WinnDems News

It’s the final days of the 2024 campaign, and Republicans are suddenly talking again about making changes to the Affordable Care Act if former President Donald Trump wins. Meanwhile, new reporting uncovers more maternal deaths under state abortion bans — and a case in which a Nevada woman was jailed after a miscarriage. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call join KFF Health News’ Emmarie Huetteman to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner interviews Irving Washington, a senior vice president at KFF and the executive director of its Health Misinformation and Trust Initiative. http://dlvr.it/TFx2JN

Conservative groups are working to undermine support for Montana’s Medicaid expansion ahead of a political fight over whether to keep the program. http://dlvr.it/TFvyH8

California voters will decide in November whether to approve a $10 billion climate bond that supporters say is needed to jump-start water system repairs for residents without safe drinking water. Opponents say those repairs should be prioritized in the state budget, not put on a credit card. http://dlvr.it/TFvy3D

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a settlement with Beverly Hills after finding city officials pressured the landlord to cancel DuPont Clinic’s lease. It’s the state’s first enforcement action under Proposition 1, which enshrined abortion rights in the state constitution. http://dlvr.it/TFvxmr

For snakebite victims, antivenom is critical — and costly. It took more than $200,000 worth of antivenom to save one toddler’s life after he was bitten by a rattlesnake. http://dlvr.it/TFszhr

The company faces more than 2,000 lawsuits alleging it sold defective knee and hip implants. http://dlvr.it/TFs7YG

Nineteen states are seeking to stall a Biden administration rule that would allow recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to enroll in ACA coverage and qualify for subsidies. DACA provides work authorization and temporary deportation protection to people brought to the U.S. as children without immigration paperwork. http://dlvr.it/TFr9J2

Experts disputed the claim by Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance, noting that a range of other issues — from low reimbursement rates to declining patient use — combine to cause these facilities to shutter. http://dlvr.it/TFr4Kd

In this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” host Dan Weissmann sits down with KFF Health News’ Cara Anthony to talk about the documentary and podcast series she produced about the impact of a 1942 lynching and a 2020 police killing on a rural Missouri community. The project is called “Silence in Sikeston.” http://dlvr.it/TFr45P

The United States has made almost no progress in closing racial health disparities despite promises, research shows. The government, some critics argue, is often the underlying culprit. http://dlvr.it/TFpCNd

Laborers have suffered in extreme heat triggered by climate change. Deaths aren’t inevitable, researchers say: Employers can save lives by providing ample water and breaks. http://dlvr.it/TFpC5s

Toby Ewing, executive director of California’s Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, is resigning amid an investigation into his conduct and revelations that he traveled to the U.K. courtesy of a vendor as he sought to protect state funding for its contract. http://dlvr.it/TFjtHB

The outcome of the upcoming presidential election could affect the number of insured Americans, the fate of premium-reducing subsidies, the shape of Medicaid, and the cost of coverage for tens of millions of people. http://dlvr.it/TFjdMj

Emails show how health officials struggle to track the bird flu, partly in deference to the agricultural industry. As a result, researchers don’t know how often farmworkers are being infected — and could miss alarming signals. http://dlvr.it/TFjd41

With Election Day rapidly approaching, abortion is gaining traction as a voting issue, according to public opinion polls. Meanwhile, states with abortion bans are reviving the lawsuit — dismissed by the Supreme Court on a technicality this year — that could roll back the availability of the abortion pill mifepristone. Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Stat, and Victoria Knight of Axios join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Tricia Neuman, senior vice president of KFF and executive director of its Program on Medicare Policy, about Medicare open enrollment and the changes to the federal program for 2025. http://dlvr.it/TFhcHy

Health care hasn’t figured prominently on the campaign trail this fall. These voters wish it would. http://dlvr.it/TFgcbn

