Latest KFF Health News Stories
The Supreme Court has barred public-employee contracts requiring workers to pay union dues, which can be used to support collective bargaining activities and other efforts including legislative advocacy, grievances and worker safety programs. The decision will ripple across the health industry in part because many workers in the field are part of unions. But another reason is that the organizations are often vocal supporters of health programs like Medicare and Medicaid.
With Kennedy’s Retirement, Abortion Rights Advocates Worry About Losing ‘Firewall’ To Roe V. Wade
Justice Anthony Kennedy’s announcement that he’s stepping down from the bench yanks the abortion fight right into the spotlight. It’s likely that President Donald Trump will fulfill his campaign promise and nominate a judge who will support overturning Roe v. Wade, setting up a hot political fight right before the midterm elections. Democrats alone cannot derail any nomination, so strategists are eyeing Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Republicans who favor abortion rights.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Geriatric Assessments Could Fine-Tune Cancer Care For Older Adults
The American Society of Clinical Oncology issued a new guideline that recommends adults 65 and older receive a geriatric assessment when considering or undergoing chemotherapy.
Squeezing Water From Air: Mysterious Machine Is A Lifeline On Battered Island
Moses West a retired Army officer, is hoping to showcase his atmospheric water generator in Vieques, Puerto Rico, and stir up business.
¿Acusados en pañales? Ordenan a inmigrantes pequeños presentarse solos en corte
Mientras la administración Trump dice que está tratando de unir a padres e hijos separados en la frontera, niños tan pequeños como de 3 años deberán presentarse solos ante un juez.
Defendants In Diapers? Immigrant Toddlers Ordered To Appear In Court Alone
Children separated from their parents at the border are being ordered to appear for their own deportation proceedings, attorneys say.
Editorial pages focus on these and other health issues.
Different Takes: Lying Gets A Thumbs Up Instead Of Women’s Right To Abortion; Free Speech Wins
Opinion writers focus on the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling to overturn a California law requiring pregnancy centers to inform patients about low-cost birth control and abortions.
Perspectives: The Government Should Utilize An Obscure Patent Provision To Lower Drug Prices
Read recent commentaries about drug-cost issues.
What Happens When A State’s Medicaid Program Decides A Drug Isn’t Worth The Cost?
News outlets report on stories related to pharmaceutical pricing.
Media outlets report on news from California, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Kansas, Massachusetts and Virginia.
Much-Hyped Easy-To-Take Flu Drug Could Be Approved By FDA Before Next Season’s Peak
People are buzzing about the single-dose drug that could revolutionize the way the flu is treated. Not only is it easy to take, but it’s been shown to reduce the duration of flu symptoms by a little more than a day and reduce the duration of fever by nearly a day. In other public health news: contagious rudeness, osteoporosis, Zika, end-of-life care, and walking.
While the company has been hailed for its benefits for LBGTQ workers, this change is a big step forward that allows “them to truly be who they are,” said Ron Crawford, vice president of benefits at Starbucks. In other news, an Ohio proposal requires teachers to report potentially transgender children to their parents.
The state is just the latest to propose such legislation, which reflects ongoing concern among local governments that seek to reduce contaminants in drinking water and lower the threat of drug abuse stemming from drugs that linger in household medicine chests. In other news, China officials says U.S. should look at domestic factors before pointing the finger at them over the epidemic and the tech industry asserts its interest in playing a role in curbing the crisis.
While the government will match rates of around 90 percent for expansion enrollees, for those who were enrolled pre-expansion the rates are much lower. The crackdown is part of a larger plan to cut improper payments within Medicaid. Other news on the program comes out of Iowa and California.
Work At Ariadne Labs Reveals Glimpse Of Gawande’s Approach To Improving Health Care System
Stat examines the bold ideas and the real-world failures of Ariadne Labs, a partnership between a major Boston hospital and Harvard University, which Dr. Atul Gawande ran. His time there offers a look at what direction he’ll take as the new head of the Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan Chase health initiative.
Despite deep political divisions over what to do with the health law, there seems to be one thing that many people can agree with: people with pre-existing conditions should still be able to get coverage just like consumers without them. In other health law news: the senators involved in pushing the ACA to passage reflect on the years since it became law, and Notre Dame students sue over the administration’s rollback of contraception coverage.
HHS Secretary Alex Azar said there’s no reason that a parent wouldn’t know where their child is, and put the onus on Congress to come up with a solution for the crisis. “I cannot reunite them while the parents are in custody because of the court order that doesn’t allow the kids to be with their parents for more than 20 days. We need Congress to fix that,” Azar said. Meanwhile, more than a dozen states are suing the administration over its separation policy, and a federal judge rules that all families that have been separated must be reunited within 30 days.
VA Pick Has Long History Of Fighting On Front Lines Of His Bosses’ Culture Wars
President Donald Trump’s pick for VA secretary, Robert Wilkie, will have his hearing in front of the Senate today. He brings with him three decades of experience with military policies and a history of working with some polarizing politicians.