Latest KFF Health News Stories
Research Roundup: Drug Rationing; High-Deductible Plans; And Pharmacy Benefit Managers
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
Media outlets report on news from Georgia, North Dakota, Iowa, Kentucky, Florida, Massachusetts, Maryland, Kansas, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Texas and Minnesota.
A White House Council of Economic Advisers report from 2017 put the cost of the opioid crisis between $290 billion to $622 billion in 2015 alone.
Centene To Snap Up Rival WellCare For $15B As It Dives Deeper Into Medicare, Medicaid Marketplace
The deal between Centene and WellCare would create a health care giant that specialized in offering private health plans under Medicare and Medicaid. The combined company, with revenues expected to approach $100 billion in 2019, would cover 22 million people in all 50 states.
The New York Times takes a look at religious exemptions as measles outbreaks flare around the country.
Recent suicides have highlighted how even as the world moves forward following a mass shooting, the traumatic event stays with victims and others touched by the tragedy. “You can’t let the shooting define your whole life,” said Hollan Holm, who was 14 when on Dec. 1, 1997, a fellow student opened fire at a prayer circle at Heath High School in West Paducah, Ky. “But you can’t put it behind you.”
The plaintiff, Edwin Hardeman, 70, used Roundup to control weeds and poison oak on his property for 26 years. In determining that Monsanto was responsible, the jury awarded Hardeman $75 million in punitive damages and about $5 million for past and future suffering. The trial is only the second of more than 11,200 Roundup lawsuits set to go to trial in the United States.
Stanley Patrick Weber was convicted in September of sexually abusing two boys on a reservation in Montana and faces another trial over allegations he sexually assaulted four more in South Dakota. Congress is currently investigating flaws in the Indian Health Services system that allowed Weber to continue practicing despite allegations earlier in his career. But either way, the government will still have to pay him his pension.
Currently, the FDA mostly relies on the industry to police itself, only sporadically inspecting manufacturing sites, but that approach has been strained by an increasing proportion of drug ingredients made in places like China or India. The proposed rule changes will focus on the raw materials used to produce drugs. News on medical devices and vaping comes out of the FDA as well.
While three dozen states have rules involving breast-density notifications, the new rule would apply nationwide and update regulations for the first time in 20 years.
U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw in San Diego had ordered the government to propose next steps by Wednesday on what to do about the children who were separated as part of the administration’s “zero tolerance” policy. The Justice Department wants to submit its plan by April 5. Meanwhile, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is for the first time in more than a decade performing direct releases of migrants, a move that is “the only current option we have” because of overcrowding.
Senate Minority Chuck Schumer (D.-N.Y.) is pushing an amendment to an unrelated disaster relief bill that would stop the Justice Department from using federal funds to argue its case against the health law — which President Donald Trump now wants completely nullified. “The Department of Justice’s decision is a moral and institutional outrage, outrage. Not only would it harm Americans, it would undermine the rule of law,” Schumer said.
Behind The Scenes: Blind-Sided Republicans Still Reeling From Trump’s Surprise Pivot On Health Law
President Donald Trump’s decision to have the Justice Department argue the entirety of the health law should be invalidated instead of just parts of it came reportedly after discussions with acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney. Mulvaney said the move would help energize Trump’s base, fulfill a campaign promise, and let the president reclaim health care as a talking point for Republicans. GOP lawmakers, who say they weren’t given any heads-up on the decision, have a different view of it, however.
Federal Judge Rejects Kentucky, Arkansas Medicaid Work Requirements In Blow To Trump Administration
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled that HHS Secretary Alex Azar and the Trump administration failed to adequately consider the extent to which the added requirements would cause significant numbers of people to lose coverage. The decision was the second time that Boasberg blocked Kentucky’s efforts, and he said that the plan “has essentially the same features as it did before.” CMS Administrator Seema Verma reaffirmed her support of work requirements following the twin rulings: “We will continue to defend our efforts to give states greater flexibility to help low income Americans rise out of poverty.”
A new study finds that tracking antibiotic-resistance genes in bacteria found in urban wastewater treatment plants could help scientists and public health officials get a fast and accurate picture of resistance in a city. In other public health news: the flu, diets, air pollution, joint replacement, and more.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Health Officials’ Plug For Next FDA Chief: Go Big On E-Cig Regulation
With Scott Gottlieb making his exit from the Food and Drug Administration’s top spot, city and country health officials call for backup in the fight to curb teen use of e-cigarettes.
More Older Adults With Joint Replacements Recover At Home, Not Rehab
Research shows that going home after elective hip and knee replacements is a safe alternative for many patients.
Federal Judge Again Blocks Medicaid Work Requirements
The decision applies only to Kentucky and Arkansas, and many experts expect the administration and other conservative states to continue to move forward on rules that would limit coverage for people who don’t work.
FDA Chief Calls For Release Of All Data Tracking Problems With Medical Devices
In the wake of a KHN investigation, Scott Gottlieb says releasing the records is in the public interest.