Latest KFF Health News Content

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Blood Tests May Have ‘Significantly’ Underestimated Lead Levels, FDA Warns

Morning Briefing

The tests the agency are warning about, though, are not used as often as less invasive screenings, so it should not affect most people, according to officials. However, pregnant women and children should be retested, they say.

After Losing $2M In Funds Under New Measure, Planned Parenthood To Close 4 Clinics In Iowa

Morning Briefing

Iowa’s Republican-led legislature agreed in its recent budget to discontinue a federal Medicaid program and replace it with a state one that bars funding to organizations that provide abortions or maintain facilities where abortions are carried out.

UnitedHealth To Shutter Experiment Of No-Cost-Sharing Plans For Primary And Behavioral Care

Morning Briefing

Modern Healthcare reports that Harken Health, a UnitedHealth subsidiary, will close in Chicago and Atlanta. In more news on the insurer, KHN reports that UnitedHealth faces allegations that it overcharged the federal government by more than $1 billion through its Medicare Advantage plans.

House Repeal Plan Would Cut $43B From Medicaid Coverage Of Kids, Analysis Finds

Morning Briefing

“Over time, per capita caps could significantly reduce the amount of funding that goes towards Medicaid coverage for children,” says Dan Mendelson, president of Avalere, the consulting firm that conducted the study. Meanwhile, in the Senate, Republican moderates float ideas in order to retain Medicaid expansion that could have other consequences for states.

Not Satisfied With What They’re Seeing In Congress, Governors Start Drafting Own Health Plan

Morning Briefing

Governors will have more influence over the final legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, because they’re the ones who will be implementing the vision in their states. Meanwhile, lobbying groups are hoping they’ll have better luck in the Senate than they did the House.

‘There Are No Hands On The Wheel’: Insurers Heap Blame On Administration For Next Year’s Rate Hikes

Morning Briefing

The finger-pointing toward the Trump administration undermines GOP arguments that the marketplaces are collapsing under their own weight. Meanwhile, Republicans are seizing on the increases to drum up support for their repeal-and-replace push.

Democratic Attorneys General Seek Role In ACA Subsidy Case: ‘Lives Are At Stake’

Morning Briefing

The subsidies that are paid to insurance companies under the Affordable Care Act have been a threatened negotiation tool by President Donald Trump and have long been targeted by congressional Republicans. But not paying them would wreak havoc on the marketplaces, insurers and Democrats say.

Por miedo a la deportación, niños sin papeles pueden abandonar el Medicaid

KFF Health News Original

Desde que California permitió por ley que niños indocumentados recibieran servicios completos del Medi-Cal, se inscribieron cerca de 190,000. Con el clima político actual, defensores temen que los padres no los reinscriban por miedo a las deportaciones.

Fearing Deportation, Parents Worry About Undocumented Kids In Medicaid Program

KFF Health News Original

A 2016 California law allowed children without papers to sign up for full Medicaid benefits. More than 189,000 children have been covered, but some families now fear renewing coverage or signing up their kids for the first time.

Populares antiácidos, ¿podrían causar daño a los riñones?

KFF Health News Original

Una nueva investigación ha vinculado a los PPI, con graves efectos secundarios, incluyendo enfermedad renal crónica, y demandas presentadas recientemente alegan que los que producen la droga deberían haber sabido sobre sus daños potenciales.