Latest KFF Health News Stories
“Without requiring states to submit projections of administrative costs in their demonstration applications, and by not considering the implications of these costs for federal spending, CMS puts its goals of transparency and budget neutrality at risk,” the Government Accountability Office said in the report. The GAO, a nonpartisan agency that works for Congress, found in its report that costs to administer the work requirements range from about $6 million in New Hampshire to $271 million in Kentucky.
Senate Democrats To Target Trump’s Expansion Of ‘Junk Insurance’ Plans
The effort is part of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s efforts to hit Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for ignoring legislation passed by the Democratic House on health care, guns and other issues. Meanwhile, a new report finds that more states are taking control of their health law marketplaces.
First Edition: October 11, 2019
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Taking The Cops Out Of Mental Health-Related 911 Rescues
Denver is considering adopting a new 911 alternative used in Eugene, Ore., that allows mental health and medical professionals, not police officers, to respond to some emergency calls, saving money and de-escalating situations with mentally ill people.
As Vaping Illnesses Rise, So Do Pleas To Quit-Smoking Help Lines
Tobacco-cessation help lines — traditionally aimed at cigarette smokers — are receiving a surge in calls from people who use vapes and want to quit.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Trump Merges Health And Immigration
President Donald Trump has ordered that legal immigrants obtain health insurance within 30 days of arriving or prove they can pay for any possible medical need ― another policy certain to be challenged in court. Meanwhile, health issues continue to play a major role in campaign 2020. This week, Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico and Julie Appleby of Kaiser Health News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
Opinion writers weigh in on these health topics and others.
Research Roundup: Food Insecurity; Preexisting Conditions; Bone Health; And More
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
Media outlets report on news from Florida, New Hampshire, Wyoming, North Carolina, Tennessee, California, Massachusetts, Iowa and Louisiana.
Why NIH Funding For Black Researchers Suffers: Disparity Partly Driven By Topic, Study Finds
“Black scholars have a burden of trying to convince their colleagues that their research topics are not far from mainstream and that they are legitimate and have value,” said Alycia Mosley Austin, a neuroscientist, who was not involved in the study. Public health news is on body-contouring procedures, unsafe sleep positions, a new trial for sickle cell disease, innovation costs, service dogs in restaurants, childhood trauma, research on psychedelics, carbon monoxide poisoning, ADHD, diet and depression, cartilage regrowth, and caregiving for older adults.
The pesticide, used on a variety of crops from alfalfa to walnuts, has been said to cause brain damage in children and illnesses in others with compromised immune systems. By February, sales will cease, and farmers are to stop using it by the end of the 2020. The state is budgeting $5.6 million to help pesticide manufacturers develop a safer alternative.
While CMS is encouraging states to think creatively about ways to create flexibility within their Medicaid programs, its not a carte blanche invitation. Medicaid news comes out of Kentucky as well.
Students’ Drugs, Depression And Discipline Problems Surge In Months, Years After School Shootings
A look at students from Parkland, Florida, and Santa Fe, Texas, reveals the long lasting trauma that can be associated with surviving a school shooting. Meanwhile, the rate of gun deaths in the U.S. has had its first significant increase in 15 years.
Dozens Of Georgia Hospitals Hit With Medicare Readmission Penalties
Under programs set up by the Affordable Care Act, the federal government cuts payments to hospitals that have high rates of readmissions and those with the highest numbers of infections and patient injuries. Media outlets take a look at how hospitals in Georgia, Connecticut and Montana fared.
The outages that were geared toward preventing any wildfires effected California residents in a wide-range of ways. That included interruption of care from machines that help with things such as severe sleep apnea.
Coming To ‘Sesame Street’: A Muppet Whose Mother Is Struggling With Addiction
“There are 5.7 million children under the age of 11 who live in a house with a parent who has a substance abuse disorder,” said Dr. Jeanette Betancourt, senior vice president for U.S. social impact at Sesame Workshop. “For children, we particularly want them to know what parental addiction is, but also provide a sense of hope and help them feel they’re not alone.” Other news on the opioid crisis focuses on lawsuits against the drug companies, closing treatment centers, and more.
Because many soldiers begin smoking during their service, e-cigarette companies have targeted troops in recent years, pitching their products as an alternative to cigarettes. In other news on the vaping crisis: New York City sues online retailers over claims they’re selling to minors; CBS offers a glimpse inside the vaping black market; the crackdowns begin seeping to the elections; and more.
Although scientists found some success with the highly specialized drug, the path forward to medicines created for just one patient is murky. Questions about fairness and expense put a damper on the possibility of such personalized care.
Following Tumultuous Year, Planned Parenthood Announces Big Spending Plans For 2020 Elections
Planned Parenthood, which has been under fire in recent years, said the $45 million investment will fund grassroots programs and canvassing, digital, television, radio and mail programs in battleground states across the country. “We’re not political by nature but we’ve been politicized, and that fight has actually been our focus — to ensure that our health centers stay open,” said Kelley Robinson, executive director of Planned Parenthood Votes.
After critics of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called into question her story about being fired from a teaching position because she was pregnant, women started sharing their own stories on social media. “If you don’t understand what this furor over the Elizabeth Warren pregnancy firing story is about, ask pretty much any woman in your life over 35,” culture writer Anne Helen Petersen wrote on Twitter.