Ketamine Therapy for Mental Health a ‘Wild West’ for Doctors and Patients
By Dawn Megli
Ketamine, approved by the FDA as an anesthetic in 1970, is emerging as a major alternative mental health treatment, and there are now more than 500 ketamine clinics around the country. But with little regulation and widely varying treatment protocols, it’s a medical “wild West.”
An Arm and a Leg: Self-Defense 101: Keeping Your Cool While You Fight
By Dan Weissmann
On this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” host Dan Weissmann seeks advice for fighting unfair medical bills from an unexpected source: an expert in self-defense.
Daily Edition for Monday, January 29, 2024
Long Beach Naval Shipyard Workers Might Not Know They Were Exposed To Carcinogens: Tens of thousands of veterans who worked at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard in California for decades may have been exposed to cancer-causing radioactive materials and still do not know because there is no mechanism in place to notify veterans of possible exposures after a base is no longer operational. Read more from NBC News.
How Fringe Anti-Science Views Infiltrated Mainstream Politics — And What It Means in 2024
By Amy Maxmen
Opposition to vaccines and other public health measures backed by science has become politically charged. That makes dangerous misinformation much harder to fight.
Readers Weigh Downsides of Medicare Advantage and Stick Up for Mary Lou Retton
California Healthline gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Daily Edition for Friday, January 26, 2024
Nursing homes, prisoner health, covid, measles, drug shortages, homelessness, cancer, and more are in the news.
Ouch. That ‘Free’ Annual Checkup Might Cost You. Here’s Why.
By Elisabeth Rosenthal
The designers of the Affordable Care Act might have assumed that they spelled out with sufficient clarity that millions of Americans would no longer have to pay for certain types of preventive care. But they didn’t reckon with America’s ever-creative medical billing juggernaut.
Prescribing Love: Send Us Your Health Policy Valentines
We want your sweetest “Health Policy Valentines.” Submissions will be judged by an esteemed panel of experts. We’ll share favorites on our social media channels, and tenderhearted members of our staff will pick the winners, announced on Feb. 14.
Senate Probes the Cost of Assisted Living and Its Burden on American Families
By Jordan Rau
In the wake of a KFF Health News-New York Times series, members of the Special Committee on Aging are asking residents and their families to submit their bills and are calling for a Government Accountability Office study.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Health Enters the Presidential Race
New Hampshire voters have spoken, and it seems increasingly clear that this November’s election will pit President Joe Biden against former President Donald Trump. Both appear to be making health a key part of their campaigns, with Trump vowing (again) to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and Biden stressing his support for contraception and abortion rights. Meanwhile, both candidates will try to highlight efforts to rein in prescription drug prices. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Sarah Somers of the National Health Law Program about the potential consequences for the health care system if the Supreme Court overturns a key precedent attempting to balance executive vs. judicial power.