The director of a California state mental health agency traveled to the U.K. courtesy of Kooth, a digital mental health company with a $271 million contract to build a therapy app for the state’s youth. Weeks earlier, he pressed key legislative staffers to restore a proposed cut to Kooth’s funding. http://dlvr.it/TFg1bG

Clinicians and researchers are searching for answers to whether an incidental finding on breast X-rays could improve the detection of cardiovascular disease risk among women. http://dlvr.it/TFdg6P

The Right to Reproductive Freedom amendment would enshrine in the state constitution a right “to make and effectuate decisions to prevent, continue, or end one's own pregnancy.” http://dlvr.it/TFdfqd

Amid what has been called the fourth wave of the opioid epidemic, doctors and researchers are walking back medication-heavy methods of treating babies born experiencing opioid withdrawal symptoms, replacing the regimen with the simplest care: parenting. http://dlvr.it/TFbgN8

KFF Health News Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony talks about how racism affects health on Nine PBS’ “Listen, St. Louis with Carol Daniel,” stemming from her reporting for the “Silence in Sikeston” multimedia project, on the impact of a 1942 lynching and a 2020 police killing on a rural Missouri community. http://dlvr.it/TFYkP8

Every year, Medicare officials encourage beneficiaries to shop around for their drug coverage. Few take the time. This year, it might be more important than ever. http://dlvr.it/TFYk91

This legislative cycle, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed bills affirming reproductive rights and mandating insurance coverage of in vitro fertilization, but the Democrat was reluctant to impose new regulations and frequently cited costs for vetoing bills. http://dlvr.it/TFT5cJ

Flooding wrought by Hurricane Helene devastated communities around Asheville, North Carolina. A host of government programs are helping restore water, food, and medicine. http://dlvr.it/TFT5ML

A Massachusetts woman ended up stranded in the hospital because CVS stopped providing the IV nutrition she needs to survive at home. Without it, she’d starve. http://dlvr.it/TFT5Bl

The Affordable Care Act has not been a major issue in the 2024 campaign, but abortion and reproductive rights have been front and center. Those are just two of the dozens of health issues that could be profoundly affected by who is elected president and which party controls Congress in 2025. In this special live episode, Tamara Keith of NPR, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Cynthia Cox and Ashley Kirzinger of KFF join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss how health policy has affected the campaign and how the election results might affect health policy. Plus, the panel answers questions from the live audience. http://dlvr.it/TFSBrD

Uber and Lyft have become a critical part of the nation’s infrastructure for transporting ailing people from their homes — even in rural areas — to medical care sites in major cities such as Atlanta. http://dlvr.it/TFR58f

Eight months after the Feb. 14 shooting, people wounded at the Kansas City Chiefs parade are wary of more gun violence. In this installment of “The Injured,” survivors of the shooting say they feel gun violence is inescapable and are desperately seeking a sense of safety. http://dlvr.it/TFR4yy

Small-town doctors may not offer IUDs and hormonal implants because the devices require training to administer and are expensive to stock. http://dlvr.it/TFP6vZ

The Biden administration has taken significant steps to address a problem that burdens 100 million people in America, but gains would be jeopardized by a Trump win, advocates say. http://dlvr.it/TFP6dT

In a health care system that assumes older adults have family caregivers to help them, those facing dementia by themselves often fall through the cracks. http://dlvr.it/TFM6KJ

California legislators for years have granted extensions on a 1994 law requiring hospitals to retrofit their buildings to withstand earthquakes. Gov. Gavin Newsom in September vetoed an extension for all hospitals but signed a bill granting relief to rural and “distressed” hospitals and some others. http://dlvr.it/TFM64V

Extended-stay hotels are often a last resort for low-income families trying to avoid homelessness. But hotel living can lead to — or exacerbate — various physical and mental health issues for children, say advocates for families and researchers who study homelessness. http://dlvr.it/TFDcSg

A KFF survey found significant shifts among women voters since late spring — all in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris. http://dlvr.it/TFDcCG

