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A recent report detailing problems with Florida鈥檚 patchwork mental health system had reached conclusions nearly identical to those of a similar report from more than 20 years ago. The echoes between the findings are unmistakable. And Florida isn鈥檛 the only state struggling with the criminalization of mental illness, a lack of coordination between providers, and insufficient access to treatment.
In-person mental health care is hard to arrange in rural nursing homes, so video chats with faraway professionals are filling the gap.
The federal government has lifted restrictions on one of the most effective opioid addiction treatment medications. The change sets up a 鈥渢ruth serum moment鈥: Will mainstream doctors and nurses now treat addiction as a common disease?
Mobile clinics that provided covid-19 testing and vaccines at the peak of the pandemic are now being used to provide a range of health services in hard-to-reach communities. A law passed late last year allows qualified health care centers to use federal grants to expand the fleets.
A U.S. District Court case is being widely followed because the judge鈥檚 decision could overturn the FDA鈥檚 approval of mifepristone two decades ago. With abortion rights polling well even in red states, anti-abortion activists are increasingly turning to the courts to achieve their aims.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, who blasted pharmaceutical companies for gouging Californians, is moving ahead with state-branded insulin. He鈥檚 also eyeing other generic drugs.
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here鈥檚 a collection of their appearances.
A state law says giving false information to patients about covid-19 constitutes unprofessional conduct for which regulators can discipline doctors. Vaccine skeptics, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., join civil liberties groups and others in arguing that it violates free speech.
Missouri is considering making it a felony to jack up temporary health care staffing prices during a statewide or national emergency. It鈥檚 one of at least 14 states looking to reel in travel nurse costs, after many hospitals struggled to pay for needed staffers earlier in the covid pandemic.
Any day now a conservative federal judge in Texas could upend the national abortion debate by requiring the FDA to rescind its approval of mifepristone, a drug approved in the U.S. more than 20 years ago that is now used in more than half of abortions nationwide. Meanwhile, a controversial study on masks gets a clarification, although it may be too late to change the public impression of what it found. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for 鈥渆xtra credit,鈥 the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
American women are more likely to deliver their babies prematurely than women in most developed countries. It鈥檚 a distinction that coincides with high rates of maternal and infant death, billions of dollars in costs, and even lifelong disabilities for the children who survive.
Medical debt in America pushes families to the edge. Ariane Buck and his wife, Samantha, were denied care at their doctor’s office because of an unpaid bill of less than $100. A trip to the emergency room added thousands of dollars to their health care debt, which topped $50,000 by the time they filed for bankruptcy.
The FDA鈥檚 interest in the AGGA dental device follows a KHN-CBS News investigation, according to a former agency official.
In November, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidelines for prescribing opioids for pain, allowing physicians more flexibility. But doctors, patients, and advocates wonder if the updated standards will be too little, too late to help chronic pain patients in a country still focused on fighting the ongoing opioid crisis.
The state wants to stop paying Kaiser Permanente for treating severely mentally ill Medi-Cal patients in Sacramento and Solano counties and force the counties to take on the task. The counties鈥 leaders say they can鈥檛 afford it.
With their brains still developing and poor impulse control, teens who carry firearms might never plan to use them. But some do.
Since 2005, central Appalachia has recorded a tenfold increase in cases of severe black lung disease among long-term coal miners. Now, federal regulators are expected to propose a new rule to protect against silica dust, which causes the most severe form of black lung, progressive massive fibrosis.
One listener tried to dispute a $1,300 鈥渇acility fee鈥 with the treating hospital, his insurer, a bill-mediation service provided by his employer, and finally a debt collector. He didn鈥檛 win, but he learned valuable lessons about advocating for hospital discounts.
Colorado is one of 10 states without a law requiring CPR training for high school students, but proposed legislation that recently passed the state House would only strongly urge schools to teach this lifesaving skill.
The federal government wants to change the way health insurers use prior authorization 鈥 the requirement that patients get permission before undergoing treatment. Designed to prevent doctors from deploying expensive, ineffectual procedures, prior authorization has become a confusing maze that denies or delays care, burdens physicians with paperwork, and perpetuates racial disparities. New rules may not be enough to solve the problems.
