Latest KFF Health News Stories
VA Owes At Least $189 Million To Disabled Veterans Who Overpaid On Their Home Loans
At issue is a fee that is paid to the lender, which is supposed to be waived for disabled veterans. A recent audit found that more than half of the veterans entitled to this added benefit paid the fee and never received reimbursement from the government. Meanwhile, the VA implemented its expanded privatized care program on Thursday.
The bill had been help up in Congress over squabbles about provisions on Puerto Rico and funding for a border wall.
Klobuchar Nabs First Iowa Endorsement After She Bonds With Lawmaker Over Mental Health Care
State Rep. Ruth Ann Gaines has struggled to get her son, who has developmental disorders, proper care. Following a breakfast, 2020 hopeful Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) connected Gaines with an organization that helps parents of mentally ill children. “I could see this is a person who, if elected president, will do a great job, not only in the mental health area but primarily in listening to people and understanding their needs and then getting to work on trying to help them,” Gaines said.
While drug prices have skyrocketed, so have deductibles in job-based coverage — more than tripling in the last 12 years, to an annual average of $1,350, and leaving Americans with conditions like epilepsy and diabetes financially crippled just to secure basic care. In other news on health care costs: a Senate bill targets rising prices, membership programs for medevac helicopters, the business of selling wellness to homeowners, the “Medicare for All” debate, and more.
Dr. George O’Neil invented the device and has found success with it in Australia. Because the medication is pumped directly into the stomach, it eliminates the hurdle of ambivalence on the patient’s part. Researchers in the U.S. are eager to see if it could be an effect weapon in the war against opioids. In other news, a doctor in Ohio was charged with murder over his prescription practices, but will the prosecutors secure a conviction?
Some angry progressives say the secrecy being employed by leadership is akin to how Republicans drafted legislation to repeal and replace the health law. At issue is a plan House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office has been working on for months that would allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices, a top priority for Democrats and one that the party stressed in its campaign last year to win back the House. Meanwhile, Republican senators are asking pharmaceutical companies for their suggestions to lower costs, and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) talks about her drug plan.
Doctors Suggest More Could Have Been Done To Save Detained Migrant Boy Who Died Of The Flu
It’s rare for a teenager to die of the flu. “By the time you’re 16 years old, you have great immunity, and you shouldn’t be dying so quickly,” said Dr. Nizam Peerwani, the Tarrant County medical examiner in Fort Worth, Texas. The boy’s death is one of several that’s shining a light on the quality of care detained migrant children receive in U.S. custody. Meanwhile, the government is opening a new mass facility in Texas to deal with the surge in children.
Missouri’s Secretary Of State Rejects Referendum Petitions To Put Heartbeat Bill In Front Of Voters
Missouri’s constitution gives citizens the right to veto newly enacted laws by referendum, but Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft invoked an emergency clause built into the state’s constitution allowing him to reject a referendum petition in the case of public health and safety. In announcing his decision, Ashcroft said, “there are certain limits to the people’s right to a referendum.” Meanwhile in Virginia, a trial over abortion restrictions wraps up.
“It’s clear that these folks are going to stop at nothing to get rid of Roe, and it’s clear to me that we have to just be just as strong in defending it,” former Vice President Joe Biden said. Biden’s reversal comes after he received vocal criticism from his 2020 presidential rivals and abortion rights groups after he confirmed that he still supported the Hyde amendment, a measure that blocks Medicaid for paying for an abortion unless the woman’s life is in danger or the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Why Some CEOs Figure ‘Medicare For All’ Is Good For Business
While national business groups fight the single-payer concept, the founder and CEO of a large Pennsylvania picture frame manufacturer tries to convince other employers that it’s the only way to control costs and fix the U.S. health system.
Legal Promise Of Equal Mental Health Treatment Often Falls Short
The Affordable Care Act and other federal laws sought to put mental health care on an equal footing with physical health. But patients are still finding that’s not the case.
Payroll Tax Is One State’s Bold Solution To Help Seniors Age At Home
Under a program enacted in Washington state this spring, workers can get up to $36,500 to help pay for long-term health care and services such as installing grab bars in the shower or respite care for family caregivers.
Social Security Error Jeopardizes Medicare Coverage For 250,000 Seniors
The problem affects private drug policies and Medicare Advantage plans that provide both medical and drug coverage and substitute for traditional government-run Medicare. It could leave plan members without coverage.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Fetal Tissue Research Is Latest Flashpoint In Abortion Debate
Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss the Trump administration’s efforts to curtail federally funded research using fetal tissue, the backlash from former Vice President Joe Biden’s support for the anti-abortion Hyde Amendment and how health policy intersects with both trade and immigration policy.
Error del Seguro Social pone en riesgo cobertura de Medicare de 250,000 adultos mayores
El problema abarca a la cobertura de medicamentos recetados (Medicare parte D) y a los beneficiarios que tienen planes médicos de Medicare Advantage.
Mantener a los niños sanos y cuerdos en un mundo digital
Los celulares, las tabletas y los videojuegos pueden causar problemas, pero también sirven para hacer tareas o investigar temas interesantes. Al usarlos, ¿se puede lograr un balance?
Opinion writers weigh in on these public health topics and other issues.
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
Editorial pages focus on abortion issues and other women’s health topics.