Latest KFF Health News Stories
Kansas Mental Health Advocates Seek To Change Medicaid Rules For Inmates
Benefits are terminated when people are jailed, but advocates hope to change that so enrollment is just suspended and can be reinstated more easily when incarceration is finished. Also, news outlets report on Medicaid developments in Mississippi, New Hampshire, D.C., Massachusetts and Ohio.
Federal Judge Clears Way For Sharp Cuts To Medicare’s 340B Program
Hospitals had sought to block $1.6 billion in Trump administration cuts to the program, which lets some hospitals buy drugs at discounted prices.
In Pursuit Of Top Quality Ratings, Are VA Hospitals Leaving Sick, Needy Veterans Without Care?
Veterans Affairs hospitals are limiting the number of patients they take in and cherry-picking cases to avoid complicated ones so that their quality ratings are better, some accuse.
Remaining Members Of Presidential HIV/AIDS Advisory Council Fired En Masse
Last June, six of the members resigned in protest of the Trump administration’s policies. The rest were dismissed by a White House letter at the end of the year.
Trump To Undergo First Physical Exam Of Presidency
Presidents routinely take exams to prove they are fit for service. President Donald Trump will have his on Jan. 12. Meanwhile, the mental health of past Oval Office occupants, as well as the present one, continues to be a subject of discussion.
Long-Term Solution For CHIP Funding On Docket As Congress Returns To Jam-Packed Schedule
Right before the Christmas break, Congress plowed $3 billion into the Children’s Health Insurance Program, but that stopgap only keeps it funded for three more months. Meanwhile, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) still wants to push legislation restoring insurer subsidies.
Looking Ahead In New Year: What’s To Come In Health Care For 2018
The health care landscape is set for a tumultuous year. Media outlets take note of what you should watch for — from the health law to hospitals and more.
GOP Reform Did Not Halt Resumption Of ACA’s Medical Devices Tax
A 2.3 percent excise tax on medical device manufacturers went back into effect Monday after it had been suspended for two years. But the industry is hoping that Congress will still blunt the impact.
Final Tally For Health Law Sign-Ups Drops Slightly To 8.7M With Late Cancellations
The initial number reported was 8.8 million, but the revised total was down about 80,000. Still, the revised number is stronger than many expected at the beginning of the shortened enrollment period. Meanwhile, more than 4 in 5 of those signed up for coverage are from states that went for President Donald Trump in the 2016 election.
In Strange Twist, GOP Changes Have Inadvertently Given Government Larger Role In Health Law
Because of the Trump administration’s decision to end insurer subsidies, the government may actually pay more into the system at the same time that healthier people may flee the marketplace because the mandate has been repealed. But don’t expect that victory to be the last of the health law fights for the coming year. Other programs, like Medicaid, are also expected to be debated.
First Edition: January 2, 2018
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Terrifying Brush With Death Drives Doctor To Fight For Patients
Dr. Rana Awdish was completing a fellowship in critical care when she became critically ill herself. Now, she helps other doctors understand the patient’s perspective.
Wrecked And Retching: Obscure Vomiting Illness Linked To Long-Term Pot Use
Emergency room doctors are seeing a growing number of marijuana users with a mysterious condition that causes extreme vomiting and abdominal pain.
Frail Patients Losing Access To Dental House Calls
Dental hygienists who treat frail and elderly residents in nursing homes and other facilities are dropping out of California’s publicly funded dental program for the poor because of recent changes that cut their pay and create more administrative hurdles.
Care Suffers As More Nursing Homes Feed Money Into Corporate Webs
Increasingly, owners of nursing homes outsource services to companies in which they also have financial interest or control. That allows the nursing homes to claim to be in the red while owners reap hidden profits.
Trump Administration Relaxes Financial Penalties Against Nursing Homes
Medicare is discouraging regional offices from levying fines for “one-time mistakes” or from using daily fines that seek to put pressure on nursing homes to make changes.
Sickle Cell Patients, Families And Doctors Face A ‘Fight For Everything’
Premature death, a dearth of treatments, mistreatment in emergency rooms and a woeful lack of funding are just a few of the problems confronting people with sickle cell disease.
Children’s Insurance, Other Health Programs Funded — For Now — In Bill
In a short-term spending bill, Congress extends money to the Children’s Health Insurance Program through March.
Viewpoints: Obamacare Is Not Repealed; Puerto Rico’s Water Needs; Keeping Humanity In Medicine
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Media outlets report on news from California, Colorado, Illinois, Oregon, Maryland, Minnesota and Tennessee.