Latest KFF Health News Stories
States Have Been Leading The Charge Against Surprise Medical Bills–Can Congress Catch Up?
At least 25 states now have laws protecting patients from surprise out-of-network bills. Now, there’s starting to be more movement in Congress over the issue, which both Republicans and Democrats have spoken out against. In other news: outpatient prices outpace in-office costs for same treatments, and why cash rewards are powerful enough to change consumers’ behavior.
John Kapoor, the founder of Insys Therapeutics Inc., has been the subject of several high-profile cases centering on drugmakers’ roles in the national opioid crisis. Prosecutors accuse Kapoor of bribing doctors to prescribe patients the powerful fentanyl product, putting money ahead of safety. Meanwhile, Oklahoma lawyers drop some of the charges against opioid-makers in an effort to narrow the focus of their lawsuits.
MedPAC Suggests Streamlining Emergency Department Coding So That There Would Be National Guidelines
The suggestion from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission comes as scrutiny of emergency department visits and spending has increased as the healthcare industry shifts towards more value-based care. MedPAC also weighed in on Medicare Advantage payments.
A block grant would transform Medicaid from an open-ended entitlement program into one with capped benefits. The concept, however, is a controversial one that most certainly would create legal battles for the state. Medicaid news comes out of Tennessee, as well.
The review, conducted by the law firm Debevoise & Plimpton, came after investigations turned a spotlight on the financial conflicts of interest of top officials at the prominent cancer center. The cancer center announced on Thursday an extensive overhaul of policies governing employees’ relationships with outside companies and financial arrangements.
New York Attorney General Letitia James’s lawsuit follows a larger crack down from the FDA on stem cell clinics, which are largely unregulated and offer procedures that are both pricey and risky.
Departing FDA Chief Gottlieb Heading Back To Conservative Think Tank To Focus On High Drug Prices
Scott Gottlieb, who steps down as FDA commissioner today, plans to return part-time to the American Enterprise Institute, where he wants to delve into the “market failures” driving drug prices through the roof.
It’s unclear which bills will ultimately make it through the ringer, but lawmakers are moving forward on the issue — viewed as one of the few bipartisan topics that might get addressed by a divided Congress. Meanwhile, three pharmaceutical companies agree to pay $122.6 million to resolve kickback allegations.
The House on Thursday passed its own version of the Violence Against Women Act, a law enacted in 1994 to provide funding for battered-women’s shelters and other programs to prevent domestic violence and bolster its prosecution. It needs to be renewed by Congress every few years, and has proven to be more controversial than its name suggests it would be. In other news from Capitol Hill: disaster aid, organ allocation, the Indian Child Welfare Act and money for migrant children.
President Donald Trump and other Republicans have been vague about what they would offer as a replacement for the health law they want overturned. But looking at the bills Trump supports, and at his proposed budget, gives a hint of what he’d like to see take its place. Those plans, though, wouldn’t come with the low deductibles and premiums he’s vowed to ensure. In other news, House Speak Nancy Pelosi says she’s “agnostic” on “Medicare for All.”
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Opinion writers weigh in on these health topics and others.
Different Takes: GOP Has Good Options For Shaping Health Care Debate Ahead Of Next Election
Editorial pages focus on health care policies.
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
Media outlets report on news from Maryland, Oregon, Iowa, Florida, California, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Ohio, Kansas, Texas and Wisconsin.
Lawsuit Alleges Hospital Filmed Women During Intimate Medical Procedures Without Their Knowledge
The Women’s Health Center at Sharp Grossmont Hospital near San Diego had been trying to catch a thief that had been taking medications from the hospital. However, the added security cameras ended up recording procedures being done on female patients. Other hospital news comes out of Minnesota, Pennsylvania, California and Georgia.
Although Purdue Pharma has been the face of the opioid lawsuits, Johnson & Johnson has flown under the radar legally for its alleged role in the opioid crisis. But now Oklahoma’s lawyers are contending that Johnson & Johnson did more than push its own pills, it also profited from the prescription opioid crisis through its ownership of a poppy producer in Australia. Other news on the epidemic comes out of Missouri and Connecticut.
The digital health care industry has the backing of the American Medical Association when claiming it can help millions of people who are at risk of developing the disease and don’t have ready access to doctors to make important lifestyle changes. Medicare is less sure, it says, until the online services are fully validated. Public health news includes reports on ”predatory” journals, a former Obama administrator’s new role, breastfeeding, sunscreen, metastatic cancer research, dengue fever and healthy eating.
In the United States, there are currently 5,226 patients waiting on the heart or lung transplant list, and about 1,000 people a year die waiting for an organ. Until recently, doctors tended to transplant hepatitis C-infected organs only into patients who already had that virus, but a new study might change all that.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) and Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) have reached a key agreement over the measure. Aides in both parties said Democrats verbally agreed to make changes to one of the most prominent measures, known as the Creates Act, which cracks down on tactics drug companies use to delay the introduction of cheaper generic drugs.
