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Poll Finds 9% Say a Family Member or Close Friend Died of an Overdose; 27% Say Either They or Someone Close to Them Has Been Addicted On the ACA This Month, 45 Percent View the Law Unfavorably and 38 Percent View It Favorably With prescription painkiller abuse garnering more attention from the media and policymakers,…
As the problem of prescription painkiller abuse has captured greater attention from policymakers and the media, the November Kaiser Health Tracking Poll explores the public’s connection to and knowledge of the issue, as well as their views of how to address it. A surprising 56 percent of the public say they have some personal connection to the issue – either because they say they know someone who has taken a prescription painkiller that wasn’t prescribed to them, know someone who has been addicted, or know someone who has died from a prescription painkiller overdose. While views of the health care law have been narrowly divided for much of the year, this month more say they have an unfavorable view of the law than a favorable one. The poll also includes views of the uninsured during the third open enrollment period under the health care law.
A new Kaiser Family Foundation analysis finds government agencies so far report spending approximately $1.9 billion in funding to respond to the Ebola outbreak internationally. The majority of this spending was by USAID (49%), followed by the Department of Defense (33%), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (18%). The U.S. government enacted $5.
The health policy stories included in this month’s Kaiser Health Policy News Index were followed closely by about 4 in 10 Americans. Of the stories asked about this month, the one that garnered the most attention was coverage of the white police officer charged with the murder of an unarmed black man in South Carolina. Over half report closely following other stories, including the Germanwings plane crash in the French Alps, a new religious freedom law in Indiana that allows business owners to refuse service to gay customers, negotiations over Iran’s Nuclear Program, and a terrorist attack by Islamic militants at a university in Kenya. The only non-health story to receive less attention than the health stories this month was coverage of the Congressional Republican budget proposals, followed closely by just over a third of the public.
Those Following Measles Story More Likely To Say They Worry About the DiseaseThe public paid more attention to news coverage of the measles outbreak in the U.S. and the resulting debate on whether vaccinations should be required for all kids than any other news story included in this month's Kaiser Health Policy News Index.
The public paid more attention to news coverage of the measles outbreak in the U.S. and the resulting debate on whether vaccinations should be required for all kids than any other news story included in this month's Kaiser Health Policy News Index. Nearly half correctly identified that the number of confirmed measles cases in the U.S. since the outbreak began late last year is closer to 100, and most say they are not too or not at all worried about the measles outbreak.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently declared a public health emergency due to the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa, which has accounted for over 13,000 reported cases and 4,800 deaths. Some imported and locally acquired cases in health care workers have also been reported in the United States.
In this column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman discusses the Christie, Cuomo rift with the federal government over Ebola public health measures and the need for uniform national policies to ease the public’s fears.
Ebola virus has a unique set of characteristics that determine how and why its spreads, and how deadly it can be. To better understand Ebola, a new Kaiser Family Foundation infographic compares it to twelve other infectious diseases that continue to represent public health challenges today and offers five key takeaways about the disease.
In his latest column for The Wall Street Journal’s Think Tank, Drew Altman releases new Foundation polling data on the public’s confidence in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and local health authorities amid the response to Ebola in the
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