Latest KFF Health News Stories
Federal Appeals Court Upholds La. Law Requiring Abortion Doctors To Have Admitting Privileges
Supporters of the law say that it is in place to protect women’s health, while opponents contend that it makes getting an abortion in the state nearly impossible and may leave the state with one abortion clinic. The Washington Post’s Wonkblog looks at the larger trend of abortion clinics closing around the country, and Modern Healthcare examines the Texas abortion case that comes before the Supreme Court next week.
Women Suffering From Postpartum Depression May Face High Rates From Insurers
Recent guidance suggests all pregnant women and new mothers should be screened for depression, but what wasn’t addressed is that life and disability insurers penalize women with these mental conditions, often lumping them in with people who have been diagnosed with general depression.
Pharma Industry Anxiously Waits For Shoe To Drop Over Drug Prices
As high costs draw attention from lawmakers, 2016 candidates and the public, drug companies are anxious about regulations the administration may be brewing up. In other pharmaceutical news, McKesson acquires two cancer-focused firms, and the newly confirmed head of the Food and Drug Administration talks to The Washington Post about the battle over his ties to the industry.
Tax Group: Pfizer Would Avoid $35B In Taxes Through Merger
The Americans for Tax Fairness slammed the drugmaker in a new report that says Pfizer structured its deal with Ireland-based Allergan so that it could move its address out of the country, thus avoiding $35 billion in taxes.
GOP Lawmakers Press CMS On Future Of Eight Co-Ops
At a contentious House committee hearing, Republicans question the viability of the health cooperatives. Also in health care news are a study on efforts to prevent hospital readmissions, a new rule on health care providers with troubled histories, an insurer’s restrictions on brokers’ payments and enrollment gains.
Obama: Precision Medicine Initiative Laying Groundwork For Future Breakthroughs
The president, while speaking Thursday at his precision medicine summit, also delved into the tricky question of who owns a patient’s genetic data.
Rubio Takes Swing At Trump Over Health Care: ‘You Don’t Have A Plan’
In the 10th Republican debate — one of the most contentious as the candidates eye Super Tuesday — Marco Rubio called out the lack of details in Donald Trump’s health proposals, while the frontrunner again defended some of Planned Parenthood’s work.
First Edition: February 26, 2016
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Majority Of Young Men Don’t Know About Emergency Contraception, Study Finds
The survey of 93 men, most of whom were sexually active, finds that 42 percent had heard of emergency contraception, or the morning-after pill.
The Agonizing Limbo Of Abandoned Nursing Home Residents
Even when the state orders nursing homes to readmit residents who have been in the hospital, its orders have no teeth.
Viewpoints: Reducing Special Enrollments; The Health Law’s Efforts To Cut Readmissions
A selection of opinions from around the country.
Longer Looks: Contagious Cancer; Talking About Death; Brain Hacking
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
News outlets report on health issues in California, Maryland, Indiana, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Massachusetts and Missouri.
Rapid Hospital-Based Zika Screening Test Coming Soon
Doctors at Houston Methodist Hospital say they have developed a test to identify if a patient is positive for the Zika virus in as quickly as one day, without sending samples to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for diagnosis.
Health Officials Tout Flu Vaccine’s Effectiveness, But Say Season Has Yet To Peak
The strain chosen for this year’s vaccine is 59 percent effective, which is an improvement on last year’s, which came in at less than 20 percent. In other public health news, scientists say the connection between ovarian cancer and talc is unclear, the president is set to talk about his precision medicine initiative and a fight is brewing over nursing home evictions.
Current Drug Abuse Epidemic Triggers New Responses, Treatment Strategies
News outlets report on local treatment experiments in Baltimore and Ithaca, New York. Opioid news also comes from Massachusetts and Florida.
Companies In India Invest To Gain Foothold In U.S. Generics Market
Meanwhile in other marketplace news, manufacturers are enjoying the windfall from the two-year postponement of the medical device tax. And CVS Caremark reports slower growth in its drug prices.
Drop In Readmission Rates Can Be Attributed To Hospital Improvements, Study Finds
Researchers say facilities are not “gaming” the system by using observation care to hide patients returning to the hospital within 30 days of discharge. In local hospital marketplace news, media outlets report on developments in Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, Massachusetts, Maryland and Florida.
Kentucky, Delaware Lawmakers Struggle With Medicaid Budget Shortfalls
Kentucky officials report a Medicaid funding gap of more than $600 million over the next two years and Delaware is looking at a $28.5 million shortfall this year. News outlets also report on a proposal in the Alabama legislature that would cut the governor’s budget request for Medicaid, a bipartisan effort in Alaska to revamp the program and reaction in Iowa to federal approval of the governor’s plan to have private insurance companies run the Medicaid program.
GOP Leaders Struggle To Unify Party Behind Spending Bill That Includes Medicare Cuts
The proposal under consideration by the Budget Committee proposes cutting money to programs such as Medicare, but those in opposition to the spending bill are still wary. In other news from Capitol Hill, senators approve $100 million in emergency aid to Flint, Michigan.