Latest KFF Health News Stories
News outlets report on stories related to pharmaceutical pricing.
Opinion writers focus on these health care topics and others.
But they’re starting to gain ground against the hoaxers. Meanwhile, a top Virginia Republican proposed surprise legislation that would ban guns in government buildings.
Media outlets report on health news from Texas, Connecticut, California, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Georgia, Minnesota, Louisiana and Florida.
Although the results surprised few, the findings are unlikely to shake Americans’ obsession with supplements.
There are still many obstacles that face those who want to access medication to end their lives on their own terms, even after legislation is passed guaranteeing them that right. In other public health news: primary care doctors, Zika, noise in hospitals, cancer research, accessibility apps, and more.
For One Patient, Tapering Off Pain Medication Became Like A Game Of Hot-Potato Between Doctors
“A bunch of them wouldn’t even talk to me,” says Travis Rieder, a medical bioethicist who spoke out about his experience trying to get off opioids. “And this includes the pain management team. They would not speak with me, and the message they sent through a nurse was, ‘We prescribe opioids but we don’t help with tapering.'” Other news on the crisis comes from Kentucky, Iowa and Arizona.
Recent decisions in court cases come as concerns mount over the growing consolidation of hospitals and physician practices and the impact on prices and total health spending. In other health industry news: jobs, blood pressure devices, and artificial intelligence.
HHS will announce an agency-wide initiative to encourage home dialysis and also to ramp up better prevention and screening for kidney disease, Politico reports. The plan could upend the kidney care market, and face serious pushback from big dialysis chains that are eager to protect $24 billion a year in revenue.
Gov. Chris Sununu is delaying the penalties tied into the legislation for 120 days as the state continues its outreach efforts to make people aware of the requirements. “Making sure we get this right is just absolutely paramount,” said Sununu. “So the idea of giving ourselves another 120 days to move forward on this and get the implementation where we need it to be, it’s not just fair to the system, but it’s fair to those individuals.” New Hampshire is just the latest state to struggle with the implementation of the work requirements.
‘Have We Become Too Careless?’: Alleged IVF Mix-Up Highlights Role Human Error Can Play In Medicine
A couple is suing a fertility clinic after the woman gave birth to twins who appear to be from different parents. “It’s this agonizing process to grow embryos. And it involves almost over 200 different steps and when you assume this happens to thousands of patients every year within that laboratory, all of a sudden you’ve got a lot of moving parts,” says IVF expert Jake Anderson.
Missouri’s 8-Week Abortion Ban Will Be Allowed To Go In Front Of Voters, Appeals Court Rules
Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft is “without authority” to reject referendum petitions against the state’s new abortion ban, a court panel ruled. Other news on abortion focuses on IVF, telehealth and the spreading of “Americanized” anti-abortion protests.
Citing cases of unmanaged pain, maggots, bed sores and other failures, the inspector general report takes Medicare to task for what it describes as weak oversight and enforcement of the growing number of hospice providers and recommends stronger safeguards “to protect Medicare hospice beneficiaries from harm.”
Juul Beefs Up Lobbying Efforts As It Braces For A Brutal All-Or-Nothing Fight Against Vaping Bans
Cities and counties across the country are starting to crack down on e-cigarettes and other tobacco products. Juul, which dominates the marketplace, is gearing up to battle those efforts while also trying to appease public health officials.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is unlikely to get the more liberal provisions that were dropped from a border aid package earlier this month past the Senate, but the announcement allows the speaker to acknowledge concerns of progressive members of the party who are upset that more has not been done for detainees.
Many legal experts across the political spectrum are dubious about the fate of the latest court case challenging the constitutionality of the health law. But should the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules against the ACA following oral arguments today, that all but guarantees it will end up in front of the Supreme Court — with its decision coming right before the 2020 elections. In the last election cycle, protecting the health law proved a winning issue for Democrats.
Trump Administration Lacks Legal Authority To Force Drugmakers To Include Prices In Ads, Judge Rules
“That policy very well could be an effective tool in halting the rising cost of prescription drugs,” U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta wrote. “But no matter how vexing the problem of spiraling drug costs may be, HHS cannot do more than what Congress has authorized. The responsibility rests with Congress to act in the first instance.” The rule was one of the administration’s signature proposals to tackle high drug prices, and comes as a blow to President Donald Trump.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Medi-Cal Enrollment Among Immigrant Kids Stalls, Then Falls. Is Fear To Blame?
Enrollment among undocumented immigrant children in California’s Medicaid program started strong before stagnating and then falling. Although this decline is similar to an enrollment decline among all children in Medicaid nationwide, experts believe there are different reasons behind it.
Federal Appeals Court Takes Up Case That Could Upend U.S. Health System
The Affordable Care Act is again being put to the test after a lower court judge ruled the massive health law unconstitutional. Could the case ricochet back to the Supreme Court in the throes of the 2020 presidential campaign season?