Latest Kaiser Health News Stories
As Measles Outbreak Fades, N.Y. Sets In Motion New Rules On School Vaccinations
New York, where nearly 900 people contracted measles this year, has enacted contentious requirements for immunizations.
Back To School 2019: Backpack, Lunchbox And A Drug Test
As schools begin a new year, more districts will test students as young as 11 for illicit drug use even as other drug prevention efforts are scaled back. More than 1 in 3 school districts nationwide give students drug tests.
California Tries Again To Make Medication Abortions Available At Its Colleges
A proposed state law would require on-campus health centers to provide students with the medicines that allow them to end an unwanted pregnancy. Former Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a similar bill last year, but Gov. Gavin Newsom has said he would sign it.
How To Get Bargain Dentistry And A Vacation To Boot
Dentistry in the U.S. can get expensive, even with good insurance. So more people are taking a trip to beautiful Costa Rica to cut the dentistry bill — and perhaps get a tan.
Starving Seniors: How America Fails To Feed Its Aging
One out of every 13 older Americans struggles to find enough food to eat while the federal program intended to help hasn’t kept pace with the graying population.
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.
California Requires Suicide Prevention Phone Number On Student IDs
The new law, a response to escalating suicide rates among teens, is intended to ensure students know that immediate help is available if they need it.
In Rural Utah, Preventing Suicide Means Meeting Gun Owners Where They Are
In Utah, 85% of deaths from firearms are suicides. To help people who might be vulnerable, outreach workers are discussing suicide prevention at gun shows and firearms classes.
Mysterious Vaping Lung Injuries May Have Flown Under Regulatory Radar
Doctors who saw patients with a mysterious lung illness in the past suspected vaping as the cause but didn’t know where to report such cases.
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.
Coming Out About Mental Health On Social Media
Talking about your mental health on social media is a thing, and it could actually help.
Doctors Fight Legislation Prompted By Sex Abuse Scandals
In response to recent high-profile sex abuse cases, some California lawmakers want doctors to give patients more information about pelvic exams, and then get a signature proving they did. Doctors in the Golden State and beyond are pushing back.
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.
Years Ago, This Doctor Linked A Mysterious Lung Disease To Vaping
In an exclusive interview, a West Virginia physician says that back in 2015 he had a sense a patient’s illness “probably wasn’t the first case ever seen nor would it be the last.” Was it a sentinel event?
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.
Joe Camel Was Forced Out Of Ads. So Why Is Juul Allowed On TV?
For nearly 50 years, cigarette advertising has been banned from TV and radio. But the marketing of electronic cigarettes isn’t constrained by that law.
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.
A Brush With A Notorious Cat, My Rabies Education And The Big Bill That Followed
An encounter with a cat led to rabies shots and provided yet another illustration of how confusing, contrary and expensive the American health care system is.
What The Trump Home Dialysis Plan Would Really Look Like
It takes more than an executive order to shift kidney disease patients from dialysis centers to home care. These patients show it takes discipline, skill, will and support.
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.
