Latest KFF Health News Stories
GOP Seeks To Sweeten Health Savings Account Deals. Will Consumers Bite?
A new study found that fewer than half of people with health savings accounts deposited any money in them in 2016.
Medicare’s Financial Outlook Slightly Improved, Trustees Say
The assessment pushes back the date for the hospital insurance trust fund to go bankrupt by one year. It also says Part B premiums next year will be stable.
Senate Health Bill Still Short On ‘Yays’ But Leaders Vow Vote Next Week
At least two Republicans have already said they cannot support the new legislative draft, which means all other GOP senators would have to agree to the bill to pass it.
Transgender Health Care Targeted In Crusade To Undo ACA
HHS Secretary Tom Price and President Donald Trump have vowed to use administrative powers to mitigate the health law rules that created “burdens” or that don’t match up with their agenda.
Senate Revises Health Care Legislation: Read The New Bill
The Senate releases an updated draft of its health care legislation. Read the bill and compare with the original.
GOP Tweaks Health Bill In Attempt To Appease Both Sides But Doubts Remain
There have been concessions made to both moderates and conservatives, but the road to 50 votes is far from clear.
Viewpoints: Obamacare Options; Is It Really Exploding Or Imploding?; Reforming Medicaid
Opinion writers offer their analysis of the ongoing debate on Capitol Hill and across the country over health care reforms and other issues.
Longer Looks: The Future Of Repeal; A New ‘War On Drugs’; And IVF Innovations
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Media outlets report on news from California, Colorado, Maryland, Illinois, Florida, Missouri, Wisconsin, New Hampshire and Ohio.
About 1,200 Nurses Strike At Major Boston-Area Hospital
The nurses union at Tufts Medical Center held a one-day strike over a contract dispute centered on the administrators’ plans to alter retirement benefits.
Study May Provide Road Map For Scientists Searching For Genes Linked To Autism
Researchers found that the way children search out social experiences is connected to genetics. In other public health news: prostate cancer, Zika, food safety and diets, deadly infections and more.
Money, Recognition And Dark Chocolate: How To Sell Doctors On Prescribing Powerful Painkillers
Two former sales reps pleaded guilty to violating the federal anti-kickback law in bribing doctors to prescribe Subsys. A look at the case shows how companies can get doctors to do their bidding.
‘Most Exciting Thing I’ve Seen In My Lifetime’: FDA Panel Approves Groundbreaking Cancer Treatment
Full approval from the agency is expected to follow.
Medicare Analysis To Be Released Today Could Trigger Obamacare’s Mandate To Cut Spending
Experts have warned that the report expected to be released today on the finances of Medicare could launch a process under the health law to make cuts. A panel expected to do that, called the Independent Payment Advisory Board, has not been named, however.
Despite Complaints About FDA’s Right-To-Try Approach, Watchdog Says It’s Mostly Doing A Good Job
The Government Accountability Office did say the agency could do better at providing clear and transparent information about potential side effects of the experimental drugs. In other pharmaceutical news: the House passed an Food and Drug Administration authorization bill, President Donald Trump considers scaling down a program that makes drugmakers give discounted products to hospitals, and a new method might help shave off development time for drugs.
New CDC Director’s Track Record On Public Health Initiatives Worries Some Advocates
Brenda Fitzgerald chose to partner with Coke in an effort to fight obesity, a move that raises some eyebrows. “We hope Dr. Fitzgerald, as head of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, avoids partnering with Coke on obesity for the same reason she would avoid partnering with the tobacco industry on lung cancer prevention,” said Jim O’Hara of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
NIH Gets $1.1B Funding Increase From House Appropriators
The funding boost for the National Institutes of Health, which was advanced by a House subcommittee, is counter to the White House plan to slash medical research spending and is offset with reductions to family planning and refugee services.
Lawsuit Against California Claims Medicaid Provides ‘Unequal System Of Health Care’
Civil rights advocates file suit against California, alleging that care provided by Medi-Cal, the state’s health program for low-income people, is substandard and disproportionately hurts Latinos — by far the largest group of enrollees.
‘Horrified’ Senators Question IHS Official Over Reports Of Unsafe, Poor Care At Hospitals
Acting Indian Health Service Director Rear Adm. Michael Weahkee says he visited the hospitals in question and “saw a committed caring workforce that is working hard.”
Obamacare Markets Showing Signs Of Profitability
Although Republicans often point to signs suggesting the individual insurance markets are collapsing, recent analysis suggests they are stabilizing, Politico reports. Other news outlets look at insurance issues including some companies’ move to cover early chronic health problems to forestall bigger expenses later and efforts to keep beneficiaries out of emergency rooms.