Latest KFF Health News Stories
Preeminent Hospitals Penalized Over Rates Of Patients’ Injuries
Medicare cut payments for 786 hospitals because of high infection and complication rates. They included a third of the hospitals proclaimed as the nation’s best in one prominent ranking.
Warren Is Right. Presidents Have The Power To Bypass Congress On Drug Pricing.
But like all of health care, it’s complicated.
No Masking The Best Way To Avoid The Scary Coronavirus: Wash Your Hands
While covering the SARS outbreak as a reporter in China, KHN’s editor-in-chief saw that common sense is the best defense against viral illness.
5 Things To Know About Trump’s Medicaid Block Grant Plan
Federal officials unveiled guidance for states that want to opt out of some of the current funding program and instead seek a fixed payment to gain more flexibility.
Masks Reveal Cultural Disconnect As L.A.’s Chinese Community Braces For Coronavirus
Since two cases of the mysterious new coronavirus were reported in Southern California, Chinese immigrants have begun donning face masks. The practice is common in China but goes against official guidance in the U.S., and that’s causing conflict in local schools.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Remaking Medicaid — Maybe
The Trump administration is proposing to let states have more control of their Medicaid programs in exchange for potentially less money from the federal government. Meanwhile, the dangerous respiratory virus spreading from China is starting to affect trade and transportation along with public health. Kimberly Leonard of the Washington Examiner, Erin Mershon of Stat and Joanne Kenen of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss this and more.
Máscaras revelan desconexión cultural mientras comunidad china de LA se prepara para el coronavirus
En China es habitual ver transeúntes usando máscaras faciales. Pero en los Estados Unidos se trata de un fenómeno nuevo que genera algo de rechazo.
Editorial pages focus on these health issues and others.
Research Roundup: Global Health Care, ACA Coverage Gains, Access To Care, And More
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
Media outlets report on news from Kansas, Tennessee, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Washington, Virginia, Iowa, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Ohio, California, Colorado, Oregon and Missouri.
Reuters, which broke news Tuesday about an alleged kickback scheme possibly involving the OxyContin manufacturer, breaks down the current legal charges the company faces. News on the epidemic is on prescription guidelines and a lack of followup care for teens, as well.
Investors Nervous About Anthem’s Medical Loss Ratio As Insurer Forecasts Earnings Below Expectations
Anthem said its medical loss ratio was 89% in the fourth quarter, higher than the 88.1% figure that a consensus of analysts had estimated. Investors closely watch the MLR as a gauge of health spending and insurers’ operational profitability. In other health industry news: short-term plans, Walmart’s bet on primary care, job cuts, worker shortages, and more.
“Hospitals and patients are still getting killed by new million-dollar drugs that won’t see any competition for decades,” said Dan Kistner, group senior vice president of pharmacy solutions for Vizient. In other pharmaceutical news: Roche posts its growth report, Novartis’ gene therapy for infants continues to perform well, CVS figures out a way to help with diabetes medication costs, and scientists dig into the phenomenon of biotech’s “missing girls.”
What’s Billed As Quick, Easy Procedure To Fix Heavy Periods Turns Into Nightmare For Many Patients
MedPage Today investigates the fallout from selling patients on an endometrial ablation with a NovaSure device. Now thousands of women in the U.S. and around the world are taking to Facebook groups and online petitions saying their ablation led to serious issues, and trying to warn others about their experience.
Although Democrats’ plans to expand the health system have dominated much of the 2020 primary season, what has worked for voters in the past is reminding them of popular provisions from the health law that Republicans are chipping away at. Michael Bloomberg is seizing the opportunity to own that messaging. Meanwhile, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is facing more questions about paying for “Medicare for All” as new polls show its losing popularity in battleground states.
Invisible War Wounds Like Traumatic Brain Injuries Often Overlooked But Can Be Devastating
Traumatic brain injuries were recently thrust into the national spotlight after President Donald Trump downplayed the seriousness of the problem. Experts say that’s common for the injuries that can’t be seen. In other public health news: lung-cancer screenings, lab-grown “mini-brains,” airplane safety, chronic inflammation, and fitness apps.
While life expectancy ticked up by the tiniest of margins from 78.6 to 78.7 years, health researchers warned that U.S. had a lower life expectancy than 10 other wealthy nations. News also focuses on maternal mortality rates.
Public Health Experts Warn About A Dangerous Symptom Of Coronavirus: Xenophobia
“More panic, more temptation to blame the outsider — the other,” says Robert Fullilove, a professor of sociomedical sciences at New York’s Columbia University Medical Center. Fullilove is among the experts who are warning that mass hysteria over the coronavirus could lend itself to bigotry and baseless fear.
New FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn has a sterling reputation in the medical field, but little government experience. That could effect his ability to navigate the barrage of public health crises currently gripping the country.
Hospital Star Ratings Get Refresh Despite Pushback From Industry That Methodology Is Flawed
CMS Administrator Seema Verma said in a statement that the ratings were refreshed using the existing methodology because “the American people deserve up-to-date information on how hospitals are performing.”