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Latest Morning Briefing Stories

Meet the People Deciding How to Spend $50 Billion in Opioid Settlement Cash

KFF Health News Original

As settlement dollars land at the state level, state councils wield significant power in determining how the windfall gets spent. And, though they will likely include the most knowledgeable voices on addiction, these panels also face concerns about conflicts of interest and other issues.

How Health Care May Be Affected by the High Court’s Affirmative Action Ruling

KFF Health News Original

Some medical professionals warn that the Supreme Court’s recent ruling against using race as a factor in admissions could have far-reaching implications for the diversity of medical students, the practice of medicine, and patient care. Here’s what you need to know.

New Charleston Museum Nods to Historical Roots of US Health Disparities

KFF Health News Original

The $120 million International African American Museum that opened this week in Charleston, South Carolina, allows visitors to step back in history at Gadsden’s Wharf, where tens of thousands of enslaved Africans arrived in America, the genesis of generations of health disparities.

Advocates Call for 911 Changes. Police Have Mixed Feelings.

KFF Health News Original

Though most California counties are experimenting with dispatching health professionals rather than law enforcement to respond to people experiencing mental health crises, powerful police unions fear defunding.

Escasez crónica de salvavidas resalta desigualdades raciales

KFF Health News Original

Cuando las autoridades locales toman decisiones sobre el cierre de piscinas o la reducción de horarios, lo hacen sabiendo que la natación tiene un tenso historial de desigualdades raciales.

Cardiovascular Disease Is Primed to Kill More Older Adults, Especially Blacks and Hispanics

KFF Health News Original

Cardiovascular disease is the biggest killer of older Americans, with Black and Hispanic people at higher risk. Despite medical advances, researchers say, disparities are expected to worsen in the coming decades.

Mammograms at 40? Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines Spark Fresh Debate

KFF Health News Original

There is no direct evidence that screening women in their 40s will save lives, yet modeling suggests expanding routine mammography to include them might avert 1.3 deaths per 1,000. Highlighting the risk of false positives, some specialists call for a more personalized approach.

La enfermedad cardiovascular podría matar a más adultos mayores hispanos

KFF Health News Original

El dramático envejecimiento de la población de Estados Unidos y el número creciente de personas con afecciones como hipertensión, diabetes y obesidad —que aumentan el riesgo cardíaco— se espera que contribuyan a este escenario alarmante.

¿Mamografías a los 40? Nueva pauta para la detección del cáncer de seno genera debate

KFF Health News Original

Algunos médicos e investigadores que están interesados en un enfoque más individualizado para encontrar tumores problemáticos se muestran escépticos y plantean preguntas sobre los datos y el razonamiento detrás del cambio radical del Grupo de Trabajo de Servicios Preventivos de Estados Unidos

California’s Fentanyl Problem Is Getting Worse

KFF Health News Original

State lawmakers have recently been debating whether and how to stiffen punishments for dealers, while Gov. Gavin Newsom is targeting fentanyl trafficking and distributing more naloxone. The problem, experts say, is one with no easy or clear answers.

Se agrava la crisis del fentanilo en California

KFF Health News Original

Impulsadas en gran medida por la prevalencia del fentanilo, un opioide sintético hasta 100 veces más potente que la morfina, las sobredosis de drogas en California matan ahora a más del doble de personas que los accidentes de tráfico.

A Striking Gap Between Deaths of Black and White Babies Plagues the South

KFF Health News Original

Infant mortality rates across the South are by far the worst in the U.S. A look at South Carolina — where multimillion-dollar programs aimed at improving rates over the past 10 years have failed to move the needle — drives home the challenge of finding solutions, especially in rural communities.

Study Reveals Staggering Toll of Being Black in America: 1.6M Excess Deaths Over 22 Years

KFF Health News Original

The profound and painful loss — 80 million years of life, compared with the white population — is a call to action to improve the health of Black Americans, especially infants, mothers, and seniors, researchers say.

Gun Assault Rates Doubled for Children in 4 Major Cities During the Pandemic, New Data Shows

KFF Health News Original

A study of roughly 2,700 shootings in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Philadelphia found that racial disparities in gun injuries and deaths widened during the covid-19 pandemic. Researchers looked only at assaults, excluding accidents or incidents of self-harm.