Latest KFF Health News Stories
The VA model involves a combination of regulation, negotiation, and a national formulary. The combined effect makes it possible for veterans to obtain medicines with either a low or, in some cases, no copayment. In other pharmaceutical news: “guided-missile” cancer treatments, psychedelic mushrooms, and distribution permits.
Government To Start Collecting DNA From Detained Immigrants As Part Of Controversial Pilot Program
The information would go into a massive criminal database run by the FBI, where it would be held indefinitely. The administration’s efforts have elicited withering criticism from advocates who believe the government shouldn’t obtain such sensitive information from people who aren’t linked to serious crimes.
The regulations would address a pollutant that’s linked to heart and lung disease. Health and environment groups are skeptical of the new rules, worrying that they could stymie even tighter restrictions that are expected out of California.
Massachusetts’ Third Busiest Abortion Clinic Fighting For Survival Even In Progressive State
The battle for the Brookline, Massachusetts clinic’s doors to stay open reveals a larger struggle across the country, where facilities are facing financial issues even in blue states. Abortion news comes out of Ohio and Wyoming, as well.
HHS Taps Entrepreneur Brad Smith To Lead CMS Innovation Center
The position leading the agency’s Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation largely focuses on driving value-based care transformation across the country, Brad Smith says. CMS Administrator Seema Verma praised Smith as an “outside-the-box” thinker who will “help us build on the important work the Trump administration has undertaken to transform our healthcare system to deliver better value to patients.”
A key measure of insurers’ financial strength — the percentage of premiums insurers collect that they pay back out in spending on claims — remained relatively strong. Experts say these numbers demonstrate resiliency within the marketplaces despite political turmoil surrounding the health law. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court set a Friday deadline for the Trump administration to respond to Democrats’ request to expedite the health law case.
Two big issues — addressing surprise medical bills and high drug prices — have the chance to draw bipartisan deals even in this divided Congress. But as the 2020 election season ramps up into high gear, neither side wants the other to be able to claim a victory. “If we couldn’t come to a consensus in 2019, it’s hard to imagine for 2020,” Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.) told Politico.
First Edition: January 7, 2020
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Opinion writers weigh in on these health care topics and others.
Editorial pages focus on ways to reform health care.
Media outlets focus on news from Mississippi, Washington, Arizona, Missouri, Kansas, California, Texas, Wyoming, Georgia, Oregon and New Hampshire.
“I know my choices might look different but thank God or whomever you pray to that we live in a country founded on the principle that I am free to live by my faith and you are free to live by yours,” the actress Michelle Williams said at the Golden Globes event. “Women, 18 to 118, when it is time to vote, please do so in your own self-interest. It’s what men have been doing for years.”
As Virginia Democrats Race To Pass Gun Laws, Out-Of-State Militia Groups Gear Up For A Fight
Law enforcement and public safety officials say they are monitoring the situation, including several instances of threats toward Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam. Meanwhile, Democrats who are newly in power are eager to make good on campaign promises.
Getting coverage can be just the first hurdle when it comes to navigating the high costs in the health industry. Many patients are delaying or even skipping care completely because they can’t afford it. In other news on health care costs and the industry: uninsured children, Medicaid payments, Oscar Health, the senior care-home industry, another Johnson & Johnson lawsuit, and more.
Severe Flu Season Can Be A Windfall For Hospitals
But for insurers who have to pick up the tab it’s nothing but bad news. The current flu season is shaping up to be one of the worst in decades.
In an Eastern Kentucky region where opioid overdoses are twice the national average, a form of therapy comes from focusing on making and repairing dulcimers and guitars with skilled artisans. News on the crisis is from Georgia, as well.
Organizations are more and more teaching health care systems to identify potential victims and respond to their needs, especially since doctors and other medical personnel are the ones who are likely to come into contact with such people. In other public health news: the hydration craze, smoke from wildfires, autism, care for the aging, migraine treatments, and more.
Doctors are prescribing the drugs sparingly and patients only need to take them a week or two at a time. In a world where pricey million-dollar cancer drugs are king, drugmakers producing modest antibiotics are crashing just when the country needs them the most. In other pharmaceutical news: pay-to-delay deals, blockbuster treatments and a failed promise.
The vaping industry has been making the argument all long: a crackdown on e-cigarettes will be detrimental to adults who are trying to quit smoking. But taxes work to combat the crisis facing the country’s youth. So is there a way to walk the tightrope between the two concerns? Meanwhile, public health groups are angry over President Donald Trump’s decision to leave menthol and tobacco flavors on the market.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said that big changes in health care, a “deeply personal” issue, can make people “uneasy.” Warren has been hammered over her “Medicare for All” plans and has begun to emphasize a 3-year grace transition period into the new system. Meanwhile, KHN takes a look at how other countries pay for health care.
