Latest KFF Health News Stories
But the state took no action on restricting gun sales or implementing “red flag” laws adopted by other states as gun violence increases. The Texas State Teachers Association opposed expanding the program arming teachers. News on gun safety is from Florida and Virginia, as well.
It’s Not Just Cancerous Cells That Are Mutated, Study Finds. Our Normal Tissue Is ‘Quite Messy,’ Too
The research upended a common belief that “normal” cells are simply replicas of each other. Instead, even non-cancerous cells pick up a lot of mutations along the way. The discovery could help to better detect cancer. In other public health news: stress, parasites, the HPV vaccine, preparing for death, and more.
VA Owes At Least $189 Million To Disabled Veterans Who Overpaid On Their Home Loans
At issue is a fee that is paid to the lender, which is supposed to be waived for disabled veterans. A recent audit found that more than half of the veterans entitled to this added benefit paid the fee and never received reimbursement from the government. Meanwhile, the VA implemented its expanded privatized care program on Thursday.
The agency is seeking ideas on issues including the streamlining of CMS reporting requirements; easing prior authorization procedures; enabling of better data sharing; improving quality reporting; addressing overly burdensome policies for rural providers; and simplifying rules for beneficiaries dually enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid. Other news on CMS, Medicaid and Medicare focuses on: a Social Security error, concerns over an API, and enrollment numbers in Georgia.
The bill had been help up in Congress over squabbles about provisions on Puerto Rico and funding for a border wall.
Klobuchar Nabs First Iowa Endorsement After She Bonds With Lawmaker Over Mental Health Care
State Rep. Ruth Ann Gaines has struggled to get her son, who has developmental disorders, proper care. Following a breakfast, 2020 hopeful Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) connected Gaines with an organization that helps parents of mentally ill children. “I could see this is a person who, if elected president, will do a great job, not only in the mental health area but primarily in listening to people and understanding their needs and then getting to work on trying to help them,” Gaines said.
While drug prices have skyrocketed, so have deductibles in job-based coverage — more than tripling in the last 12 years, to an annual average of $1,350, and leaving Americans with conditions like epilepsy and diabetes financially crippled just to secure basic care. In other news on health care costs: a Senate bill targets rising prices, membership programs for medevac helicopters, the business of selling wellness to homeowners, the “Medicare for All” debate, and more.
Dr. George O’Neil invented the device and has found success with it in Australia. Because the medication is pumped directly into the stomach, it eliminates the hurdle of ambivalence on the patient’s part. Researchers in the U.S. are eager to see if it could be an effect weapon in the war against opioids. In other news, a doctor in Ohio was charged with murder over his prescription practices, but will the prosecutors secure a conviction?
Some angry progressives say the secrecy being employed by leadership is akin to how Republicans drafted legislation to repeal and replace the health law. At issue is a plan House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office has been working on for months that would allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices, a top priority for Democrats and one that the party stressed in its campaign last year to win back the House. Meanwhile, Republican senators are asking pharmaceutical companies for their suggestions to lower costs, and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) talks about her drug plan.
Doctors Suggest More Could Have Been Done To Save Detained Migrant Boy Who Died Of The Flu
It’s rare for a teenager to die of the flu. “By the time you’re 16 years old, you have great immunity, and you shouldn’t be dying so quickly,” said Dr. Nizam Peerwani, the Tarrant County medical examiner in Fort Worth, Texas. The boy’s death is one of several that’s shining a light on the quality of care detained migrant children receive in U.S. custody. Meanwhile, the government is opening a new mass facility in Texas to deal with the surge in children.
Missouri’s Secretary Of State Rejects Referendum Petitions To Put Heartbeat Bill In Front Of Voters
Missouri’s constitution gives citizens the right to veto newly enacted laws by referendum, but Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft invoked an emergency clause built into the state’s constitution allowing him to reject a referendum petition in the case of public health and safety. In announcing his decision, Ashcroft said, “there are certain limits to the people’s right to a referendum.” Meanwhile in Virginia, a trial over abortion restrictions wraps up.
“It’s clear that these folks are going to stop at nothing to get rid of Roe, and it’s clear to me that we have to just be just as strong in defending it,” former Vice President Joe Biden said. Biden’s reversal comes after he received vocal criticism from his 2020 presidential rivals and abortion rights groups after he confirmed that he still supported the Hyde amendment, a measure that blocks Medicaid for paying for an abortion unless the woman’s life is in danger or the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest.
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Al Sandrock is one of the most celebrated drug developers of his generation. Yet his much anticipated Alzheimer’s drug failed like so many before it. Stat takes a look at that day he found out, and why this mystery is so hard to crack. In other public health news: climate change, mammograms, debt, bullying, and screen time.
More States Eye Public Options–But What Exactly Does That Mean? The Term Is Hard To Define
In general, when policymakers use the term “public option,” they mean a health plan with significant government control. But public option is a “squishy term,” said JoAnn Volk, a research professor at Georgetown University’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms. “It does mean different things to different people, depending on your goals and assumptions.”
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, spoke about the health initiative his company co-founded with Amazon and Berkshire Hathaway. When it launched in January 2018, Haven was described as a venture aimed at making health care more understandable for the three companies’ employees. But Dimon said during his keynote speech at the BIO International Convention in Philadelphia that they hope to go beyond that. In other health industry news: CVS’ deal with Aetna, insurance coverage in Georgia, and personnel announcements.
