Latest KFF Health News Stories
Outlets report on health news from California, Minnesota, Florida, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Kansas.
Community Health Systems, Seeking To Relieve Debt Load, Aims To Sell 17 Hospitals
The company is also looking to sell its home-health-care business and some real estate. In other news, a suburban hospital in Maryland battles a bacterial outbreak, and an Illinois hospital falls a grade in recent safety rankings.
Military Medics Rethink Battlefield Treatments Based On Recent Combat Situations
And news outlets report on how programs surrounding water therapy and yoga can help veterans’ health.
New Site Allows Ky. Residents To Find Overdose Antidote Easily
Visitors can get information on how to recognize and react to overdose, as well as overviews of state laws that relate to the epidemic. Meanwhile, New York’s attorney general has announced that a drug maker has agreed to extend a price cut on naloxone and a Vermont nurse pleads guilty to using morphine intended for her patients.
The Billion-Dollar Question: Who Invented New DNA Editing Technique?
The CRISPR-Cas9 technology is revolutionary, but figuring out who actually owns the intellectual property is turning into a battle royal. In other news, genetic testing is costing taxpayers millions a year with very little to show for it.
Massachusetts Study Finds Dying Patients Still Often End Up In Hospital, Rather Than At Home
The study by the state’s Health Policy Commission found that in patients’ last six months of life, Medicare spends more on hospital care than on any other health service. The New York Times explores the growing businesses geared to help consumers plan for end-of-life decisions.
Senators Object To Halt In Medicaid Program That Provided Mental Health Care Options
In the experiment, some states were allowed to use Medicaid funds to pay for inpatient emergency psychiatric care in private hospitals that normally wouldn’t qualify for Medicaid funding because they had too many beds. News outlets also report on Medicaid developments in Alabama and Georgia.
Medicare To Cover Program Pioneered By YMCA To Prevent Diabetes
The new benefit, which starts in 2018, provides patients with a lifestyle coach to help improve diets and increase physical activity, and research shows it lowers Medicare spending by $2,650 per person over 15 months. At the same time, Medicare also announces new physician care policies that will provide more funding to doctors for coordinating patient care.
Health Care Consumers’ Decisions Have Financial Impact
The Wall Street Journal reminds readers about how shopping around can reveal that health prices can vary, even in the same area, by thousands of dollars. Meanwhile, The Associated Press offers tips on how to set the “right amount” for a flexible spending account.
West Virginia AG: ‘Woefully Deficient’ Mylan Settlement Sends ‘Message Of Leniency’
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch blasting the $465 million settlement, which came about over charges that Mylan improperly classified the EpiPen allergy auto-injector in reports to the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program.
Anemic Earnings Reports Show The Bell Has Tolled For Pharma’s Price-Hiking Strategies
In the midst of public furor over the gouging tactics, it’s starting to become clear that pharmaceutical companies can no longer rely on price hikes to boost their earnings. So the industry is scrambling to adjust.
2016’s Endangered Species: The Politician Who Bucks Party Lines Over Abortion
Two of the five Republicans who sometimes vote against their party on abortion issues face tough races, showing that lines over the politically charged topic are only sharpening. Meanwhile, House Speaker Paul Ryan backs Donald Trump’s call for a special session to repeal and replace the health law, a look at how the gubernatorial races could affect Medicaid expansion and a ballot initiative in Missouri has a surprising backer.
CDC: Health Law’s Historic Headway In Reducing Uninsured May Be Tapped Out
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found that during 2015, an estimated 28.6 million U.S. residents were uninsured, while the corresponding number through the first six months of 2016 was 28.4 million.
Anthem May Pare Its Health Law Offerings If Profits Don’t Improve In 2017
Chief Executive Officer Joseph Swedish said he will be watching for significant changes that are aimed at improving the sustainability of the marketplace. If such changes aren’t evident, the company will reassess its level of participation in the federal exchanges.
First Edition: November 3, 2016
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Maverick AIDS Activist To Porn Police? The Man Behind California’s Proposition 60
Michael Weinstein of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation says he is promoting condoms where others have forgotten them.
FDA’s Drug Approval Team Copes With 700 Unfilled Jobs As Industry Lures Staff
The FDA’s drug-approval team is short more than 700 people and losing skilled staff members to the drug industry.
Why Tobacco Companies Are Spending Millions To Boost A Cigarette Tax
R.J. Reynolds has put $12 million into an effort to raise tobacco taxes in Missouri. But the proposed 60-cents per pack tax, still among the lowest in the nation, is not likely to make many smokers quit.
Viewpoints: Insurance Costs Pinch Paychecks; Artificial Intelligence And Drug Safety
A selection of opinions and editorials from around the country.
Perspectives: California’s Proposition 61 Is Well-Intentioned, But Flawed
Read recent commentaries about drug-cost issues.