de maíz, algodón y soya cultivados en el país. La marca más popular es Roundup.

Popular Weed Killer’s Alleged Link To Cancer Spreads Concern

KFF Health News Original

The main ingredient in numerous popular herbicides has been implicated by two juries in the cancers of frequent users, but major public health agencies disagree over whether it is a carcinogen. Can you use it safely in your garden? Here are some answers to questions you may have about the weed killer glyphosate.

¿Cuán fácil es eximir a los niños de sus vacunas? Solo hay que mirar a Oregon

KFF Health News Original

A medida que continúan los brotes de sarampión en el noroeste y se extienden a todo el país, registros de salud de Oregon sugieren lo fácil que que es optar por no recibir las vacunas requeridas en ese estado, como en muchos otros.

California Hospitals See Massive Surge In Homeless Patients

KFF Health News Original

Homeless patients accounted for about 100,000 visits to California hospitals in 2017, marking a 28% increase from just two years earlier. Health officials attribute the surge to the overall rise in California’s homeless numbers and the large proportion of people living on the streets with mental illness.

Suicide Risk Grew After Missouri Medicaid Kids Shifted To Managed Care, Hospitals Say

KFF Health News Original

Psychiatric treatment for children in Medicaid managed-care plans in Missouri has declined and suicide risks are up, reveals a study sponsored by the state hospital association.

Health Officials’ Plug For Next FDA Chief: Go Big On E-Cig Regulation

KFF Health News Original

With Scott Gottlieb making his exit from the Food and Drug Administration’s top spot, city and country health officials call for backup in the fight to curb teen use of e-cigarettes.