Latest Kaiser Health News Stories
In India’s Slums, ‘Painkillers Are Part Of The Daily Routine’
As the Indian government reluctantly loosens its prescription opioid laws after decades of lobbying by palliative care advocates desperate to ease their patients’ pain, the nation’s sprawling, cash-fed health care system is ripe for misuse.
Beset By Lawsuits And Criticism In U.S., Opioid Makers Eye New Market In India
What began in India as a populist movement to bring inexpensive morphine to the diseased and dying poor has paved the way for a booming pain management industry. Now, new customers are being funneled to U.S. drugmakers bedeviled by a government crackdown back home.
Pharma Cash Rolls Into Congress To Defend An Embattled Industry
Congress has a variety of reforms in mind that could roil the drugmaking business and potentially slash prices.
Judge Cites Opioid ‘Menace,’ Awards Oklahoma $572M In Landmark Case
The state judge ruled that drugmaker Johnson & Johnson contributed to the opioid epidemic that has claimed the lives of 6,000 Oklahomans.
Readers And Tweeters Take Dialysis Providers To Task: Nowhere But In The USA
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Shopping Abroad For Cheaper Medication? Here’s What You Need To Know
Americans routinely skirt federal law by crossing into Canada and Mexico or tapping online pharmacies abroad to purchase prescription medications at a fraction of the price they would pay at home. Is it safe? Not necessarily. Here’s some advice.
MDMA, Or Ecstasy, Shows Promise As A PTSD Treatment
MDMA, the psychoactive ingredient in the club drug known as molly or ecstasy, is being tested in combination with therapy as a treatment for severe trauma.
Among Hurdles For Those With Opioid Addictions: Getting The Drug To Treat It
It can be difficult to get a prescription for buprenorphine, one of the gold standards for treating opioid use disorder. And not all pharmacies stock the drug.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: We Answer Your Questions
You asked about drug prices, the “Cadillac tax” on generous insurance plans and why Americans don’t know that most other countries also have combination public-private insurance systems. This week, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Caitlin Owens of Axios join KHN’s Julie Rovner to answer those questions.
Doctors Can Change Opioid Prescribing Habits, But Progress Comes In Small Doses
Research out Wednesday indicates that guidelines are making strides in cutting back the number of pain pills doctors offer after specific types of surgeries.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Gun Violence And The Politics Of Public Health
The recent tragic mass shootings have refocused efforts to treat gun violence as a public health issue rather than strictly a law enforcement problem. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Mary Agnes Carey of Kaiser Health News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this, plus the health implications of the budget deal passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump, as well as reaction from Canada to a proposal to allow broader imports of its prescription drugs. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists recommend their favorite health stories of the week.
Price Of Snakebite Drug Is Sky High, But New Competitor Unlikely To Lower Costs
The drug CroFab, which has been on the market since 2000, now faces competition from a drug called Anavip. But both are expensive.
Federal Experts’ Advice On HPV Vaccine Could Leave Adults Confused
A federal advisory panel says people between ages 27 and 45 may benefit from the vaccine to fight the human papillomavirus. But some public health advocates worry that the advice doesn’t provide doctors and patients clear guidance about who in this large age group are good candidates for the vaccine.
Drugmakers Master Rolling Out Their Own Generics To Stifle Competition
Known as “authorized generics,” in-house spinoffs of brand-name drugs quietly undermine the competition.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
Infusion Treatments — Needed or Not — Can Deplete Patients’ Wallets
When it comes to physician-administered infusion drugs, doctors sometimes have a financial reason for their choice and patients often aren’t aware of cheaper options.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Deciphering The Democrats’ Health Debate
Health care was a major topic at the Democratic presidential candidate debates in Detroit on Tuesday and Wednesday, but the focus on plan minutiae may have left viewers more confused than edified. Alice Ollstein of Politico, Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner and Caitlin Owens of Axios join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss the points made by the candidates plus a series of Trump administration health initiatives on drug prices and hospital shopping.
California Bill Would Fight Deals That Delay Generic Drugs
As California Attorney General Xavier Becerra cracks down on pharmaceutical companies he said paid competitors to delay generic versions of their drugs, he’s also pushing for legislation that would give his department tools to catch more of them. It’s the first of its kind in the nation.
Trump Administration ‘Open For Business’ On Drug Imports From Canada
HHS secretary announces a preliminary plan Wednesday to allow Americans to import certain lower-cost drugs from Canada. Manufacturers were quick to criticize the plan, saying it does not guarantee the safety of drugs coming into the country.
Trump Administration Moves To Make Health Care Costs More Transparent
The proposed rules would require hospitals to provide far more detail about the actual prices they charge insurers for patients’ care.
