Latest KFF Health News Stories
Anti-Poverty Advocates, Food Stamp Beneficiaries, Local Officials Brace For SNAP Cuts
The Trump administration is instituting a rule that could result in nearly 700,000 people across the country losing their food stamps. Those who rely on the benefits, those who administer them, and activists who try to protect vulnerable populations are expecting a grim fallout.
Hospitals and clinical practices face financial challenges because Medicaid only pays about half of what private insurers pay for childbirth-related services. New payment models like bundled or blended payments could address the higher morbidity and mortality rates for women on Medicaid, experts say. Meanwhile, a plan to encourage states to shift their Medicaid programs to block-grant systems is expected this week.
Modern Healthcare rounds up recent polls where voters were asked about health care concerns. One poll found that a whopping three-quarters of voters were concerned about being able to afford health care. In other election news: entitlement cuts, “Medicare for All,” and the opioid crisis.
Restauran algunos beneficios de Medi-Cal eliminados hace una década
Entre ellos está la podiatría y otros beneficios de salud para adultos como lentes y terapia del habla, así como exámenes del oído, dispositivos de audición y otros servicios.
Latest Patient Charity Settlement With Justice Department Becomes Fourth Such Deal In As Many Months
Federal authorities argued that drugmakers and charities created programs that favored specific medicines over lower-cost options.
Researchers talked to patients who had been restrained, and they characterize the experience as “traumatic as hell.” But emergency departments are more and more handling mental health patients in an over-stressed system, and there needs to be a way to control an agitated person. In other public health news: “doctor dogs,” in vitro fertilization, severe combined immunodeficiency disease, hospital grown recalls, and more.
On 75th Anniversary Of Auschwitz Liberation, Many Wonder If ‘Never Again’ Will Last Through The Ages
As the living memory of World War II and the Holocaust fades, the institutions created to guard against a repeat of such bloody conflicts, and such barbarism, are under increasing strain. “More and more we seem to be having trouble connecting our historical knowledge with our moral choices today,” said Piotr Cywinski, the director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. It was a solemn day as survivors and others marked the anniversary of the liberation.
To See What Google Has Set Its Sights On In Health Industry, Look At Companies Alphabet Has Acquired
What appears to unite Google and its parent company Alphabet’s acquisitions is a focus on massive data gathering and surveillance — both in people’s homes, using devices like speakers and smart thermostats, and on their bodies, using smartwatches.
Grocery Pharmacy Consolidations Forcing Mom-And-Pop Drugstores To Close
Smaller pharmacies can’t compete with the big chains, so they’re heading toward a status as relics. In other pharmaceutical news: Americans’ tough choice when insurers don’t cover a certain drug, hospitals create their own drugs, and a battle over a preterm birth drug.
Nearly a month after discovering the first cases, Chinese health officials have made little progress in stopping its spread. Experts say China’s skills in certain basic public-health tasks, such as outbreak investigations, are uneven. So what does all that mean for China’s investments in becoming a world leader in health? Meanwhile, Chinese scientists are testing an HIV drug to treat coronavirus symptoms. And media outlets take a look at the science behind the outbreak and response.
Quarantines of the level China instituted on the Hubei province lock in the sick and the healthy together, are nearly impossible to maintain, stress governmental resources, and sow a distrust with the government at a crucial point in the crisis. “This is just mind-boggling,” said University of Michigan medical historian Howard Markel. The death toll from the illness in China climbs to 80.
U.S. Coronavirus Count Has Ticked Up To 5, But Experts Say You Really Shouldn’t Be Panicking
The total number of confirmed cases in the United States now sits at five. But experts say it’s unlikely Americans are in any real danger right now. “Don’t panic unless you’re paid to panic,” said Brandon Brown, an epidemiologist. “Public health workers should be on the lookout. The government should be ready to provide resources. … But for everyone else: Breathe.”
President Donald Trump cemented his relationship with the anti-abortion movement when he became the first sitting president to speak in person at the annual March for Life last week. On the same day, his administration announced that it would give California 30 days to lift a requirement that insurers cover abortion or that federal funds would be cut off from the state. Gov. Gavin Newsom dismissed the threat.
First Edition: January 27, 2020
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Call For FDA To Withdraw Preterm Birth Drug Divides Doctors and Insurers
A study ordered by the Food and Drug Administration failed to prove that Makena, the only drug approved to prevent premature birth, is effective. While a panel of experts has recommended withdrawing the drug’s approval, many doctors are wary.
Medi-Cal Benefits Eliminated A Decade Ago, Such As Foot Care And Eyeglasses, Are Back
Budget cuts in 2009, sparked by the Great Recession, eliminated many needed health care services, like regular foot care for people with diabetes to minimize the risk of amputation. The restored benefits also include eyeglasses, speech therapy and hearing exams.
Listen: The Hidden Cost Of Health Systems Gobbling Up Rural Hospitals
Corporate health systems have been purchasing community hospitals, and that can have both positive and negative implications for patients in rural areas.
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.
Something Far Deadlier Than The Wuhan Virus Lurks Near You
There is a virus that has already sickened at least 13 million Americans this winter, hospitalizing 120,000 and killing 6,600 people. You may even know of it.
Opinion writers tackle these and other health issues.