Latest KFF Health News Stories
In Monumental Policy Shift, Administration Paves Way For States To Impose Medicaid Work Requirements
Adding a work requirement to Medicaid would mark one of the biggest changes to the program since its inception in 1966, and is likely to prompt a lawsuit from patient advocacy groups.
J.P. Morgan Health Conference All About The Deals Amid Uncertainty For Millions
The lofty ideas floated and billion-dollar deals sealed at J.P. Morgan’s elite annual conference stand in stark contrast to the uncertainty that clouds health care outside its confines.
First Edition: January 11, 2018
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Trump Administration Clears Way To Force Some Medicaid Enrollees To Work
Allowing states to mandate that non-disabled Medicaid enrollees work as a condition for coverage would mark one of the biggest changes to the program since it began more than 50 years ago. A decision on the first of the state requests could come within days.
For Elder Health, Trips To The ER Are Often A Tipping Point
Experts provide tips for older patients and their caregivers to cope with the physical and mental declines associated with emergency room visits.
Fallout From ‘Nuclear Button’ Tweets: Sales Of Anti-Radiation Drug Skyrocket
Orders for potassium iodide reportedly jumped after a Jan. 2 war of words between Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un.
Facebook Live: It’s 2018, Can Big Pharma Hold The Line Against Pricing Controls?
In this chat, KHN senior correspondent Jay Hancock discusses how drug-pricing battles could play out this year in D.C., state legislatures and beyond. What do we know about the drug industry’s agenda to quiet the drumbeat of cost control and transparency proposals? How will they officials target their efforts? Will the battles take place at the state level? Senior editor Stephanie Stapleton moderates.
Viewpoints: Lessons Learned From Opioid Crisis And A Path To Ending It; Azar At The HHS Helm
A selection of opinions on health care from news outlets around the country.
Read recent commentaries about drug-cost issues.
News outlets report on stories related to pharmaceutical pricing.
State Highlights: NYC Eyes New $400M Public Health Lab; Fla. Judge Blocks Abortion Delay Law
Media outlets report on news from New York, Florida, California, Tennessee, Ohio and New Hampshire.
Dallas-Based Tenet Expects 700 More Job Cuts
Corporate and hospital operations positions are expected to be among those hardest hit. News outlets also report on developments in Delaware, New Hampshire, Maryland, Arizona and Louisiana.
Women Living In Rural Areas Tend To Have Sex Earlier, Birth More Kids Than Those Living In City
Researchers also look at differences in marriage rates and contraception methods between the two populations. In other public health news today: clinical trials, the global drug industry, CRISPR, a “mini-pillbox,” infant mortality, medical pot for cancer patients, anti-aging facial exercises and an astronaut’s tall tale.
Flu Season Is ‘One Of The Nastiest In Years’; Severity Of Symptoms Leading To More Hospitalizations
But in California, where a record number of people have died, Department of Public Health chief Dr. James Watt says, “Our hope is that because we started early, we’ll end early.”
Senate Democrats Push For Additional $25B In Opioid Funding In Federal Budget
“Make no mistake: This is a national public health emergency, and we still don’t see a robust federal response. The current federal budget negotiations give us an opportunity to right this wrong,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who is working with Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) to get more money. In related news, journalist Sam Quinones testified as a rare single witness during a Senate hearing on the drug epidemic. And opioids emerge as a campaign issue in the primary election battle of onetime drug czar nominee Rep. Tom Marino (R-Pa.)
Judge Overseeing Hundreds Of Lawsuits Against Opioid Makers Implores Sides To Work Together
“What we’ve got to do is dramatically reduce the number of pills that are out there, and make sure that the pills that are out there are being used properly,” Judge Dan Polster said. In other opioid news: Native American tribes sue manufacturers over their role in the crisis, doctors start to shift from zero-pain goals for patients, officials in Philadelphia mull safe-injection sites, and more.
The failure may mark the unraveling of an approach to Alzheimer’s treatment that has held hope: increasing the supply of the brain chemical serotonin in patients. Scientists and investors, however, still remain optimistic that eventually a drug will be developed that can fight Alzheimer’s.
Senate Disaster Bill May Give Puerto Rico Full Medicaid Funding For 2 Years
The funding could be a critical boon for the U.S. territory’s struggling hospitals. In other Medicaid news, South Dakota’s governor announces that he will seek federal approval to set a work requirement for able-bodied adults enrolling in the program, West Virginia lawmakers question spending on abortions and ask for names of doctors performing them, and Illinois may change how it allots money from the program to hospitals.
‘It Keeps Us Up At Night’: Parents Racked With Stress As CHIP Funding Languishes In Congress
“If Bobby doesn’t have this medication, he will die. It’s as simple as that,” said Tracy Belt, a mother who has a son with Type 1 diabetes. Congress has passed a short-term funding fix for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, but lawmakers are stills squabbling over how to pay for a longer-term solution.
Trump Supports Bipartisan Bill To Stabilize Marketplaces, Sen. Alexander Says
Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) have been working on legislation that would fund insurer subsidies for the next two years. The bill has only made progress in fits and starts, as Republicans chipped away at the health law last year. Also in the news: the Affordable Care Act in court again.