Latest KFF Health News Stories
States’ Budget Woes Taking A Toll On Health Care And Medicaid Services
News outlets report on efforts around the country to close state budget gaps that may cut health services for low-income residents.
Sen. Brown, Opponents Slam Ohio Medicaid Plan
The proposal would require Medicaid recipients to pay a monthly premium of 2 percent of their income to receive benefits.
Teenagers Exposed To E-Cigarette Ads More Likely To Partake, CDC Finds
An increase in e-cigarettes usage among the younger generation correlates with the rise in spending on e-cigarette advertisements to $115 million in 2014. Elsewhere, The Baltimore Sun shines a light on the vaping culture and those who support it.
Zika Funding Negotiations Could Wrap Up This Week, Sources Say
And in Dallas, health officials are taking pro-active measures to control the virus’ spread before mosquito season even starts.
In Effort To Curb Opioid Overdose Pandemic, One Boston Clinic Takes Unconventional Approach
On Tuesday, Boston Health Care for the Homeless will open a room where drug users can ride out their highs under medical supervision. “When you initially hear we’re going to cooperate with someone using heroin, it might be a little shock to the system,” said former state senator Steven Tolman. “But with the level of pandemic we’re dealing with … any effort to get this problem under control is a worthwhile experiment.”
The legislation would threaten the license of any doctor who performs an abortion except when the procedure is necessary to protect the life of the mother. In other news, Iowa’s governor calls the legislature’s move to ban Planned Parenthood funding a “reasonable proposal,” and a new report finds that AmeriCorps “abortion doulas” were in violation of federal law.
N.Y.C. Hospitals Targeted For Overhaul
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is seeking $2 billion in his budget as part of a plan to restructure the city’s hospitals. Meanwhile, Modern Healthcare explores some of the difficulties that stem from hospital-system mergers. Also, Georgia Health News reports on how the state’s hospital safety rankings have gone done. News outlets also report on hospital-related developments in Kansas and California.
Under the agreement, the attorney general’s office will end investigations it began last year into the insurers’ coverage of the $94,500 treatment. Meanwhile, the state has also informed insurers that they will have to start paying for depression screening of pregnant women and new mothers.
Joseph Papa Named As New Valeant CEO
Joseph Papa, who will take over from J. Michael Pearson, is joining the company in a time of turmoil, after investigations into its drug-pricing and accounting practices sent its stocks tumbling.
High Court Justices Wrestle With Issues In Patent Case Backed By Drug Makers
The four liberal justices, joined at times by Justice Anthony Kennedy, sounded skeptical toward arguments in the case that centers around the question: What standard for interpreting patents should be used in new reviews created by Congress in 2011?
Two Louisiana Hospitals Question Projected Medicaid Expansion Savings
Meanwhile, insurer Centene Corp. reports an increase in quarterly revenue of nearly 36 percent, helped by higher Medicaid enrollment rates.
After Serious Losses On Marketplaces, Some Insurers Likely To Sharply Raise Premiums
Some of the companies priced their plans too low in the early years of the health marketplaces. In other news, a preview of the possible fallout for insurers if a court rules against the Obama administration on cost sharing subsidies, several outlets look at UnitedHealth’s pullback and California lawmakers weigh a measure to allow immigrants in the country illegally to buy coverage on the state marketplace.
Despite Pleas From Patients, FDA Panel Votes Against Drug For Muscular Dystrophy
The panel members said the trial was not well-controlled, noting that it only involved 12 patients without an adequate placebo control.
CMS’ Sweeping Medicaid Managed Care Rules Set New Quality Standards
The long-awaited regulation, the biggest for Medicaid managed care in a decade, changes many aspects of how large insurance contractors who administer care for some of the most vulnerable patients.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Will Covered California Sell Health Coverage To The Undocumented?
California is inching closer to a first-in-the-nation request for a federal ruling that would allow the state’s Obamacare exchange to sell health plans to immigrants who are living in the country illegally.
High Court Ruling May Hinder Plans’ Efforts To Recoup Consumers’ Legal Awards
When consumers who have been injured sue and win an award, insurance plans routinely demand that they be reimbursed for medical costs that they covered. The Supreme Court this term threw a small chink into that strategy.
Administration Says New Rules For Medicaid Plans Will Improve Service For Enrollees
Private insurers that administer Medicaid for the poor also face limits on profits and requirements to provide sufficient doctors.
United’s Departure From Marketplaces Could Impact Consumers’ Costs, Access
Florida and Oklahoma counties are among the hardest hit by UnitedHealthcare’s pullout from health law exchanges.
Viewpoints: Extending Sanders’ Health Mission; The Future Of Single-Payer?
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.