Latest KFF Health News Stories
Pfizer To Buy Medivation To Add Cancer Drugs To Portfolio
In other marketplace news, Valeant hires a new CFO.
Cost Of Life-Saving EpiPen Injectors Soars To $700 A Set
As awareness of the issue grows, the drug’s manufacturer, Mylan, faces pressure to justify the price increase.
Business Ties Can Conflict With Work Of Board Members, Administrators At Nonprofit Hospitals
The Wall Street Journal analyzes Internal Revenue Service data to look at the issue. It finds that hospitals are often large employers with complex business arrangements, so they can face more conflicts of interest than other nonprofits. Meanwhile, in other hospital news, The Associated Press examines the growth of freestanding ERs, and KHN looks at the difficulty of talking about medical mistakes.
Ohio Managed Care Plans Get Good Grades From State Medicaid Officials
In other states, Iowa waives possible sanctions against insurers as its transition continues to privatized Medicaid transition. Also, the Alabama Senate approves a proposal for a state lottery that will help fund the state-federal health insurance program for low-income people.
Obama Tops List Of Health Care’s Most Influential People For Third Time
Modern Healthcare’s annual rankings place President Barack Obama at No. 1. Industry executives, regulators and lawmakers make up the rest of the 2016 list.
Insecticides And Long Sleeves: Communities Try To Protect Themselves Against Zika
In Florida, the virus forces pregnant women, sperm and egg banks as well as schools to make hard choices. Elsewhere, the National Institutes of Health warns that the Gulf Coast states are vulnerable to a similar Zika outbreak, while New York and South Carolina also take preemptive steps.
Spread Of Zika Renews Pressure On Lawmakers Over Funding And Abortion
Florida Republicans and Democrats call on House Speaker Paul Ryan to act now on the impasse over funds to fight the virus, while Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell suggests the Obama administration tap other sources of money. Meanwhile, abortion politics are also being inflamed by Zika.
Americans Covered By Obamacare Watch Campaign 2016 With Vested Interests
The Associated Press spotlights the potential impact of this year’s elections on the health law and the people that it covers.
Federal Officials Warn Medicaid Enrollees To Drop Subsidized Marketplace Coverage
The government is sending out letters to tens of thousands of people who may have duplicate coverage. Also, a look at how small business owners are feeling pressure to offer insurance, how many marketplace plans often are bare bones offerings and problems in the tanning industry are blamed on the health law.
With Aetna Pullback, Many Marketplaces Will Have Only One Insurer In 2017
The lack of competition, highlighted in two new reports from consultants Avalere and McKinsey, will be most acute in Southern and rural areas. Also, a look at how the decision by Aetna is affecting the exchanges in Minnesota and Georgia.
First Edition: August 22, 2016
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Doctors, Hospitals Prepare For Difficult Talks Surrounding Medical Mistakes
MedStar Health is among the hospital systems nationwide that are setting up support systems to help doctors talk openly to patients and their families when treatments go awry.
‘More At Peace’: Interpreters Key To Easing Patients’ Final Days
But more training is needed for such translators to do their jobs well, without miscommunications and misunderstandings.
Zika Travel Advisory Widens To Miami Beach After More Local Transmission Cases Confirmed
The five new cases prompt the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to expand the area in Florida that pregnant women should avoid due to risks of the mosquito-borne virus.
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Research Roundup: Mental Health Challenges; Telehealth Parity; Long-Term Care Insurance
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
Outlets report on health news from Illinois, Minnesota, Kansas, California, Texas, Georgia, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Tennessee and Florida.
Florida Bill Preventing State Funding To Planned Parenthood Clinics Blocked
A judge puts a hold on disputed portions of the law after attorneys for Gov. Rick Scott’s administration agree to forgo further legal action.
How To Measure Biological Age: Researchers Focus on Latinos’ Longevity for Clues
Meanwhile, news outlets cover the latest on a deadly brain-eating amoeba, the Food and Drug Administration investigation of WEN hair products and the impact of PSA screening on prostate cancer diagnoses.
Study Pinpoints 15 Regions In DNA Associated With Depression
It’s unlikely the research, done by consumer genetic-testing company 23andMe, will be able to be turned into a diagnostic tool, but it will help scientists study the way depression works.