Category: prescription drugs

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The FDA Goes After Nicotine

The FDA is using its power to regulate tobacco products — ordering the vaping device Juul off the market and announcing its intention to lower the amount of nicotine in cigarettes and other products. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court rules on Medicare and kidney dialysis, and Congress makes progress on legislation surrounding guns and mental health. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Noam N. Levey about the new KHN-NPR project on the growing impact of medical debt.

New Weight Loss Treatment Is Marked by Heavy Marketing and Modest Results

Approved as a device, not a drug, Plenity contains a plant-based gel that swells to fill 25% of a person’s stomach, to help people eat less. Results vary widely but are modest on average.

As Biden Fights Overdoses, Harm Reduction Groups Face Local Opposition

The Biden administration’s latest plan to address opioid overdose deaths includes $30 million for harm reduction measures, but many conservative states don’t allow them.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Taking a Shot at Gun Control

The U.S. House passed a package of bills seeking to keep some guns out of the hands of children and teenagers, but its fate in the Senate remains a big question mark. Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission takes on drug and hospital prices. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Cori Uccello of the American Academy of Actuaries about the most recent report from Medicare’s trustees board.

Lawmaker Takes on Insurance Companies and Gets Personal About His Health

State Sen. Scott Wiener opens up about a weeklong stint in the hospital last year and what it’s like to live with Crohn’s disease. The San Francisco Democrat is pushing a bill that would require insurance companies to cover certain medications while patients appeal denials.

California Wants to Slash Insulin Prices by Becoming a Drugmaker. Can it Succeed?

Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed spending $100 million to make insulin affordable to millions of people with diabetes under a new state generic drug label, CalRx. But state officials haven’t said how much the insulin will cost patients or how the state will deal with distribution and other challenges.

Tribal Pharmacy Dispenses Free Meds and Fills Gaps for Native Americans in the City

The Mashkiki Waakaa’igan Pharmacy in downtown Minneapolis gives Native Americans an economical option for filling prescriptions while being sensitive to tribal traditions and expectations.

May 23 Web Event: Executive Actions to Address Prescription Drug Affordability in the U.S.

U.S. prescription drug spending per person is about double what it is in peer countries and about 8 in 10 U.S. adults say the cost of prescription drugs is unreasonable. With the public ranking lowering out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs the to…

Is Paxlovid, the Covid Pill, Reaching Those Who Most Need It? The Government Won’t Say

Many public health workers are unable to see how many doses of Pfizer’s antiviral treatment are shipped to their communities and cannot tell whether vulnerable residents are filling prescriptions as often as their wealthier neighbors.

As Overdoses Soar, More States Decriminalize Fentanyl Testing Strips

Georgia may soon join a growing list of states decriminalizing the use of fentanyl testing strips. Bans of the strips — on the books in about half of states, experts say — stem from laws criminalizing drug paraphernalia adopted decades ago. But the testing devices are now recommended to help prevent overdose deaths.