Latest Morning Briefing Stories

Burnout Threatens Primary Care Workforce and Doctors’ Mental Health

KFF Health News Original

Burnout is a widespread problem in the health care industry. Although the pandemic made things worse, burnout among doctors is a long-standing concern that health systems have become more focused on as they try to stop doctors from quitting or retiring early.

Recovery From Addiction Is a Journey. There’s No One-and-Done Solution.

KFF Health News Original

Drug use has become a major public health crisis, but effective treatment remains hard to find. It does exist though. Columnist Bernard J. Wolfson offers advice on finding help and says not to expect a quick solution.

California Confronts the Threat of ‘Tranq’ as Overdose Crisis Rages

KFF Health News Original

California officials are stepping up efforts to combat the spread of xylazine, a powerful animal sedative that’s increasingly being used by people, often with devastating results. It’s mostly been an East Coast phenomenon, but ‘tranq,’ as it is known, is beginning to appear in the Golden State.

As Medicaid Purge Begins, ‘Staggering Numbers’ of Americans Lose Coverage

KFF Health News Original

In what’s known as the Medicaid “unwinding,” states are combing through rolls to decide who stays and who goes. But the overwhelming majority of people who have lost coverage so far were dropped because of technicalities, not because officials determined they are no longer eligible.

More States OK Postpartum Medicaid Coverage Beyond Two Months

KFF Health News Original

Montana, Alaska, Mississippi, Missouri, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming are among the latest states moving to provide health coverage for up to a year after pregnancy through the federal-state health insurance program for low-income people.

Mood-Altering Mushroom Sales Bloom Despite Safety Concerns

KFF Health News Original

The well-known “Amanita muscaria” mushroom is legal to possess and consume in 49 states. The market for gummies, powders, and capsules containing extracts of the fungus is raising eyebrows, though, amid concerns from the FDA and in the absence of human clinical trials.

Health Care Coalition Jockeys Over Medi-Cal Spending, Eyes Ballot Initiative

KFF Health News Original

California Healthline has learned that a coalition of doctors, hospitals, insurers, and community clinics want to lock in a tax on health insurance companies to draw in extra Medicaid funding. It also wants to make the tax permanent.

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.

Many People Living in the ‘Diabetes Belt’ Are Plagued With Medical Debt

KFF Health News Original

The “Diabetes Belt,” as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, comprises 644 mostly Southern counties where diabetes rates are high. Of those counties, KFF Health News and NPR found, more than half also have high levels of medical debt.

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.

California Governor and Democratic Lawmakers at Odds Over Billions in Health Care Funds

KFF Health News Original

Gov. Gavin Newsom is getting pressure from his political allies to begin spending money on health care that the state raised by fining Californians who go without health insurance. But Newsom says the state can’t afford to.

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