Opinion writers weigh in on these health care issues and others Bloomberg: Where 2020 Democratic Candidates Stand On Health CareHealth care is a promising issue for Democrats. Assailing Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare helped the party win back control of the House of Representatives in 2018. All of the remaining candidates fighting to be the …
State Highlights: Foster Children Return To Oregon Following Charges Of Abuse From Caretakers; Missouri’s Planned Parenthood Lawyers Seek Answers About License Denial
Media outlets report on news from Oregon, Missouri, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Ohio, North Carolina, California, Iowa, Georgia and Hawaii. The Wall Street Journal: After Abuse Allegations, Oregon Brings Back Foster Kids Sent Out Of StateFoster children in Oregon who were sent to privately run group homes out of state are now being brought …
Startling Rise Of Suicides In Black Teens Since 1991 Sparks Concerns About Access To Care, Failing Outreach Efforts
In 1991, 5.9% of black teenagers reported attempting suicide, but in 2017, more than 10% of of black teenagers said they had. “It’s well documented that black youth access mental health treatment less,” said Michael Lindsey, author of the study. In other public health news: delivery company driving deaths, heart health, artificial intelligence, anxiety over …
New Estimate On House’s Proposed Drug Bill Reports Fast Savings Of $345B To Taxpayers, Big Changes To Drugmakers
The bill proposes that Medicare establish prices based on a price index on other nation’s sales. News on the industry looks at how Canada’s transparency on drug trials differs from the U.S., as well. Bloomberg: House Drug Bill Would Save $345 Billion, Reshape Pharma Industry A drug-price proposal from Democrats in Congress would save taxpayers $345 …
Pay Close Attention To Subtle Changes, Cost Savings During Open Enrollment Period For Medicare, Health Officials Warn
Patients can choose to save money and find ways to gain new benefits by re-examining offerings from Medicare and Medicare Advantage, which are tweaked every year. News on the enrollment season is on how higher-rated plans influence decisions, as well. Columbus Dispatch: What You Need To Know To Review Your Medicare Options For 2020 Open enrollment …
Alarmed By Rash Of Rural Hospital Closures, Georgia Lawmakers Wonder If Financial Management Classes Are The Answer
Nearly 60 rural Georgia hospitals must ensure their board members, CEOs and chief financial officers complete at least eight hours of classes by the end of next year or risk being fined and losing a valuable state tax credit. In other health industry and insurance news: dropped mergers, new partnerships, legal woes, DNA tests, surprise …
Dozens Of Investigations Into Deaths In California Have Been Thwarted Because Victims’ Bodies Were Harvested For Parts
Organ procurement before an investigation has long been legal, provided the coroner agrees. But a Los Angeles Times investigation finds dozens of cases where the coroner was left guessing at the cause of death because body parts were harvested early. As a result malpractice suits couldn’t be proven and even a murder charge had to …
Controversy Over Red Meat, Diet Soda Highlights Just How Complicated Nutrition Science Can Be
Does it ever feel like you get whiplash from all the latest nutrition guidance coming out? That’s because doing studies in this particular field is quite difficult when it comes to causation and correlation. “People like bumper sticker guidance,” said Dr. Walter Willett, a professor of nutrition at Harvard who has led studies tying meat …
Purdue Pharma, Sacklers Granted Brief Reprieve In Bankruptcy Court As Judges Urges Company And States To Talk
Judge Robert Drain urged Purdue Pharma and the objecting states to take a break from court fights and talk about the advantages of standing down from suing the Sacklers, in exchange for cooperation from the family. Purdue called Drain’s order “an essential next step in preserving Purdue’s assets.” The New York Times: Judge Orders Pause …
In 2009, FDA Was Sent An E-Cigarette Device With A Warning That A Vaping Crisis Was Coming. What Happened In The Next Ten Years?
