Latest KFF Health News Stories
It comes down to the “cascade phenomenon,” insurers say. Even if a smaller company doesn’t expect to lose members, it will still feel the pain from the changes in the industry because of how the health law has tied the marketplace together with the permanent risk adjustment program.
Calif. Gubernatorial Candidate Pledges Universal Health Care Coverage Push Following Primary Victory
Gavin Newsom, the Democratic lieutenant governor and a proponent of a single-payer health care system, won a spot in the general race for governor last night. He’ll face Republican businessman John Cox in the fall.
The Medicare trust fund, which covers hospitalizations, will be depleted in 2026, the Trump administration reports. An aging population is also putting strain on the reserves.
Medicare Financial Outlook Worsens
The Medicare board of trustees said the program’s hospital insurance trust fund could run out of money by 2026, three years earlier than previously forecast.
Editorial writers look at these and other health care issues.
Different Takes: To Regulate Health Care Or Not? Not So Fast With Assumptions
Opinion writers express views on how to achieve lower health care costs and insure everyone.
Media outlets report on news from Illinois, Florida, California, Tennessee and Puerto Rico.
Also, medical workers give more than a 1,000 people an experimental vaccine in Democratic Republic of Congo to control a deadly Ebola outbreak.
CRISPRcon Attendees Wade Through Ethical Morass Of Designer Babies And Colonialism
The gene editing technology may be scientists’ favorite shiny toy, but it comes with a lot of complications — moral, ethical and legal. In other public health news: a new calculator for who should be taking medication to prevent heart attacks and strokes; gun control ideas; misconduct among mental health professionals; sex with robots; and more.
Although Lung Cancer Remains Grim Diagnosis, Scientists See Hope In Progress Being Made
“The era in which chemotherapy was the only option for non-small-cell lung cancer patients is drawing to a close,” said John Heymach, a lung-cancer specialist at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Researchers touted new treatment such as immune-boosting drugs and procedures targeting genetic traits of tumors. More oncology news focuses on breast cancer, a child cancer bill, a young girl with a brain tumor, and more.
Novel Therapy Using Patient’s Own Immune Cells Eradicates Advanced, Incurable Breast Cancer In Woman
Scientists were excited about the results but stressed that the approach, called adoptive cell therapy, is experimental and that several other patients who got the same treatments had not responded. However, the case could provide a “blueprint” to making the therapy more effective.
Is Punishing An Offender For A Drug Relapse Cruel And Unusual? Massachusetts’ High Court Will Decide
The case involves a woman who tested positive for drugs in her system while she was on probation. Within hours, she was shackled, strip-searched and incarcerated, with no access to treatment. Now a court must decide if that’s the right course of action to take with offenders who are struggling with addiction. The decision could ripple throughout the country.
Watchdog Finds That Medicare Part D Spending Has Risen Sharply Even As Prescriptions Have Decreased
“Today’s report from the HHS Inspector General makes it clear that list price increases on brand drugs are hurting patients,” said David Mitchell, founder of the advocacy group Patients for Affordable Drugs.
30 Days And Counting: Veterans Face Long, Unexpected Waits To See Doctors In Private Health Program
Promised to see a doctor within 30 days, veterans are waiting more than two months for appointments in the program designed to give them an alternate option to the VA.
Democrats Increasingly Embracing Progressive Health Care Ideas As Primary Season Gets Into Swing
California, Iowa and other states have primaries today where health care has played a role in the race. Many candidates are touting single-payer type systems, public options and universal coverage among other progressive ideas in an area where Republicans once dominated with their chants of “repeal and replace.”
The justices ruled in an unsigned opinion that vacating a lower court decision in favor of the teen, who had been in government custody after entering the country illegally, was the proper course because the case became moot after she obtained an abortion.
Two Texas plaintiffs say they feel morally obligated to follow the law despite there being no financial penalty to not buying insurance next year. The men are the faces of the lawsuit that conservatives hope will finally be the one to kill the law. Meanwhile, more rate hikes have come out and they’re in the double-digits.
Maine was the first state in the nation to expand Medicaid through a public referendum, but seven months later and its still not implemented. Gov. Paul LePage (R) has said he won’t expand the program unless lawmakers come up with a way to pay for it under his conditions, but advocates point to the state’s $140 million surplus in their argument. LePage will likely ask the judge the stay the ruling during an appeals process.
Verma Unveils State Medicaid Scorecard But Refuses To Judge Efforts
Seema Verma, who heads the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, refused to discuss the findings in any detail or comment on any individual states performing poorly or exceptionally.