Latest KFF Health News Stories
Researchers in China have “initially identified” the new virus, a coronavirus, as the pathogen behind a mysterious, pneumonia-like illness that has sickened 59 people in the city of Wuhan. It doesn’t appear to be spreading within humans rapidly, but scientists in the region are cautious even 17 years after the SARS outbreak.
Apart from prescription drug struggles, for the first time, Walgreens executives also seemed to acknowledge fallout from the acquisition of health insurer Aetna by rival CVS Health Corp. Other pharmaceutical news focuses on congressional drug pricing efforts, the ghosts of J.P. Morgan’s past, and a look ahead to 2020.
Appeals Court Rejects Trump Administration’s Bid To Implement ‘Public Charge’ Immigration Policy
The “public charge” rule would potentially deny green cards to immigrants over their use of public benefits including Medicaid. Two other injunctions against the rule have been lifted by other courts, leaving this decision by a federal appeals court in New York as the only nationwide bar to the Trump administration putting the new rule into practice.
The ministries promotes cheaper options than health plans offered under the ACA, but the groups don’t guarantee that they’ll actually cover the cost of medical bills when the need arises. As such alternatives gain in popularity, some states are starting to take a closer look.
First Edition: January 9, 2020
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
The method of finding the most expensive, hard-to-treat patients and better coordinating their care was touted as a popular idea for containing health care costs. A new study offers a harsh reality check on the benefits of such a strategy though. The surprising lack of results offers a cautionary tale about how difficult it is to improve patients’ care and reduce costs.
‘An Arm And A Leg’: Watch Your Back — And Your Wallet
Cathryn Jakobson Ramin, author of the book “Crooked,” says chronic low back pain is not a medical condition. Nonetheless, that complaint sends millions of Americans down a path of expensive imaging tests, ongoing therapies and invasive surgery — all with limited effectiveness for many patients. In a conversation with “An Arm and a Leg” podcast host Dan Weissmann, Ramin shares her journey of back pain and recovery.
Reduce Health Costs By Nurturing The Sickest? A Much-Touted Idea Disappoints
Nearly a decade ago, Dr. Jeffrey Brenner and his Camden Coalition appeared to have an answer to remake American health care: Treat the sickest and most expensive patients. But a rigorous study in the New England Journal of Medicine shows the approach doesn’t save money. “We built a brilliant intervention to navigate people to nowhere,” Brenner tells the “Tradeoffs” podcast.
Listen: A Renewed Focus On Health Care In 2020
KHN’s Julie Rovner joins Stephen Henderson of “Detroit Today” on WDET, an NPR station, to talk about the pivotal role of health care issues in the 2020 presidential campaign.
Opinion writers weigh in on ways to lower health care costs and other health issues.
Under the terms of the settlement, each woman who saw Dr. George Tyndall during his time at USC would be guaranteed a $2,500 payment, whether or not she had alleged abuse. Women who allege the worst abuse and would be willing to be screened by a psychologist could be eligible for payments of up to $250,000.
Video surveillance recorded Samuel James Gulick standing on the porch of the Planned Parenthood building and spray-painting in red letters the Crusader slogan “Deus vult” (God wills it).
Media outlets report on news from Illinois, Mississippi, Texas, Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Indiana, California, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri, Florida, Texas and Iowa.
Sweeping ‘Reassuring’ Study Concludes There’s No Strong Link Between Baby Powder And Ovarian Cancer
These kinds of observational studies cannot determine cause and effect, but a more rigorous study isn’t likely to be done. “This represents the best data we have on the topic,” said the study’s lead author Katie O’Brien. The researchers did find hints of a potentially small increased risk for cancer for women who had never had a hysterectomy or fallopian tube-tying surgery.
Can Darwin’s Theory Of Evolution Better Help Scientists Battle Ever-Mutating Cancer Cells?
The cutting-edge strategy seeks to reduce the treatable cancer cells, stop treatment, and wait for those cells to grow back before treating them again, recognizing that cancer cells are always evolving to fit their environment. In other public health news: a cancer moonshot, the emerging virus in China, how to pack for hospital stays, male infertility, processed food and obesity, dementia, and more.
Earthquake Batters A Puerto Rico That Has Yet To Recover From Hurricane Maria’s Bruising
Gov. Wanda Vazquez has declared a state of emergency following a 6.4 earthquake that hit Puerto Rico on Tuesday. The island has been struggling to recover since Hurricanes Irma and Maria wreaked havoc back in 2017.
“The pharmacist is not supposed to be second guessing the medical necessity of the doctor’s prescription,” said Timothy Johnson, an attorney for Discount Drug Mart. Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, Walmart and others who have found themselves in the cross hairs over who was responsible for curbing the opioid crisis filed their own suit against providers.
The practice of treating a defendant with no up front cost with the promise of getting paid once the suit settles. For some, that can mean a windfall of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
FEMA Details U.S.’ Vulnerability To Natural Disasters, Terrorism’ In Annual Report
Advocates decried the annual National Preparedness Report because it didn’t mention climate change, which experts say exacerbated the deadly wildfires and storms of recent years. Other administration news focuses on water pollution and a case against the “public benefits” immigration rule.
“Just because you’ve been in jail for a short period of time, that shouldn’t automatically knock you off the [Medicaid] rolls,” said David Davis, the Democratic sheriff of Bibb County, Georgia. “You then have to go through enrollment all over again.” The disruption in enrollment can often negatively effect an already vulnerable population of people. Other Medicaid news comes from Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Georgia, California and the South.