Daily Edition for Wednesday, August 9, 2023
New KP hospital opens, staffing levels, mental health, maternal mortality, long covid, opioids, housing, Wegovy, and more are in the news.
Pioneering Study Links Testicular Cancer Among Military Personnel to ‘Forever Chemicals’
By Hannah Norman and Patricia Kime
The military first documented health concerns surrounding chemicals known as PFAS decades ago yet has continued to use firefighting foam made with them. Despite scores of lawsuits by its personnel and high rates of testicular cancer among troops, it has been slow to investigate a connection.
Daily Edition for Tuesday, August 8, 2023
Maternity care, EG.5 covid variant, hospital costs, homelessness, opioids, cancer, blood donations, and more are in the news.
What One Lending Company’s Hospital Contracts Reveal About Financing Patient Debt
By Noam N. Levey
Within two years of North Carolina’s public university system going into business with AccessOne to finance patients’ payment plans, nearly half of its patients were in loans that charged interest. As federal scrutiny increases on lenders, California Healthline is sharing that contract and others obtained through public records requests.
Seeking Medicare Coverage for Weight Loss Drugs, Pharma Giant Courts Black Influencers
By Rachana Pradhan
Novo Nordisk, the dominant company in the multibillion-dollar market for weight loss drugs, focuses on Black lawmakers and opinion leaders to spread the message that obesity is a chronic disease that needs treatment.
Amid Lack of Accountability for Bias in Maternity Care, a California Family Seeks Justice
By Sarah Kwon
April Valentine’s family wants to know whether racism could have played a role in her death. A California Healthline analysis shows state regulators are ill-equipped to find discrimination in its many forms.
How the Texas Trial Changed the Story of Abortion Rights in America
By Sarah Varney
Stark, plaintive testimony from women denied abortion care represents the start of “the 50-year fight to get rid of Dobbs,” one historian says.
Daily Edition for Monday, August 7, 2023
Hospital CEO pay, doctor shortages, a cyberattack, mental health, covid, postpartum depression, child vaccinations, and more are in the news.
As Many American Cities Get Hotter, Health Systems Face Off Against Heatstroke
By Drew Hawkins, Gulf States Newsroom
With millions of Americans suffering under relentless heat waves this summer, more people are seeking medical attention for heat-related illnesses. As temperatures get more extreme, hospitals, fire departments, and ambulance crews are preparing to treat more patients for heat exhaustion and heatstroke.
