Latest KFF Health News Stories
Flurry Of Health Care Deals Highlights Companies’ Focus On Scaling Up
In a strikingly busy week for the industry, more than $40 billion worth of deals were announced Thursday. While the activity all on one day is more of a coincidence, the movement toward pairing up is not.
Colorado Voters Will Consider Ballot Measure To Set Up Public Health Care For All
The ballot issue in November asks voters if they want to establish a taxpayer-financed public health system that guarantees coverage for everyone at an estimated cost of $38 billion a year. Also in health law news are reports on a new poll, insurers’ efforts on the online marketplaces and possible premium increases next year.
Sweeping VA Reform Bill Would Strengthen Whistleblower Protection, Solidify Accountability Measures
The legislation would also expedite the removal of Department of Veterans Affairs employees found guilty of misconduct, give the VA secretary additional hiring-and-firing authority and reduce benefits for senior executives who have committed certain crimes. Elsewhere on Capitol Hill, the bill to increase access to overdose antidote naloxone is moving through the House and Florida’s delegation is pushing Gov. Rick Scott to explain revised HIV numbers.
Opposition Building On Capitol Hill To HHS Plan To Cut Medicare Payments For Some Drugs
The plan would reduce payments to doctors and hospitals for some outpatient drugs.
Teen Birth Rates Plunge Dramatically, But ‘Profound’ Racial Disparities Remain, CDC Finds
Hispanic birth rates dropped 51 percent, while those for black teens are down 44 percent, but the white teen birth rate is only half as high.
Administration Expands Medicaid To Cover Former Prisoners In Halfway Houses
People who are still incarcerated are not eligible for the program, but there had been questions previously about their eligibility once they moved to a halfway house. The administration also wants correction departments to begin signing up prisoners before they are released to help ease the transition.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
FAQ: Medicare Lays Out Plans For Changing Doctors’ Pay
The effort, which will replace a controversial reimbursement schedule that began in 1997, is designed to move away from paying for quantity of services and focus instead on quality.
HHS Acts To Help More Ex-Inmates Get Medicaid
Obama administration broadens eligibility for those in halfway houses, but advocates for former prisoners say HHS and states must do far more.
Even As Birth Rates Fall, Teens Say They Are Getting Less Sex Education
A report by the Guttmacher Institute finds that the proportion of teenagers who are getting instructions in birth control methods is declining.
Pregnant Women In Houston And Their Doctors Weigh Risks Of Zika
The U.S. Gulf Coast has the right weather conditions and mosquitoes for the Zika virus, which has been linked to birth defects. But the level of risk is unknown in this country so doctors are advising caution to their patients who are pregnant or trying to have a baby.
Longer Looks: Madness, The Robot Revolution And Traumatic Births
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Viewpoints: Finding Profits With Obamacare; Entitlement Reform And The 2016 Election
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
News outlets report on health issues in New York, Florida, Ohio, California, Maryland, Illinois, Vermont, Wisconsin, Minnesota and New Mexico,
Mo. Lawmakers Pass Bill Aimed At Preventing ‘Double-Dipping’ On Medical Costs In Courts
Media outlets also offer news out of state legislatures in Texas, Montana, Connecticut, Tennessee, Iowa and Kansas.
Alabama Medicaid Program May Benefit As Lawmakers Weigh Plans For BP Oil Spill Funds
The legislature did not fund Medicaid at the level that the governor requested, but one lawmaker says his plan for splitting up the oil settlement could help. News outlets also report on Medicaid developments in Kansas, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Florida.
New Report Touts E-Cigarettes As Best Hope For Helping Smokers Quit
The Royal College of Physicians, a major British medical organization, broke with American public health officials, saying that the benefits far outweigh the harms with e-cigarettes.
Opioid Epidemic Further Taxes Counseling Workforce Already Susceptible To Burnout, High Turnover
“We’re ready to expand, we have new opportunities and new funding sources. But it’s all sort of moot if we don’t have the people to provide the care,” says Becky Vaughn, vice president of addictions at the National Council for Behavioral Health. In other news, a Baltimore addiction treatment center inspires other states to adapt its collaborative model, bipartisan legislation addressing drug addiction passes through the House Judiciary Committee, and Prince’s death may shine a spotlight on the crisis.
McCain Introduces Bill To Remove Restrictions On Veterans’ Health Care Choices
The legislation would also expand VA clinic operating hours and medicine services. However, New Hampshire’s Veterans Choice program is facing problems, with some providers so frustrated they are refusing to participate.
Hospitals, Groups Eye Nurse Licensing Requirements As Impediment To Potential Telemedicine Benefits
Advocates are targeting rules that require nurses be licensed in each state they work, but they will come up against a powerful opponent: the nurses’ unions.