It’s a busy day in the emergency department. The waiting room is full, and we are short-staffed. I just read an email from administration that morning about how our treat and release times are “slipping,” and in the same breath, they …
Category: Diabetes
Overcoming health challenges: one patient’s story
The patient was a typical one in my primary care practice, and for those of you in my field, one familiar to you as well. Jim, as we will call him, was a middle-aged, obese male with a history of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes, whose most c…
California Expands Paid Sick Days and Boosts Health Worker Wages
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation expanding paid sick leave to five days, extending bereavement leave to miscarriages and failed adoptions, and approving an eventual $25-an-hour health care minimum wage. Still, in a possible sign of national ambitions, the Democrat vetoed free condoms in schools and refused to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms.
Diabetes and liver disease: urgent screening needs highlighted by personal tragedy
The American Diabetes Association recently released screening guidelines for liver disease in individuals with type 2 diabetes. Notably, 70 percent of people with type 2 diabetes have liver disease, and the most common form is non-alcoholic fatty liver…
KFF Health Tracking Poll July 2023: The Public’s Views Of New Prescription Weight Loss Drugs And Prescription Drug Costs
About half of adults are interested in taking prescription weight loss drugs. though interest drops when presented with obstacles or drawbacks. Many adults struggle with affording prescription drugs and say there should be more price regulation. Few ar…
Poll: Nearly Half of Adults Would Be Interested in Prescription Weight-Loss Drugs, But Enthusiasm Fades Based on Lack of Coverage and Risk of Regaining Weight
Nearly half (45%) of the public are at least somewhat interested in taking a prescription weight-loss drug, including many who say they only want to lose a little weight, though many people lose interest when presented with potential financial and medi…
New Weight Loss Drugs Carry High Price Tags and Lots of Questions for Seniors
Although nearly 40% of Americans 60 and older are obese, Medicare doesn’t cover weight loss medications. Meanwhile, studies haven’t thoroughly examined new drugs’ impact on older adults.
Many People Living in the ‘Diabetes Belt’ Are Plagued With Medical Debt
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.
The Confusing Fate of the Abortion Pill
The legality and availability of the abortion pill mifepristone is in question after a federal judge in Texas canceled the FDA’s approval of the first drug used in the two-drug medication abortion regimen. A 5th Circuit Court of Appeals panel overruled that decision in part, saying the pill should remain available, but only under the onerous restrictions in place before 2016. Meanwhile, another federal judge in Washington state issued a ruling in a separate case that conflicts with the Texas decision, ordering the FDA not to roll back any of its restrictions on the drug. Victoria Knight of Axios, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
Montana May Require Insurers to Cover Monitoring Devices for Diabetes
Montana is one of several states considering expanding coverage of continuous glucose monitors, but insurance companies and some providers argue that not all people with diabetes need them.
