Category: Public Health

KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Democrats Roll Dice On SCOTUS And The ACA

A group of Democratic state attorneys general are betting the Supreme Court will take up the case and overturn a federal appeals court ruling in time for the 2020 elections. In other high-court news, most Republicans in Congress are asking the justices to use a Louisiana law to overturn the landmark abortion-rights ruling, Roe v. Wade. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more. Rovner also interviews NPR’s Richard Harris, who wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature.

Reduce Health Costs By Nurturing The Sickest? A Much-Touted Idea Disappoints

Nearly a decade ago, Dr. Jeffrey Brenner and his Camden Coalition appeared to have an answer to remake American health care: Treat the sickest and most expensive patients. But a rigorous study in the New England Journal of Medicine shows the approach doesn’t save money. “We built a brilliant intervention to navigate people to nowhere,” Brenner tells the “Tradeoffs” podcast.

5 Things To Know As California Starts Screening Children For Toxic Stress

California now will pay pediatricians to screen Medi-Cal patients for traumatic events known as adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs. The program is based on research showing that children who endure chronic stress have an increased risk of developing serious health problems. Here are five things to know about the new program.

In Massachusetts, Minors Need Permission For Abortion, But That Could Change

A parental consent requirement for minors who seek abortions is still on the books in left-leaning Massachusetts, as well as about two dozen other states. But a proposed Massachusetts law seeks to repeal that consent requirement and shore up the right to abortion in case the Supreme Court strikes down the federal right to the procedure.

Fecal Bacteria In California’s Waterways Increases With Homeless Crisis

Some of California’s most prized rivers, bays, beaches and streams are contaminated with levels of fecal bacteria that exceed state limits, threatening human health. While aging sewage infrastructure is largely to blame, homeless encampments are also a probable source of contamination.

Effort To Control Opioids In An ER Leaves Some Sickle Cell Patients In Pain

People with sickle cell disease aren’t fueling the opioid crisis, research shows. Yet some ER doctors still treat patients seeking relief for agonizing sickle cell crises as potential addicts.

Extending ‘Healthspan’: Brain Scientists Tap Into The Secrets Of Living Well Longer

New thinking about aging spins on how to stay free of chronic illnesses and cognitive decline later in life.

Coping With Loss Of Hospital, Rural Town Realizes: We Don’t Need A Hospital

It’s been about a year since the hospital in Fort Scott, Kan., closed. The lessons for this community about meeting its residents’ health needs could provide insights for the rest of the country.

Reports Of Patients’ Deaths Linked To Heart Devices Lurk Below Radar

Because of a little-known federal exemption program, death data about heart devices sits in inaccessible FDA files that can take up to two years for the public to see under open-records laws.

Electronic Health Records Creating A ‘New Era’ Of Health Care Fraud, Officials Say

The federal government funneled billions in subsidies to software vendors and some overstated or deceived the government about what their products could do, according to whistleblowers.