Latest KFF Health News Stories
Rep. Elijah Cummings Dies At 68 Due To Complications From Longstanding Health Challenges
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), who has been in politics for decades, used his seat to highlight the struggles and needs of the inner-city residents he represented.
The class-action lawsuit accused Sutter Health of using its dominance in the region to corral insurers so that patients could not go elsewhere for less expensive or higher quality care. Health care costs in Northern California, where Sutter is dominant, are 20% to 30% higher than in Southern California.
First Edition: October 17, 2019
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
California To Provide Financial Boost To Help Buy Health Coverage
Come Jan. 1, California will be the first state to offer financial aid to middle-class people who make too much money to qualify for federal Obamacare tax credits. And Californians will once again owe a penalty if they are uninsured.
‘Fear Of Falling’: How Hospitals Do Even More Harm By Keeping Patients In Bed
In what experts call an “epidemic of immobility,” older hospital patients remain stuck in bed, their movements tracked by loud and ineffective bed alarms, losing muscle mass that’s key to their health and daily functioning.
California ayudará a la clase media a comprar cobertura de salud
Muchas personas de clase media han tenido dificultades para pagar un seguro de salud, asumiendo el costo total de las primas que pueden superar los $1,000 al mes.
Refereeing Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren On Public Support For ‘Medicare For All’
Polling supports Buttigieg’s claim.
Surprise Settlement In Sutter Health Antitrust Case
Sutter Health has reached a tentative settlement in an antitrust suit brought by the California Attorney General’s Office. Details have not been made public.
Opinion writers weigh in on these public health issues and others.
Editorial writers focus on policies impacting rising health care costs.
Media outlets report on news from Florida, Missouri, Virginia, Maryland, Georgia, California, Pennsylvania, and Washington.
Gregory Rodriguez is one of the lucky ones, he tells The New York Times. Twenty-nine people, mostly young males, have died from vaping. Other news reports on declining national sales, as well as efforts underway in Michigan, Oregon, Ohio and Missouri to regulate or ban sales.
Amid All The Buzzy Health Trends, What’s A Scam And What’s Worth Paying Attention To?
The New York Times looks at trends like CBD oil and turmeric to break down the claims, the benefits, and the harm of trying them out (which sometimes is none!). In other public health news: magic mushrooms, DNA, aging, exercise and cancer, and more.
Federal Judge Vacates Obama-Era Rule Banning Discrimination Against Transgender Patients
Judge Reed O’Connor for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas is the same federal judge who last year ruled that the entire 2010 health care law was invalid. The decision is likely to be appealed, as O’Connor also ruled that the American Civil Liberties Union and River City Gender Alliance could intervene in the case.
Indian Health Service hospitals have severely struggled with providing their Native American patients any kind of quality care. Now, those patients want to run their own system. But the task will likely prove daunting.
The debate took place in Ohio, a state that’s been hit hard by the opioid epidemic. The candidates were asked about their stance on the issue ahead of a nationwide trial that is set to kick off in the state next week.
A Kansas Judge With No Law Degree Holds The Futures Of City Residents With Medical Debt In His Hands
In the midst of a soaring crisis over health care costs, the debt collection court in Coffeyville, Kansas is emblematic of a larger problem that’s been getting national attention. Providers, like hospitals, are suing some of the sickest clients, who are losing everything they own because they needed care. In other industry and insurance news: stocks, Amazon employees’ coverage, antitrust suits, and more.
McKesson, AmerisourceBergen, and Cardinal Health would collectively pay $18 billion over 18 years. Johnson & Johnson is also involved in the deal negotiations and could contribute additional money. The distributors are among the companies slated to go to trial Monday in federal court in Cleveland in the cases of two Ohio counties that have been chosen to serve as a bellwether for the broader litigation.
Study Lays Out Paths Toward Universal Coverage That Don’t Hinge On A Revamp To A Single-Payer System
The Urban Institute researchers evaluated six different levels of change that would build on the groundwork laid by the ACA.The options include two that they say could achieve universal health coverage. Both rely heavily on boosting subsidies.
Following the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, Rep. Beto O’Rourke has prioritized gun violence in his messaging, vocally supporting a mandatory buy-back program. South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg accused O’Rourke was wasting precious time on something that won’t pass. The two butted heads in one of the more barbed exchanges of the night.