Latest KFF Health News Stories
Opinion writers weigh in on these health issues and others.
The lawsuit has to do with a treatment called proton beam therapy, which UnitedHealth declined to cover on the grounds that it is unproven and experimental. U.S. District Judge Robert Scola, who has personal experience with cancer treatments, derided this stance. “It is undisputed among legitimate medical experts that proton radiation therapy is not experimental and causes much less collateral damage than traditional radiation,” Scola wrote.
A Spending Bill Could Include Money For Gun Violence Research For First Time In More Than 20 Years
The Democrat-controlled House Appropriations Committee unveiled a draft spending bill late Monday that includes $50 million for the federal government to study “firearm injury and mortality prevention.” While the legislation is a long way from becoming law, gun safety advocates cheered the news anyway as forward progress after too many years of nothing. The bill would also provide $189.8 billion for the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education in fiscal 2020.
The Trump administration’s changes to the Title X family planning grant program, which banned participating providers from referring women for abortions, has sparked a pushback both through the courts and in Congress. Critics call the changes a “gag rule” and say they are meant to target Planned Parenthood specifically. House Democrats have included language blocking the rule in their latest spending measure. Meanwhile, two separate judges have now ordered injunctions against the changes.
A look at what a common, basic metabolic blood test costs in different cities reveals huge differences between costs that far outpace other commercial goods, like grocery store items.
Around the country, there have been 13 individual outbreaks in 22 states in 2019, CDC reported in its latest update on the crisis. In other news on the disease’s spread: HHS Alex Azar praises President Donald Trump’s support of vaccinations, New York officials issue fines over missed shots, Los Angeles students are cleared from quarantine, and more.
In A Crowded Field, Health Care Opinions Set 2020 Democratic Hopefuls Apart
Although the 2020 Democratic candidates share similar stances on many issues, there is a wide divide between the more moderates, who want to make incremental changes to the current system, and the progressives who want a sweeping overhaul. Former Vice President Joe Biden was the most recent to get behind a Medicare buy-in plan. Also, take a look at why Vermont’s single-payer system almost succeeded but was blocked in the end.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
The provision would prohibit any state or local government unit or tax-supported district from providing sex reassignment surgery. The move follows a ruling by the Iowa Supreme Court that struck down a ban on Medicaid payments for “surgeries for the purpose of sex reassignment.” Medicaid news comes out of Georgia, Wisconsin and Arkansas, as well.
Editorial pages focus on health insurance.
Glimmers Of Stability Emerge For Not-For-Profit, Public Hospitals, But They’re Not Out Of The Woods
“That’s still an anemic margin overall,” said Christopher Kerns, executive director at the Advisory Board. But mergers and acquisitions, steady patient volumes and revenue cycle improvements fueled rising revenue while cost-cutting initiatives. In other industry news: mandatory payment models, HIPAA fines, private-equity and physicians’ practices, and more.
Companies Flooding Into Cancer-Drug Market, Threatening Roche’s Well-Established Throne
The cancer drug market is the hot new place to be, and Roche, a company that has long-dominated the field, is now finding itself with competition. Other pharmaceutical news focuses on dementia and improper billing.
Media outlets report on news from Maryland, California, Florida, New Hampshire, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington, Missouri, Arizona, Puerto Rico and Delaware.
Three Weeks Pass And Boston Panel Still Has No Verdict In Insys Opioid Trial
The lengthy deliberations of the 12-person jury focus on a scam prosecutors say funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to doctors nationwide to prescribe highly addictive Subsys more often and at higher doses. News on the opioid epidemic comes from Massachusetts, Ohio, New Hampshire and California, as well.
Opinion writers weigh in on these health issues and others.
Principal Deputy Director Lawrence Tabak, who ordered the blocking of the two doctors, said, “The agency has the responsibility to choose people to respond on behalf of the NIH. This has nothing to do with freedom of speech.”
The Associated Press fact checks President Donald Trump’s statements on the health law and preexisting conditions. Other news on the health law looks at its longevity, association health plans, and tax credits.
That Defining White Coat Of The Medical Profession Is Teeming With Harmful Bacteria
As many as 16 percent of white coats tested positive for MRSA, and up to 42 percent for the bacterial class Gram-negative rods–both types of bacteria that can cause serious problems, including skin and bloodstream infections, sepsis and pneumonia. In other public health news: mammograms, accidental poisonings, compassion, MSG, aging, palliative care, and more.
Drugmakers and other startups are creating innovative ways to address the age-old problem of patients not actually taking their medications. But reservations from doctors, hospitals, insurers, and the patients themselves stand in the way of a big payday for the companies.
As Guantanamo Bay Detainees Age, Military Grapples With Questions About End-Of-Life Care
“A lot of my guys are prediabetic,” says Rear Adm. John C. Ring, the commander of the detention center. “Am I going to need dialysis down here? I don’t know. Someone’s got to tell me that. Are we going to do complex cancer care down here? I don’t know. Someone’s got to tell me that.”
