Latest KFF Health News Stories
Scientists worry, however, that such a ban would stifle research on chemicals that could be developed into alternatives to the addictive prescription opioids. In other news on the crisis: needle exchanges, employee injuries, medical devices, and a controversial death certificate initiative.
CEO Of Geisinger Is Moving To Google To Head Health Care Venture
David Feinberg has both medical and business degrees. The new Google leadership position is expected to direct the company’s initiatives targeting health care, from web services to machine learning to devices.
Medicare Advantage plans to offer a host of new benefits next year, such as transportation to medical appointments, home-delivered meals, wheelchair ramps, bathroom grab bars and air conditioners for asthma sufferers.
The recent shooting at a bar in California highlights how difficult it is to decide on how emergency responders should handle highly dangerous situations. Meanwhile, The Associated Press looks at California’s gun laws, which are some of the strictest in the country. And a community grieves.
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has been trying to cut down on what he’s called an epidemic of teenagers’ use of vaping products. The FDA stopped short of including menthol flavors in the vaping sales ban, partly out of concern that some users would switch to traditional menthol-tobacco cigarettes. New York is also considering a ban on flavored e-cigarettes.
Thousands of people have been dropped from Arkansas’ Medicaid rolls after failing to report their work hours, and thousands more are poised to fall off in the coming months. The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) has recommended the government hit “pause” until any potential kinks can be worked out.
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) is expected to take up the gavel of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which will give him authority to haul drugmakers in front of Congress to question them on high prices. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies are already getting nervous about a potentially relationship between House Democrats and President Donald Trump over the issue.
House Democrats Already Mulling Vote To Intervene In Lawsuit Against Health Law
The potential vote would serve as an intervention in the lawsuit working its way through the courts that could effectively kill the health law. It would also force Republicans to go on record almost immediately against the popular provisions of the ACA, such as protections for preexisting conditions.
Elections Help Cement Health Law As Part Of National Landscape, But Changes Still Lie Ahead
Health care was the No. 1 issue among many voters this election, according to a recent survey, and the results seem to speak to the health law’s growing popularity in recent years. And with Democrats in control of the House, Republicans will be unable to move forward with any lingering plans for repeal. Meanwhile, ballot measures in several red states and a switch in leadership in Maine could mean that Medicaid could see its biggest boost in enrollment since expansion began. It’s not all rosy for the program though: some results could chip away at gains already made in Alaska and Montana.
The mystery is stoking tensions, not only between the U.S. and Cuba, but also internally in Washington as theories continue to be shot down. In other public health news: blood pressure, gut microbiomes, red meat, genetics, aging and more.
Trumpeted New Medicare Advantage Benefits Will Be Hard For Seniors To Find
Federal officials are hailing the introduction of services such as transportation to medical appointments, home-delivered meals and installation of wheelchair ramps as a way to keep beneficiaries healthy and avoid costly hospitalizations. But not many plans are offering the services in 2019.
First Edition: November 9, 2018
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Montana’s Legislature Could Decide Medicaid Expansion’s Fate
A ballot initiative to fund Medicaid expansion with a tobacco tax failed in Montana on Tuesday. The expansion will expire in the state in June 2019, unless the legislature finds another way to fund it.
Deadly Shootings Are Rising In U.S. After Steady Declines
A new report by federal researchers finds that homicides involving guns are up both nationally and in major cities after a decade of decline.
New Contractor For Food Stamps Upsets Cart For Farmers Markets
If a popular app used by many farmers markets to process federal supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) benefits is no longer offered next spring, consumers’ access to fresh produce may be stalled.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Split Decision On Health Care
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call and Joanne Kenen of Politico discuss the Trump administration’s new birth control coverage rules and the potential impact of the midterm election results on health policy.
Measure To Cap Dialysis Profits Pummeled After Record Spending By Industry
The dialysis industry raised nearly $111 million in a successful bid to defeat the measure, which also was opposed by hospitals and doctors. The union that sponsored the measure collected about one-sixth that amount.
California’s Top Lawyer Sees Election Win As Mandate To Sustain Trump Resistance
Attorney General Xavier Becerra views his resounding Election Day win as a “clear signal” from voters to continue his work defending the Affordable Care Act and pushing back against the Trump administration.
Opinion writers weigh in on these and other health topics.
Editorial pages focus on the impact the midterm elections will have on the health care.