KFF Health News' Céline Gounder shares advice on how to prepare before a hurricane. http://dlvr.it/TFCZLZ

As part of her presidential campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris has rolled out a plan for Medicare to provide in-home long-term care services. The proposal would fill a longtime need for families trying to simultaneously care for young children and older parents, but its enormous price tag makes it a promise unlikely to be fulfilled. Meanwhile, a growing number of Republican candidates up and down the ballot facing voter backlash over their support for abortion restrictions are trying to reinvent their positions. Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call, and Joanne Kenen of Johns Hopkins University and Politico join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, excerpts from a KFF lunch with “Shark Tank” panelist and generic drug discounter Mark Cuban, who has been consulting with the Harris campaign about health care issues. http://dlvr.it/TFCWcf

KFF Health News Midwest correspondent Cara Anthony discusses her reporting for the “Silence in Sikeston” multimedia project, which explores the impact of a 1942 lynching and a 2020 police killing on a rural Missouri community — and what it led her to learn about her own family’s past. http://dlvr.it/TFBY1N

Poppy seeds contaminated with opioids can be used to make a deadly brew, a watchdog says. http://dlvr.it/TF8S1b

Facing a dire shortage of bilingual and culturally attuned therapists, an Oakland, California, community clinic serving Asian immigrants has trained staffers in a victim support unit to provide lay counseling. http://dlvr.it/TF8Rmq

The Big Three pharmacy benefit managers say they return nearly all the rebates they get from drugmakers to the employers and insurers who hire them. But most employers seem to doubt that. http://dlvr.it/TF8RVL

An extra $99 fee on top of a copay for a checkup didn’t sit right with a listener. Turns out, state legislators across the country aren’t buying it either. http://dlvr.it/TF8RGf

This year’s start date in most states is Nov. 1, and consumers may encounter new scams as well as important rule changes. http://dlvr.it/TF6HcK

In the finale of “Silence in Sikeston,” Black residents organize a Juneteenth barbecue. The Department of Public Safety chief encourages officers to attend to build trust. But improving relations between Sikeston’s Black community and the police won’t be easy. Host Cara Anthony discusses the possibility of institutional change in Sikeston. http://dlvr.it/TF6HLp

In red and blue states, state lawmakers from both parties are expanding protections for patients burdened by medical debt. http://dlvr.it/TF4LYG

For decades, the pulse oximeters used in hospitals, ambulances, and homes have underestimated the oxygen needs of darker-skinned patients. The FDA is preparing guidelines to fix that. But will the new rules go far enough? http://dlvr.it/TF4LJW

In California, where abortion rights are guaranteed, there’s a loophole. The growth of Catholic hospital systems, which restrict reproductive health care, has left patients with no other option for care. That will be the case for pregnant women in Northern California, with a hospital set to close its birth center. http://dlvr.it/TF4L2P

The 2024 presidential race is taking on a familiar tone — with Democrats accusing Republicans of wanting to ban abortion and repeal the Affordable Care Act and Republicans insisting they have no such plans. Voters will determine whom they believe. Meanwhile, for the second time in a month, a state judge overturned an abortion ban, but few expect the decision to settle the matter. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Anna Edney of Bloomberg News join KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Lauren Sausser, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-Washington Post “Bill of the Month,” about a teenage athlete whose needed surgery lacked a billing code. http://dlvr.it/TF0hL6

Former President Donald Trump has presided over a landslide shift in Republican views on vaccines, reflected in false claims by candidates in election primaries, puzzling conspiracies from prominent conservatives, and a surge in anti-vaccine policies in statehouses. http://dlvr.it/TDzdTd

New data from the CDC shows covid vaccination during pregnancy is key to protecting vulnerable newborns from the virus. http://dlvr.it/TDzdFL

A famed breast cancer surgeon has created a California alternative to a major Texas event. Yet many doctors believe boycotting medical conferences in states that criminalize abortion accomplishes nothing and can be harmful. http://dlvr.it/TDxcx6