Latest KFF Health News Stories
In Battle Of Insurance Titans, Companies Eye Walmart’s ‘Ruthless’ Tactics To Hold Down Costs
In other marketplace news, outlets report on companies as well as doctors who are opting out of the traditional health insurance models in favor of alternatives while a Texas hospital settles its fight with Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
CMS Report Details Stability Of Health Law Marketplaces, Undercutting Insurers’ Complaints
Insurers fired back, though, saying the report — which showed costs remaining basically flat between the first two years of the Affordable Care Act — was not reflective of what they have experienced.
Agency Shuffle: Karen DeSalvo To Step Down As Top Federal Health IT Coordinator
Dr. Vindell Washington will take over the job as head of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. DeSalvo will continue in her other role at the Department of Health and Human Services as acting assistant secretary of health.
Administration Dips Into NIH Funds As Congress Refuses To Budge On Zika
Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell announced that the administration is moving $81 million away from biomedical research and other health programs to continue Zika vaccine development funding, which would run out by the end of the month otherwise.
First Edition: August 12, 2016
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
More Small, Midsized Firms Choose To Pay Workers’ Medical Costs Directly
Many expected that the federal health law would push these employers in this direction. An analysis by the Employee Benefit Research Institute finds evidence that these predictions are coming to fruition.
Administration Paints Rosy Future For Obamacare Marketplaces
Report portrays Affordable Care Act’s individual market as improving with rising enrollments of healthier, lower-risk consumers, a performance that clashes with recent complaints from some large insurers.
Los niños de menos ingresos pierden exámenes de visión cruciales, aunque tengan seguro
Investigadores estiman que miles de niños sufren dos afecciones oculares debilitantes porque no tienen los examenes apropiados cuando son más chicos.
Researchers Identify A Key Weapon of Zika Virus
University of Southern California scientists determined the virus uses certain types of protein to interrupt the brain development of fetuses. The finding is a step toward the possible development of an intervention that could prevent the infection from leading to microcephaly.
Should Big Insurance Become Like Walmart To Lower Health Costs?
Evidence shows dominant insurers hold down hospital prices. Big insurers seeking to get bigger want to take that idea to the extreme.
Viewpoints: Medicaid’s Shortcomings; Mixed Messages Regarding Pain And Opioids
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Longer Looks: Noticing Cardiac Arrest; Bug Hunting; And The Science Of Cupping
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Outlets report on health news from Texas, Delaware, Ohio, Minnesota, Florida, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, California, Colorado and Georgia.
Anti-Abortion Activist’s Group Gets $1.6M As Part Of Texas’ Healthy Woman Program
The Healthy Texas Women program absorbs an old program that ousted Planned Parenthood, which criticized the grant saying it funnels “hard-earned tax dollars in support of their anti-abortion agenda.”
‘I Assume You’re Calling About My Death’: Clerical Errors Turn Some Into Living Dead
One day a man got a letter from the Social Security Administration offering condolences about his recent loss of life, and what follows is a Monty Python-worthy scramble to figure out just what happened.
Puerto Ricans Shrug Off Concerns As Zika Ravages Island
For many residents, Zika is just the latest virus to hit the island — and it doesn’t seem as scary as some that have come before it. But for researchers trying to contain it, it’s terrifying. “This is something you would imagine if you were writing science fiction — but it’s the reality,” says Brenda Rivera Garcia, the state epidemiologist for Puerto Rico.
Hospitals, Paralyzed By Fear Over Penalties, Are Tossing Organs, Refusing To Do Transplants
Surgeries involving imperfect organs and extremely ill patients are more risky, so hospitals that do many of them run the risk of poor outcomes that may hurt their performance on the standards.
Obama Administration Lifts Restrictions On Marijuana To Aid Medical Research
Now, universities will be able to apply to grow marijuana, which experts say will alleviate the shortage researchers have faced before. However, the federal Drug Enforcement Agency has decided to reaffirm marijuana’s classification as a “Schedule I” drug.
Prosecutors Investigate Valeant’s Link To Mail-Order-Pharmacy For Possible Fraud
The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan is looking into the company’s relationship to Philidor Rx Services, and whether it defrauded insurers by hiding the extent of those ties.
Specialty Drug Costs Are Top Reason Insurance Will Be More Expensive Next Year, Survey Finds
Meanwhile, other stories related to the insurance market focus on expenses for uninsured testicular cancer patients, a Georgia health system deal and a federal fraud indictment in Florida.