Latest KFF Health News Content

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Many Black, Latino Parents Don’t Know Children Are Eligible For Health Coverage: Study

Morning Briefing

Nearly half of parents studied didn’t realize their kids were eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Also in Medicaid news, Iowa’s governor says the transition to a controversial managed care program there is going smoothly, while outlets report on other developments in Kansas, North Carolina and New Mexico.

As ‘Terrifying’ Fentanyl Crisis Sweeps The Country, Officials Zero In On China As Supplier

Morning Briefing

Chinese suppliers are flooding the U.S. and Canada with both the extremely potent drug and the machinery used to create decentralized production labs. At least 10 overdose deaths in California have been linked to fentanyl. Elsewhere, leaders, law enforcement, health care providers and others gathered in North Carolina to discuss how to combat heroin in the state.

‘It’s Not Just About Polar Bears’: Report Finds Climate Change Is Making Americans Sicker

Morning Briefing

Health issues will increase with dirtier air, more contaminated water and tainted food, the report warns. It also forecasts thousands of heat-wave deaths, longer allergy seasons and diseases such as those spread by mosquitoes.

Both Sides Of Abortion Debate Seize On Clinton’s ‘Unborn Person’ Comment

Morning Briefing

The Democratic front-runner was the latest politician to draw criticism from both pro-abortion rights and anti-abortion groups when she said an “unborn person doesn’t have constitutional rights.” In other news, Republicans in Missouri consider their options on whether to hold a Planned Parenthood regional CEO in contempt.

Movement To Incorporate Patient-Generated Data Into Clinical Care Grows

Morning Briefing

New online tracking tools let patients and doctors speak the same language: data. “It allows both the patient and clinician to see information in real time, both as a method of surveillance to find things out that are better to act on now, but also as a more specific and accurate record of what’s working and for decision-making,” says Lisa Opipari-Arrigan, an associate professor at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.

Senate Committee Chair Eyes End Of The Week For 21st Century Cures Act Deal

Morning Briefing

The main obstacle to a deal has been finding a way to pay for new mandatory funding for medical research at the National Institutes of Health. In other news from Capitol Hill, senators ask HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell for information pertaining to data that was stolen from the agency and are frustrated by the answers she provides.

Top Medical Procedure Consumers Price Shop For Is A Colonoscopy, Study Finds

Morning Briefing

Mammograms and childbirth services are in second- and third-place, respectively. In other health cost news, another study finds that patients miss out on services and savings by not discussing the price of treatment options with their doctors.

Pfizer-Allergan $150B Merger Thrown Into Doubt After Treasury Imposes New Rules On Tax Inversions

Morning Briefing

The move, which was more aggressive than expected, is aimed at companies that are attempting to move their tax addresses out of the U.S. to shift profits to low-tax countries using a maneuver known as earnings stripping. “They’ve addressed literally every benefit that one attempted to gain from an inversion and shut them all down systematically,” says Robert Willens, a New York-based tax analyst.

Ark. Lawmakers Advise Governor To Drop Medicaid Managed Care Plan For Now

Morning Briefing

In a letter, House and Senate leaders advise Gov. Asa Hutchinson to not ask the legislature to take up his proposal to switch part of the Medicaid program to a private managed care model when he calls the legislature into special session this week to consider the state’s Medicaid expansion.

Final Rule Provides Slight Increase In Medicare Advantage Payments

Morning Briefing

The payment amount decision, which came after heavy lobbying, was a bit lower than the administration initially suggested. On another part of the rule, however, the administration delayed efforts to cut payments to employer-sponsored Medicare Advantage plans.

Feds Pushing States To Keep Seniors In Home, Community Long-Term Care Programs

Morning Briefing

The move is an effort to keep these seniors out of nursing homes as states grapple with rising demand for long-term care and the effect of that on state Medicaid spending. Also in the news, radiologists and minority health advocates in Connecticut are seeking to reverse cuts in Medicaid reimbursement rates there.

Hospitals Face Fallout When Staff Succumbs To ‘VIP Syndrome’

Morning Briefing

In one such case, reports reveal policy violations at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston during treatment of a high-paying patient. Meanwhile, outlets report on news from All Children’s Hospital in Florida, MetroHealth System in Ohio, as well as a merger in Georgia.