Ten years after that warning, the FDA has not vetted the vast majority of vaping devices or flavored liquids for safety. Where did everything fall through the cracks? In other news on the vaping crisis: social media messaging, reported re-hospitalizations, a name for the mysterious vaping-related lung illness, state bans, and more. The New York …
First Edition: October 14, 2019
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations. Kaiser Health News: Patients Eligible For Charity Care Instead Get Big BillsWhen Ashley Pintos went to the emergency room of St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma, Wash., in 2016, with a sharp pain in her abdomen and no insurance, a representative demanded a $500 deposit before …
Patients Eligible For Charity Care Instead Get Big Bills
When Ashley Pintos went to the emergency room of St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma, Wash., in 2016, with a sharp pain in her abdomen and no insurance, a representative demanded a $500 deposit before treating her. “She said, ‘Do you have $200?’ I said no,” recalled Pintos, who then earned less than $30,000 at …
California’s New Transparency Law Reveals Steep Rise In Wholesale Drug Prices
Drugmakers fought hard against California’s groundbreaking drug price transparency law, passed in 2017. Now, state health officials have released their first report on the price hikes those drug companies sought to shield. Pharmaceutical companies raised the “wholesale acquisition cost” of their drugs — the list price for wholesalers without discounts or rebates — by a …
Helping Teenagers Quit Vaping
For many years, my lead-in question with adolescents, after I asked the parent to leave the room at pediatric appointments, was whether the kid had ever tried smoking cigarettes. It made a reasonable lead-in because it felt less highly charged than asking about marijuana or other substances, and in recent decades, the answer was very …
Staying on Guard Against Skin Cancer
“If you see something, say something,” a catchy warning from the Department of Homeland Security about possible terrorist threats, applies as well to skin lesions that, if ignored, could become fatal. Susan Manber, now a 55-year-old from Cortlandt Manor, N.Y., knows this well. She credits her astute daughter with having saved her life nearly six …
Your Paycheck May Impact Your Heart Health
Fluctuations in earnings may affect your heart health. Previous research has found that higher income is associated with lower rates of cardiovascular disease. Now a new study reports that changes in income also have a significant effect. The report, in JAMA Cardiology, prospectively followed 8,989 people, recording changes in income between two interviews that were …
No Drop in Vaping Cases, C.D.C. Says
As illnesses and deaths linked to vaping continue to rise, health experts on Friday updated their advice to doctors on how best to recognize symptoms and treat patients, and warned that the start of the flu season would make it harder to arrive at the right diagnosis. “I can’t stress enough the seriousness of these …
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
The Friday Breeze Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes, who reads everything on health care to compile our daily Morning Briefing, offers the best and most provocative stories for the weekend. Happy Friday! Yours truly is back from beautiful Vietnam and it seems I missed one or two … ahem … minor news events while traipsing around. …
Age-Old Health Care Debate Shifts From Insuring More People To Cutting Costs
In a new article in the BMJ journal, Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent for Kaiser Health News, examines the debate over the future of the U.S. health insurance system — a debate that has waxed and waned for the better part of a century. While political parties once argued over whether the government should make …
Different Takes: Lessons On Why ‘Medicare For All’ Is Wrong Answer; For Starters, ACA Removed Unfairness From Health Care
Editorial pages focus on these health care issues and others. The New York Times: This Is The Strongest Argument Against Medicare For AllIt was in Vermont that Senator Bernie Sanders learned to love single-payer health care — what he now calls Medicare for All — and it was in Vermont that American single-payer faced its …
Viewpoints: Vaping Deaths Require Federal Government To Control Cannabis Policy; Alzheimer’s Impacts All Races, So Why Is There Little Research On Hispanics, African Americans?
Opinion writers weigh in on these health topics and others. The Wall Street Journal: Pot Legalization Makes Vaping DeadlyDoctors have linked a tragic wave of lung injuries and deaths to the vaping of tainted marijuana concentrates. The episode reveals the dangers created by the federal government’s decadelong refusal to challenge state laws legalizing pot and …
State Highlights: Strict Abortion Ban Divides Voters In Louisiana Governor’s Race Where Democrat Leads; NYC Public Hospital Back In Step With Surplus of $36M
Media outlets report on news from Louisiana, New York, Massachusetts, Virginia, Georgia, Texas, Arizona, Michigan, Oregon, North Carolina, Florida, and California. The Associated Press: Abortion Ban Opponents Conflicted In Louisiana Governor RaceAt the height of Louisiana’s debate over a strict new abortion ban, phone calls poured into Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards’ office, from people …
Longer Looks: A Lawsuit Against A Pediatrician; Keeping A Community Healthy; Breast Cancer Research; And More
Each week, KHN finds interesting reads from around the Web. The New York Times: These Women Say A Trusted Pediatrician Abused Them As Girls. Now They Plan To Sue.Stuart Copperman was, to all appearances, an old-fashioned pediatrician. For 35 years, he ran a bustling practice in Merrick, Long Island, where he was revered by parents …
For Vulnerable, Sick Californians Who Rely On Medical Equipment, Power Outages Stoke Fear And Resentment
“For people with disabilities it can be life or death,” said Sunday Parker, who uses a wheelchair and lives in Oakland, parts of which were affected by the historic, sweeping shutdowns. Gov. Gavin Newsom slammed PG&E for the decision, calling the outages “unacceptable.” The New York Times: For The Most Vulnerable, California Blackouts ‘Can Be …
Letting Your Child Smoke And Letting Him Play Tackle Football Are Similar Dangers, Advocates Warn
Why does a new public service announcement warning about the dangers concussions have on young brains spotlight smoking? “The younger I start, the longer I’m exposed to danger,” a voiceover says. Public health news looks at men’s breast cancer, research on Koala viruses, and warnings about an STD epidemic, as well. The Associated Press: Concussion …