Latest KFF Health News Stories
Home And Hospital Births Equally Safe In Low-Risk Pregnancies: Study
In other public health news, a growing number of jails are offering exiting inmates a drug that can help aid opioid addiction recovery. Also in the news are stories on a gum disease-breast cancer link, a high-tech thermometer monitored through an app and cardiac warning signs that patients ignore.
FDA Rolls Back Blood-Donor Ban For Gay And Bisexual Men, But There’s A Catch
Before they can donate, the men are required to have been celibate for a year.
Poll Finds That Public Support For Legal Abortion Hits Two-Year High
The Associated Press-GfK poll survey found that 58 percent of Americans think abortion should be legal in most or all cases. In Planned Parenthood news, Ohio lawmakers push new requirements for the disposal of fetal remains by abortion clinics and hospitals. Elsewhere, The Diane Rehm Show discusses the move toward pharmacists prescribing birth control. KHN’s Julie Rovner appeared on show Monday to discuss the issue.
New Medicare Dashboard Allows Users To Analyze Drug Prices
Through the tool, researchers and the public will have access to a trove of prescription drug data, including overall spending, recent cost trends and the number of Americans who rely on it. And The Wall Street Journal points out that the rollout for the dashboard including information on drugs with prices that have increased dramatically for Medicare.
Biotech Company Reports Promising Results In ‘Kick And Kill’ HIV Treatment
The firm says its method has reduced latent HIV in 17 patients by an average of 40 percent. In other news, public health officials want to know why a drug that has proven effective at preventing HIV is not being used.
Report: New Glaxo Asthma Drug Price Should Be 76% Lower
The assessment comes from a nonprofit group that analyzes drugs’ effectiveness. In other pharmaceutical news, the head of Novartis says companies should share the benefits of new drugs with the health care system; and Valeant is buying back its own drugs from Walgreens.
Super PAC To Highlight Rubio’s Efforts To Rout Health Law
Meanwhile, a new poll shows that health care comes second only to national security in terms of what voters care about for 2016. Americans highlighted their concerns with high drug costs, premiums and deductibles.
Demise of Colorado Co-Op Complicates Insurance Sign-Ups
Meanwhile, the Washington state marketplace is facing a barrage of callers and website users as its Wednesday enrollment deadline nears.
Stocks Jump On The News Of Higher Health Insurance Enrollment
After the government announced that 6 million people have signed up on the federal exchanges for coverage next year, shares of the three biggest publicly traded hospitals rose, staving off concerns that the benefits to the industry from the health law are plateauing.
First Edition: December 22, 2015
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
ER Doctors Say Federal Rules Could Raise Patients’ Out-Of-Network Bills
Two physician groups say the government’s regulations for out-of-network emergency care payments will cost consumers more because insurers will pay less.
Pharmacists Prescribing Birth Control And What It Means For Wider Access To The Pill
Two western states — California and Oregon — have passed laws allowing pharmacists to prescribe birth control. Public health advocates see it as a way to expand access to the pill, and many doctors say it’s safe. But others argue these measures don’t go far enough.
Health Plans’ Coverage Of Some Drugs Can Be A Source Of Consumer Confusion
Some medicines, particularly intravenous treatments, are not listed in plans’ pharmacy benefit section and, therefore, it’s difficult to confirm coverage specifics.
Regulators To Investigate Blood-Testing Startup Theranos
The federal scrutiny comes after complaints of major accuracy and stability issues.
Viewpoints: Health Law Faltering Despite GOP; The Case For A Switch In Iowa Medicaid
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
News outlets report on health care developments in Colorado, New York and New Hampshire.
FTC Signals Its Plan To Block Merger Of Two Illinois Hospitals
The New York Times reports that the Federal Trade Commission’s intent to block this deal between Advocate Health Care and NorthShore University HealthSystem is indicative of the regulators’ uneasiness with the health care sector’s current merger climate. Meanwhile, other news outlets report on hospital-pricing news from Texas and Florida.
Hospitals In 15 States To Pay $28M To Settle Medicare Fraud Case
The Justice Department alleged that 32 hospitals overbilled Medicare for procedures that could have been done on an outpatient basis. In other legal news, news outlets report on other claims-related fraud cases in Ohio, Maryland, Florida and Louisiana.
Change In Kidney Transplant Rules Benefiting Hardest-To-Match Patients
The new rules aim to level the playing field and better utilize kidneys from deceased donors. Meanwhile, a medical center in California has suspended its living donor program for kidney transplants after a healthy donor died.
Practice Of Concurrent Surgeries Has Some Surgeons Under The Microscope
The Boston Globe examines the issue of surgeons running more than one operating room concurrently. Meanwhile, news outlets explore a range of other public health issues, including a trend in which patients are taking a greater role in their own care and how families cope with the holiday season when a relative has Alzheimer’s.