Latest KFF Health News Stories
First Edition: November 5, 2019
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
As Congress Works To Curb Surprise Medical Bills, N.Y.’s Fix Gets Examined
A USC-Brookings analysis finds that the New York plan to resolve disputes between providers and insurers without leaving patients on the hook might actually be driving up costs in the system.
FDA Keeps Brand-Name Drugs On A Fast Path To Market ― Despite Manufacturing Concerns
The agency approved Gilead’s “game changer” hepatitis C cure, bypassing concerns raised by its own federal inspectors.
Record Number Of Legionnaires’ Cases In 2018 Risk Lives, Cause Cleanup Headaches
Legionnaires’ disease cases hit an all-time high in 2018, with eight times more cases than 20 years ago. Even though many facilities in Missouri and elsewhere have water management plans in place to deal with the potentially deadly disease, they are still finding the underlying bacteria that causes it in their water.
Fumar vs vapear. Investigadora dice que no es una comparación correcta
Los productos para vapear exponen a los consumidores a productos químicos de una manera fundamentalmente diferente, dice experta.
Warren’s Plan On ‘Medicare For All’ Could Raise Concerns Among Health Providers
KHN’s Julie Rovner was featured on NPR’s “Weekend Edition” and MSNBC’s “Kasie DC” show over the weekend to talk about Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren’s plan to fund “Medicare for All.”
As UVA Scales Back Lawsuits, Pain For Past Patients Persists
Patients were thrilled last month when UVA announced it would scale back lawsuits and provide more financial assistance, but the excitement has waned.
Una sola carta sin entregar puede implicar perder Medicaid
Medicaid y otros programas de beneficios públicos han evitado el camino hacia la comunicación digital y continúan operando en gran medida en un mundo basado en papel.
Opinion writers weigh in on these health issues and others.
Editorial pages focus on the plan Elizabeth Warren released on funding “Medicare For All”.
Media outlets report on news from Massachusetts, California, Illinois, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Kansas, Louisiana, Idaho, and Iowa.
Ilana Yurkiewicz, a physician and medical journalist at Stanford University, explains why CAR-T is only used in patients with certain cancers and tries to answer why they haven’t yet been shown to work against solid tumors in an UnDark article. Public health news is on breast cancer tests, fecal matter transplants, Zantac recalls, white male life expectancy, skin rashes, growing up with HIV, a retracted HIV study, live-streaming a mammogram, and how to get a good night’s sleep, as well.
The administrators of Lauren Bard’s health plan assured her three days after the early birth of her daughter that the baby was covered. But she didn’t realize she would need to be enrolled through the website within 31 days of the birth.
Despite Court Ruling, CMS To Move Forward With Site-Neutral Payments For Doctor’s Visits
Under the policy, doctors would be paid the same amount for a basic visit whether it takes place in a hospital outpatient facility or a regular doctors’ office. Earlier this year, a court found that the proposal exceeds the administration’s authority.
The first part of the commission’s report to Florida lawmakers in January called for improvements to school safety. Friday’s report zeroed in on Florida’s rank among the lowest of any state in per-capita mental health funding.
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) defended the state’s health department’s tracking spreadsheet, saying that kind of information has been filed to the state for decades and is done to regulate patients’ safety. “Lawmakers that don’t know that should probably take a good look at the laws in the state of Missouri,” Parson said. The revelation that the state logs women’s periods came from a trial over Missouri’s last-remaining abortion clinic.
Food safety experts fault the CDC and FDA for not notifying the public during the outbreak in September. The FDA says its data indicated the tainted produce was no longer on shelves by the time romaine was identified as the likely culprit. No one died.
The Difficult, Rewarding Work Of Feeding America’s School Kids
The Washington Post goes beyond the politics of how to feed America’s hungry kids and asks schools not only how they’re accomplishing the task but what is actually going on kids’ plates. Meanwhile, a proposed food stamp rule could impact free lunches for some children.
Google Jumps Into Fitness Tracking Business With $2.1B Fitbit Acquisition
The entry into the crowded field marks the latest effort by tech giants to secure a piece of the lucrative wearables marketplace.
Proposed Rule From HHS Would Allow Foster Care, Adoption Agencies To Deny Services To LGBTQ Families
The rule would roll back an anti-discrimination policy put into place by former President Barack Obama.