Latest KFF Health News Stories
Cancer Mortality Rates Would Plummet More Than 20 Percent If Everyone Had Access To Quality Care
There’s already a hint of this happening with the implementation of the health law and the expansion of Medicaid. When patients have access to preventive medicine and screenings, cancer can be caught earlier, improving the chance of a better outcome. In other public health news: medical research, diabetes, anti-depressants, incarceration and the mentally ill, Alzheimer’s, and telehealth.
Only Democrat In Kentucky’s Congressional Delegation Demands Answers Over Cuts To Medicaid Benefits
Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) had announced that, in response to a judge’s ruling on the state’s request to add work requirements to its Medicaid program, he was canceling dental and vision coverage for almost 500,000 enrollees. Medicaid news also comes out of Arkansas and Kansas.
Nominee For VA Secretary Chief Sails Through Committee And Is Headed For Full Senate Confirmation
Robert Wilkie was grilled during his confirmation hearing about whether he will seek to privatize the troubled Veterans Affairs Department. He promised that he won’t. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was the only lawmaker on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee to vote against Wilkie.
Pfizer To Temporarily Roll Back Drug Price Increases Following Talk With Trump
The company came under fire from President Donald Trump and others when it announced steep price hikes on many of their drugs. “Pfizer & others should be ashamed that they have raised drug prices for no reason,” Trump said in a tweet prior to the company’s about-face. “They are merely taking advantage of the poor & others unable to defend themselves, while at the same time giving bargain basement prices to other countries in Europe & elsewhere. We will respond!”
Government officials defended the process, pointing to safety concerns as to why it shouldn’t be rushed. Meanwhile, as the reunions slowly begin, there’s relief, joy and heartbreak as some children don’t recognize their parents.
In states where the upcoming battle over Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court could help Senate Republican candidates, it could also hurt the party’s chances in the House. Unlike in the upper chamber, where the vulnerable seats are mostly Democrats in red-state districts, the fight for control of the House is taking place in swing-districts across the country.
Ten Democrats face re-election this year in states that President Donald Trump won in 2016, and four of those battlegrounds lean against abortion rights. So instead of making abortion their key issue in the Supreme Court nomination fight, Democratic leadership is focusing on the broader threat to health care access in general. Meanwhile, outlets take a look at where Brett Kavanaugh stands on various other health care issues.
The Trump administration is also directing the insurance counselors, for the first time, to help people enroll in health plans that do not comply with the consumer protection standards and other requirements of the Affordable Care Act. The move comes just days after CMS froze a program that gave money to insurers to help stabilize the marketplace.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Support Circle: Family Caregivers Share Stories And Tips To Ease Alzheimer’s Toll
As the number of people with Alzheimer’s climbs, so does the number of loved ones caring for them. The health of 16 million unpaid U.S. caregivers has become a focus for Alzheimer’s advocacy groups.
Democrats Rally Against Threats To The ACA To Block Trump’s Supreme Court Nominee
Senate Democrats see health care as an issue that could keep their caucus unified as the confirmation battle heats up.
If High Court Reverses Roe V. Wade, 22 States Poised To Ban Abortion
As with current abortion policies, a woman’s access to the procedure would continue to be determined by where she lives.
Si la Corte Suprema revoca Roe vs Wade, 22 estados podrían prohibir el aborto
La elección del presidente Donald Trump de un juez conservador como candidato a la Corte Suprema podría cambiar el mapa del aborto en el país.
Viewpoints: Why The Trump Administration Fought For The Infant Formula Industry Over Breast-Feeding
Opinion writers express views on this and other health topics.
Different Takes: What Brett Kavanaugh Could Mean To The Future Of The Health Law, Abortion Rights
Editorial pages express views about the nomination to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court.
Media outlets report on news from Maryland, Ohio, California, Arkansas, New Jersey, Kansas, Ohio, Oregon, North Carolina, Minnesota, Missouri, Florida, Washington, Massachusetts and Louisiana.
There’s a growing field of conflicting data on the benefits and harms of the products. In other public health news: organs, cancer patients’ end-of-life plans, Lyme disease, suicide, police violence and more.
First In A Flood Of Cases Over Roundup Weed Killer’s Possible Link To Cancer Goes To Trial
Dewayne Johnson, who used the product in his job as a pest control manager at a San Francisco Bay Area school district, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2014 at the age of 42. He read the label carefully and even contacted the company over a rash he developed, but he says that he was never warned about the possibility it could cause cancer.
Maine House Falls Short Of Overriding Governor’s Veto Of Bill To Help Pay For Medicaid Expansion
The bill provided state funding that would be supplemented by more than $500 million in federal funds to expand Medicaid to between 70,000 and 80,000 more Mainers.
Trump Lashes Out At Pfizer Over Its Price Hikes, But Latest Round Of Posturing Earns Mostly A Shrug
Meanwhile, HHS Secretary Alex Azar also promised change was coming to the industry “whether it’s painful or not for pharmaceutical companies.” But the daunting reality of overhauling the drug pricing system may stand in the way of that message.