Latest KFF Health News Content

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Maryland Awarded $3.6M In Federal Funding To Address Opioid Use Among Pregnant People, New Mothers

Morning Briefing

According to CMS, which awarded the grant, the “Maternal Opioid Model” is a national initiative that looks to support “the coordination of clinical care and the integration of other services critical for health, wellbeing, and recovery.”

Questions Remain About Marijuana-Cased Psychosis Among Teens, But One Thing’s Very Clear: Treatment Severely Lags Behind Need

Morning Briefing

Advocates say the number of substance abuse programs serving teens afflicted by problems brought on by marijuana is insufficient to deal with the growing problem. Other public health news reports on the benefits of complaining, research on female athletes and dementia, a mysterious pneumonia in Asia, alcohol’s effect on AFib, the best milk for children, aging well, detecting cancer early, HIV outreach at church, new calorie labeling, and brain trauma studies.

California Lawmakers Introduce Vaping Bill That Would Go Far Beyond Trump Administration’s Efforts

Morning Briefing

The proposed California ban would prohibit flavored products not covered by the federal ban, including menthol-flavored cartridges and refillable, tank-based vaping systems that can be filled with flavored chemicals.

AI Helps Brain Surgeons Quickly Assess Tissue Samples While Patient Is Still On The Table

Morning Briefing

It’s standard practice to analyze the samples while the patient is still under, but new artificial intelligence helps brain surgeons do so in two to three minutes rather than the half-hour it used to take. In addition to speeding up the process, the new technique can also detect some details that traditional methods may miss.

Complications During Birth Are Driving Up Hospital Costs And Prevention Could Be Key To Reining In Spending

Morning Briefing

Screening women when they present to the hospital for conditions that make them vulnerable to complications such as substance abuse disorder or obesity could avoid issues during labor, experts say. Hospital news comes out of Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Missouri, Georgia, and Michigan.

VA Could Provide Drug-Buying Model That Helps Patients Stick With Taking Doses, Reduces Racial Disparities

Morning Briefing

The VA model involves a combination of regulation, negotiation, and a national formulary. The combined effect makes it possible for veterans to obtain medicines with either a low or, in some cases, no copayment. In other pharmaceutical news: “guided-missile” cancer treatments, psychedelic mushrooms, and distribution permits.

Bundled Payments Fall Short Of Expectations In Cutting Spending, Improving Quality

Morning Briefing

The federal government, hospitals and physicians have been gravitating toward bundled payments, but new studies challenge the belief that they help achieve cost savings. Meanwhile, CMS is proposing changes to Medicare Advantage payments for 2021, including an increase in the percentage of patient “encounter data” used to calculate payments.

EPA To Tighten Restrictions On Pollution From Heavy Duty Trucks In An Uncharacteristic Move From Agency

Morning Briefing

The regulations would address a pollutant that’s linked to heart and lung disease. Health and environment groups are skeptical of the new rules, worrying that they could stymie even tighter restrictions that are expected out of California.

Government To Start Collecting DNA From Detained Immigrants As Part Of Controversial Pilot Program

Morning Briefing

The information would go into a massive criminal database run by the FBI, where it would be held indefinitely. The administration’s efforts have elicited withering criticism from advocates who believe the government shouldn’t obtain such sensitive information from people who aren’t linked to serious crimes.

Massachusetts’ Third Busiest Abortion Clinic Fighting For Survival Even In Progressive State

Morning Briefing

The battle for the Brookline, Massachusetts clinic’s doors to stay open reveals a larger struggle across the country, where facilities are facing financial issues even in blue states. Abortion news comes out of Ohio and Wyoming, as well.

HHS Taps Entrepreneur Brad Smith To Lead CMS Innovation Center

Morning Briefing

The position leading the agency’s Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation largely focuses on driving value-based care transformation across the country, Brad Smith says. CMS Administrator Seema Verma praised Smith as an “outside-the-box” thinker who will “help us build on the important work the Trump administration has undertaken to transform our healthcare system to deliver better value to patients.”

Even In First Year Without Individual Mandate, Health Law Marketplaces Were Stable And Profitable, Analysis Finds

Morning Briefing

A key measure of insurers’ financial strength — the percentage of premiums insurers collect that they pay back out in spending on claims — remained relatively strong. Experts say these numbers demonstrate resiliency within the marketplaces despite political turmoil surrounding the health law. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court set a Friday deadline for the Trump administration to respond to Democrats’ request to expedite the health law case.

Lawmakers Face Ever-Narrowing Window To Work On Big-Ticket Health Issues Before 2020 Election Politics Kick In

Morning Briefing

Two big issues — addressing surprise medical bills and high drug prices — have the chance to draw bipartisan deals even in this divided Congress. But as the 2020 election season ramps up into high gear, neither side wants the other to be able to claim a victory. “If we couldn’t come to a consensus in 2019, it’s hard to imagine for 2020,” Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.) told Politico.

In Massachusetts, Minors Need Permission For Abortion, But That Could Change

KFF Health News Original

A parental consent requirement for minors who seek abortions is still on the books in left-leaning Massachusetts, as well as about two dozen other states. But a proposed Massachusetts law seeks to repeal that consent requirement and shore up the right to abortion in case the Supreme Court strikes down the federal right to the procedure.

Fecal Bacteria In California’s Waterways Increases With Homeless Crisis

KFF Health News Original

Some of California’s most prized rivers, bays, beaches and streams are contaminated with levels of fecal bacteria that exceed state limits, threatening human health. While aging sewage infrastructure is largely to blame, homeless encampments are also a probable source of contamination.