Latest KFF Health News Stories
In Midst Of Enthusiasm Over Revamping Medicaid, CMS Draws The Line At Lifetime Limits
“We’ve made that pretty clear to states,” Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma said Tuesday. Meanwhile, a Virginia lawmaker accuses a committee of dragging its feet over the state’s budget, which has been stymied by a debate over Medicaid expansion. And other Medicaid news comes out of Tennessee, Kansas, California and Florida.
FDA Launching Website To Call Out Pharma Companies Accused Of Deterring Development Of Generics
“I’m looking to bring transparency around what I think are reasonable public health questions,” FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said. In other news, the industry is pushing back against a proposal to to make them disclose their products’ prices in consumer advertising.
“Although the contract was legally in order, it was an error,” Novartis’ general counsel Felix Ehrat said. Novartis’s new CEO Vas Narasimhan has been trying to deal with the fallout from the contract with Michael Cohen becoming public. On Monday, he hosted a conference call with 5,000 of the company’s managers in which he said the company needs to rebuild trust and rethink its approach to the use of consultants and lobbying firms.
Renewed Scrutiny Of 340B Program Seems Like Win For Pharma, But Drugmakers Shouldn’t Celebrate Yet
Both Republicans and Democrats in Congress show interest in increasing oversight to the drug discount program that the pharmaceutical industry wants reined in. But lawmakers’ attention isn’t solely directed at the role of hospitals. Meanwhile, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) plans a hearing about President Donald Trump’s plans to curb high drug prices, and the industry’s lobbying group has some “serious concerns” with the president’s blueprint.
The Estimated Cost For Extending Skinny, Short-Term Coverage Plans: Up To $168 Million A Year
Because healthier people are more likely to buy the skinny plans, the overall marketplace — which the government helps subsidize — would become less stable. Meanwhile, Oscar, an ACA-focused insurance startup, announces plans to expand despite the turbulence surrounding the health law.
It’s not clear what is driving the growth in depression and suicidal behavior, but researchers theorize that decreasing stigma might be causing more children to seek help. Some early research has also suggested the use of social media and smartphones may also be factors, fueling cyberbullying and feelings of inadequacy.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Reversing An Overdose Isn’t Complicated, But Getting The Antidote Can Be
Last month, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams urged more Americans to carry and learn to use naloxone, which can save someone from an opioid overdose. But the drug, brand-name Narcan, can be difficult to get and expensive.
California Hospital Giant Sutter Health Faces Heavy Backlash On Prices
In a case with possible national repercussions, the state’s attorney general has sued over alleged price gouging, and other legal and legislative challenges are afoot. Sutter is pushing back hard, denying anticompetitive behavior.
¿Seguiremos siendo relevantes cuando tengamos 64 años?
El nido vacío, el retiro, son factores de cambio que hacen que muchas personas ya no se sientan relevantes. Qué hacer para vivir los 60 a pleno.
Editorial pages focus on these and other health care topics.
Opinion writers express views on these and other health topics.
Media outlets report on news from California, Texas, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Georgia, Missouri, Minnesota, Florida and New Hampshire.
Do-It-Yourself Gene-Editing Revolution Poised To Go Catastrophically Wrong
The most pressing worry is that someone could use the budding technology to create a bioweapon. But experts are also concerned about the safety of so-called biohackers with altered genes that they brewed at home. In other public health news: fertility advances, LGBTQ teens, immunotherapy, PTSD, strokes, and more.
Melania Trump’s Embolization Procedure Explained
First lady Melania Trump underwent the procedure and will remain in the hospital for the week. The purpose of an embolization is to cut off the blood supply to a lesion to cause it to shrink and ultimately die off.
Maryland’s current model, which was approved in 2014, doesn’t provide comprehensive coordination across the entire health care system, so the federal government required the state to develop a new model to include health care that patients receive in the hospital and in the community.
Virginia’s budget has been held up by a fight over whether to expand the state’s Medicaid program. Meanwhile, activists stage a “die-in” at the state’s Capitol over the debate.
Providers Eager For Amazon To Expand Into Medical Supply Space, Disrupt Prices
But it remains to be seen whether Amazon will expand beyond commodities and target more specialized medical devices and equipment that physicians prefer.
Doctors Who Receive Freebies From Drug Companies Tend To Prescribe More Opioids
And the ones who didn’t, cut back on their prescription practices. The freebies most often came in the form of meals. In other news on the crisis: the Justice Department is joining a kickback case; hospitals are experiencing an opioid shortage; Delaware officials are releasing strategies on combating the epidemic; and more.
The Trump administration is considering reinstating back Reagan-era regulations that banned organizations receiving Title X funding from promoting or referring patients for abortions. But if Planned Parenthood is cut off from that funding, other Title X providers would not be able to absorb the patients, more than 200 Democratic lawmakers said in a letter to HHS.