KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Nursing Home Staffing Rules Prompt Pushback
The nursing home industry — as well as a healthy number of Congress members — are all pushing back on the Biden administration’s new rules on nursing home staffing. Industry officials say that there are not enough workers to meet the requirements and that the costs would be prohibitive. Meanwhile, Democrats on Capitol Hill are trying to force Republicans to explain their exact positions on assuring access to contraceptives and in vitro fertilization. Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Bram Sable-Smith, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about a free cruise that turned out to be anything but.
Daily Edition for Thursday, June 6, 2024
California Notches Win Against Deadly ‘Ghost Guns’: Three manufacturers of “ghost guns,” the self-built, largely untraceable firearms used in an increasing number of deadly shootings, have agreed to stop making or selling those guns in California and will pay the state $675,000 in civil penalties, officials announced Wednesday. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Biden Wants Hospitals To Report Data on Gunshot Wounds
By Samantha Young
The Biden administration is enlisting America’s doctors to help combat gun violence. About 160 health-care executives and officials have been invited to the White House today and Friday to promote public health solutions to the epidemic. A top priority, I’m told: The White House wants hospital emergency departments to collect more data about gunshot injuries […]
White House Enlists Doctors and Hospitals To Combat Gun Violence
By Samantha Young
As Congress remains deadlocked on gun policy, the Biden administration is calling on hospital leaders and doctors to gather more data about gunshot injuries and deaths and step up their violence prevention work.
Wins at the Ballot Box for Abortion Rights Still Mean Court Battles for Access
By Bram Sable-Smith
Michigan and Ohio serve as cautionary tales for states whose voters will decide abortion ballot initiatives this year: Even if the measures pass, it would take time to unwind conflicting laws.
Daily Edition for Wednesday, June 5, 2024
MDMA Decision A Blow For California’s Lykos Therapeutics: A panel of experts advising the FDA on the use of the psychedelic MDMA for PTSD found on Tuesday that the available evidence fails to show that the drug is effective or that its benefits outweigh its risks. It's a major setback for the drug's sponsor, Lykos Therapeutics. Read more from NPR, Vox, and Politico.
End of Pandemic Internet Subsidies Threatens a Health Care Lifeline for Rural America
By Sarah Jane Tribble
As the Affordable Connectivity Program runs out of money, millions of people face a jump in internet costs or lost connections if federal lawmakers don’t pass a funding extension.
Health Worker for a Nonprofit? The New Ban on Noncompete Contracts May Not Help You
By Harris Meyer
Provider groups are disappointed that the Federal Trade Commission’s new rule may not protect those who work for nonprofit hospitals and health care facilities, which employ the largest number of medical professionals.
Watch: Anthony Fauci Defends Feds’ Covid Response, Calling Lawmakers’ Accusations ‘Preposterous’
By Hannah Norman
At a June 3 congressional hearing that underscored the nation’s deep political divide over the coronavirus pandemic response, the longtime National Institutes of Health official addressed the agency’s controversies head-on.
Daily Edition for Tuesday, June 4, 2024
Bird Flu Found In San Francisco Market: Two chickens at a live bird market in San Francisco tested positive for H5N1 avian flu last month, authorities said Monday. State health officials discovered the asymptomatic birds during routine monitoring. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle. Scroll down for more on the bird flu outbreak.