Latest KFF Health News Stories
Perspectives: There Was A Time When Drugmakers Were Considered Heroes And Not Villains
Read recent commentaries about drug-cost issues.
News outlets report on stories related to pharmaceutical pricing.
Media outlets report on news from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Maryland, California, Missouri, Florida, Arizona, Massachusetts, New Orleans and Iowa.
High-Profile Negotiations Between Piedmont Healthcare And Blue Cross Come Down To Wire
Media outlets report on hospital and health system news from Georgia, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.
LGBTQ Rights Organization Releases Rankings For Hospitals Across The Country
The Human Rights Campaign bases its rating system on factors such as patient nondiscrimination and staff training.
Debate Brewing Over Service Dogs And If They Truly Help Veterans With PTSD
And if they do, who should pay for them?
Pregnant Women Left Without Safety Net As Hospitals Across Country Close Maternal Services
Often times, the closures are being seen in rural areas where the communities are already isolated and impoverished. In other women’s health news: fertility clinics, Planned Parenthood’s tweets, abortion rules, misdiagnosing women, pregnant inmates, and a midwife delivering her own baby by c-section.
“I haven’t slept since 1979,” said Kevin Charest the chief information security officer for the Health Care Service Corp., which is responsible for protecting the records of the nearly 15 million participants in Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in Texas and four other states. “If you knew what I knew, you wouldn’t sleep either.”
The proposal, which is expected to be approved early next month, would limit Medicare coverage for longterm high-dose prescriptions. Critics say the move will leave patients who need help with pain management scrambling. In other news on the epidemic: how the crisis has affected the workforce; a mobile wound-tending unit; curbing opioid use through insurance companies; suicides; and more.
So far, CMS has given three states the green light to require able-bodied adult Medicaid enrollees to work or volunteer in order to get health coverage. The costs of standing up systems to monitor and enforce those rules, however, has drawn scrutiny. Medicaid news comes out of Utah, Maine, Mississippi and California, as well.
The FDA gained authority to regulate e-cigarettes in 2016 after years of pushback from the industry. Manufacturers were supposed to submit their products for review by August, but last year FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said he would delay the deadline until 2022.
Aetna To Offer Drug Rebates Directly To Consumers, Following In UnitedHealth’s Footsteps
Typically insurers say they generally pass rebates to their clients, such as employers. Beginning in 2019, though, Aetna will automatically apply the rebates at the time of sale to insured plan members.
Trump Drawing Out Dramatic Public Standoff With Shulkin In Characteristic Method
It’s been reported that President Donald Trump wants to fire embattled VA Secretary David Shulkin, but he has yet to make the final move against the secretary who maintains support both on Capitol Hill and with veterans.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Thousands Mistakenly Enrolled During California’s Medicaid Expansion, Feds Find
California health officials do not dispute most of the findings, saying they have already made improvements in determining eligibility.
How Many Opioid Overdoses Are Suicides?
Opioid overdoses and related deaths are still climbing, U.S. statistics show. Teasing out which overdoses are intentional can be hard, but is important for treatment, doctors say.
Readers Seek Transparency On Surgery Centers, ‘Bill Of The Month’ Investigations
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Sin contexto, ¿es bueno leer los resultados de exámenes médicos por internet?
En los últimos años, hospitales y consultorios han instado a los pacientes a inscribirse en los portales, para tener acceso rápido y continuo a sus registros. Pero a veces los resultados llegan antes que la voz del médico.
Editorial pages feature these health topics and others.
Media outlets report on news from Florida, California, Maryland, Texas and New Hampshire.