Latest KFF Health News Stories
The California law at the center of the case required clinics that counsel women against abortion to inform clients of the availability of abortions paid for by the state. The justices ruled that the measure violates the First Amendment. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that California can use other means to tell women about the availability of the procedure, but it “cannot co-opt the licensed facilities to deliver its message for it.”
Polio Virus Boosts Survival Rates For Patients With Viciously Lethal Brain Tumor
Even with aggressive treatment, people diagnosed with Glioblastoma typically survive less than 20 months, while those with a recurrence usually die within a year. But 21 percent of the patients treated with the polio virus — all with disease that had recurred — were alive after three years. Scientists caution the treatment is in the very early stages.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
ACA Protections For Sick Patients Still Popular Despite GOP’s Efforts To End Them
Despite a decision by the Trump administration to ask a court to nullify the portion of the health law guaranteeing coverage to the sick, the Kaiser Family Foundation poll finds most people want insurers to be required to offer coverage and not charge more.
‘You Can’t Have Perfection’: Lawmakers Who Forged ACA Look Back
The five Democrats who led the key committees that wrote the Affordable Care Act talk with Julie Rovner at a session at the Spotlight Health portion of the annual Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado.
¿Pensando en un plan de asociación de salud? Lee la letra chica
La administración Trump lanzó una norma para que estos planes tengan más flexibilidad y las empresas puedan unirse aunque sean de diferentes ramos y estén en diferentes estados.
Opinion pages focus on these and other health issues.
Media outlets report on news from Michigan, Mississippi, Texas, California, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.
Amerigroup To Fight Kansas’ Decision To Drop Insurer From KanCare Contracts
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced that it will replace Amerigroup with Aetna. A spokeswoman for the company said Amerigroup has provided Kansans on Medicaid “improved access to high-quality health care since 2013” and today serves more than 127,000 KanCare recipients. Medicaid news comes out of Florida and Ohio, as well.
High Suicide Rates, Opioid Epidemic At Top Of New CDC Director’s Priorities
Robert Redfield, in his first interview in the position of CDC director, talked about the importance of realizing the role firearms play in the country’s suicide rate as well as his personal connection to the opioid crisis. In other public health news: the “marshmallow test,” DNA collection, dementia and guns, meditation, palliative care and more.
Woman Claims Pharmacist Refused To Fill Her Miscarriage Drug On Moral Grounds
The Arizona State Board of Pharmacy is investigating the allegations. Meanwhile, the scandal at USC has lead to a moment of reckoning and reflection in the gynecology field.
Measuring traces of the drugs in the wastewater can paint a detailed picture of the epidemic, and give a powerful tool to communities that are struggling. Other news on the crisis comes out of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Kansas.
Hospitals are also facing pressure from federal regulators who are demanding more transparency over health care costs. In other hospital news: the American Hospital Association submits ideas on how to reduce the backlog of denied Medicare claims; hospitals are expanding to fit the needs of transgender patients; and Washington state’s largest psychiatric hospital has lost its federal certification.
The thinking has been that requiring workers to shoulder more of the cost of care will also encourage them to cut back on unnecessary spending. But it didn’t work out that way. In other industry news: competition in the marketplace and General Electric’s plans to spin-off its health care business.
First Marijuana-Based Drug Approved By FDA In Expected Move
The drug, Epidiolex, is used to treat seizures in a very small population with a rare form of epilepsy. It does not create a high for patients.
While the VA called the data behind the analysis “fake news,” the report finds residents in a majority of the nursing homes serving nearly 50,000 veterans endured potential neglect and inadequate pain management. “They should be assessing individuals and doing what they can to manage it,” said Robyn Grant, director of public policy and advocacy at the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care. “And if it’s not working, they should be trying different things.”
Advocates Warn About Lingering Health Problems In Detained Children Even After Short Amount Of Time
Meanwhile, the administration has temporarily halted the prosecution of parents and guardians, unless they have a criminal history or the child’s welfare was in question, and Republicans are looking at a narrow fix for the crisis instead of a sweeping overhaul of immigration policy.
Not only is there a lack of abrupt exits from the marketplaces like there have been in the past, but insurers are also actually starting to expand their offerings to new areas. Experts say that if not for the legal and political uncertainty surrounding the law, the marketplace would be “very robust” right now.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Thinking About An Association Health Plan? Read The Fine Print
Federal officials say loosening the regulation of these plans will offer small businesses a more affordable health insurance option, but critics are wary.