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KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Kansas makes a statement

Voters in Kansas told the rest of the country this week that they don't want their state to ban abortion. In a nearly 60%-40% split, voters turned back an effort by anti-abortion activists to amend the state constitution to remove its right to abortion, which would have allowed the legislature to ban the procedure.

4 Aug 2022

Music festivals embrace overdose reversal drugs, but fentanyl testing kits remain taboo

A 26-year-old was found dead at his campsite during the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in 2019. The toxicology report linked his death to a grim trend that has only worsened since.

3 Aug 2022

Administering low-dose buprenorphine intravenously may be a quick way to treat patients with substance use disorders

Overdose deaths involving opioids continue to be a major public health crisis, killing 1,280 people in Baltimore City in 2020, according to the Maryland Department of Health. Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers have developed a new way to treat patients with substance use disorders intravenously by administering small doses of buprenorphine, a prescription drug used to treat opioid use disorder.

1 Aug 2022

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Drug price bill is a go in the Senate

President Joe Biden is the latest top Washington official to test positive for covid-19, following Vice President Kamala Harris, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. But work continues, particularly on a Senate bill that could, for the first time, allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices and cap seniors' out-of-pocket medication costs.

21 Jul 2022

Listen: Why medical debt touches every corner of America

KHN's Noam N. Levey talks with Sasha-Ann Simons of WBEZ about America’s sprawling medical debt crisis.

15 Jul 2022

West Health issues statement on reports that Senate Democrats will lower prescription drug prices through reconciliation bill

West Health Chief Executive Officer Shelley Lyford issued the following statement on reports that Senate Democrats have reached agreement to move forward on a reconciliation bill that includes major provisions to lower prescription drug prices.

2 Jul 2022

Kratom: A dangerous or beneficial plant?

A new study summarizes the traditional and modern uses of kratom, as well as its pharmacology, benefits, and adverse health impacts.

23 Jun 2022

Lawmaker takes on insurance companies and gets personal about his health

Scott Wiener made a startling revelation at a spring legislative committee hearing: "I was in the hospital. I experienced the most intense abdominal pain that I could even imagine."

9 Jun 2022

California wants to slash insulin prices by becoming a drugmaker. Can it succeed?

California is diving into the prescription drug business, attempting to achieve what no other state has done: produce its own brand of generic insulin and sell it at below-market prices to people with diabetes like Sabrina Caudillo.

7 Jun 2022

Pandemic-era changes to prescribing opioid use disorder treatment improved treatment outcomes

Pandemic-era changes to prescribing guidelines for the lifesaving drug buprenorphine led to improved treatment outcomes for patients with opioid use disorder in Philadelphia, according to a recently published study in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports from researchers at Drexel University's Dornsife School of Public Health.

3 Jun 2022

A multi-pronged effort needed to ensure all patients with obesity get better care

When a person with diabetes, high blood pressure, or osteoarthritis goes to their primary care clinic, they expect treatment that's grounded in modern medical evidence.

31 May 2022

Study estimates $1.8 billion in Medicare spending on drugs with accelerated approval

The U.S. federal government spent an estimated $1.8 billion in Medicare funds in 2019 on drugs whose clinical benefits have yet to be confirmed by the Food and Drug Administration, a new study led by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health suggests.

24 May 2022

Study highlights the economic burden affecting individuals with sickle cell disease

In a study published today in Blood Advances, researchers found that privately insured individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD) spend approximately $1.7 million on disease-related medical expenses over their lifetime.

16 May 2022

Medicare surprise: Drug plan prices touted during open enrollment can rise within a month

Something strange happened between the time Linda Griffith signed up for a new Medicare prescription drug plan during last fall's enrollment period and when she tried to fill her first prescription in January.

3 May 2022

US Rep. Gaetz’s diagnosis of what’s driving insulin costs misses the root cause

At the end of March, after the House passed a bill that would cap the cost of insulin at $35 per month for insured consumers, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) tweeted about why he voted against the legislation.

22 Apr 2022

Cancer survivors facing medical financial hardship have higher mortality risk

New findings from a large national study led by researchers at the American Cancer Society (ACS) show cancer survivors in the United States who reported medical financial hardship had a higher mortality risk than cancer survivors without financial hardship.

20 Apr 2022

UK experts share their work in the field of opioid use disorder research at 2022 Rx Summit

University of Kentucky experts on the front lines of the nation's opioid and addiction crises will share their work in the field of opioid use disorder research, treatment and prevention this week at the 2022 Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit in Atlanta April 18-22.

19 Apr 2022

Legalization of recreational marijuana lessens demand for costly prescription drugs

Legalization of recreational marijuana reduces demand for costly prescription drugs through state Medicaid programs, according to an analysis by a Cornell researcher and a collaborator.

18 Apr 2022

How a former Catholic priest is navigating a California Medicaid plan through big changes

For Michael Hunn, the path from priesthood to health care was seamless.

14 Apr 2022

Tobacco use increased in smokers trying to quit during COVID-19, study finds

While smoking rates have declined dramatically in the United States, there are still 35 million smokers. There are few data about whether, and if so, how current cigarette smoking habits among those trying to quit are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

11 Apr 2022