Latest KFF Health News Stories
Local leaders and public health officials denounced the “vaccine symposium,” saying speakers relied on propaganda and fear-mongering in the midst of one of the worst measles outbreaks in decades. Speakers told attendees that the outbreaks were a result of a targeted campaign to harm the Jewish community. Meanwhile, a bill that tightens exemptions in New York stalls in the state Senate. And a similar measure failed to get out of the Oregon state Senate, as well.
The bipartisan measure instead sets up a process for determining how much the insurance company needs to pay the medical providers for the out-of-network care, basing the payments on the usual rates in that geographic area. “There is no question this proposal would transfer a bargaining power from providers to insurers — a fact that is sure to have provider groups up in arms,” Benedic Ippolito of the American Enterprise Institute tells Modern Healthcare. In other news from Capitol Hill: “Medicare for All,” detention centers, and a caucus for female veterans.
Although Gov. Kay Ivey (R-Ala.) has not publicly committed to signing the legislation, Republican lawmakers expect her support. Backers of the legislation expect that a lower court will block the measure that bans abortions at every stage of pregnancy. But it was drafted with a legal challenge in mind. News on abortion also comes out of Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Missouri and Virginia.
Gov. Steve Bullock (D-Mont.), the latest 2020 presidential candidate, supports the health law and helped push through a Medicaid expansion in a deep red state. But, like other moderates, he hasn’t come out in support of “Medicare for All,” a litmus test for many progressive voters. Meanwhile, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) continues with her gun control messaging.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Read recent commentaries about drug-cost issues.
Pharma’s Go-To Defense Of High ‘Research And Development’ Costs Undercut By New Study
News outlets report on stories related to pharmaceutical pricing.
Health care news from state legislatures comes from Ohio, Georgia, Maryland, California, Iowa and Minnesota.
Opinion writers weigh in on women’s health issues.
Editorial pages focus on these health care topics and others.
Media outlets report on news from Texas, California, Washington, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Oregon, Minnesota, Ohio, Georgia, Maryland, Kentucky, Wyoming and Iowa.
Editorial pages focus on these health issues and others.
Supreme Court Grants Whistleblowers More Time To Bring Cases Against Health Care Companies
Until now, circuit courts’ interpretations of the False Claim Act statute of limitations has varied across the country in cases where the federal government has not intervened. The Supreme Court justices said whistleblowers are not considered to be U.S. officials and are not limited by the original six-year statute of limitations that starts at the time of the alleged violation. The justices also released unusual explanatory statements about their death penalty decisions.
How A One-Room Rural Clinic Evolved Into A Bustling Health System Over A Century
The Scott Community Health Center in North Carolina, which marked 100 years of practice last month, holds in its history a reflection of the evolution of rural health care. Meanwhile, after depending on the local hospital for more than a century, Fort Scott, Kansas, residents now are trying to cope with life without it.
A new study found that even a modest increase in owners who lock up their guns would pay off in an outsize drop in gun deaths. “We need to communicate to parents that storing guns in a way that makes them inaccessible to children can reduce the number of children who die year after year, especially from suicide,” said Dr. Michael Monuteaux, an author of the study. In other public health news: stem cell treatments, brain stimulation, antibiotics, and more.
A Biotech Executive With Big Ideas Aims To Increase ‘Healthspan’ Not Necessarily Lifespan
Ned David talks about aging and finding ways to improve the process as we live longer than ever before. In other pharmaceutical news, New Jersey eases some restrictions around gifts and payments for drugmakers and more states join a broad coalition suing pharmaceutical companies over generic drug prices.
The couple, Alva and Alberta Pilliod, used Roundup on their Northern California property for decades. They both have been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The trial unfolded much like the earlier two, with sparring over scientific studies, the credibility of expert witnesses and the relative importance of a WHO decision that glyphosate, the primary ingredient in Roundup, is likely carcinogenic to humans. The EPA’s officials stance on the product is that it’s safe.
Measles Tally Climbs Again This Week To 839 Cases, Creeping Ever Closer To 1994’s Record Year
The current measles outbreak is the largest in 25 years and it’s nearing in on the most recent historical high mark, set in 1994 — and it’s only May. Also, NPR looks at what public health officials accomplished during the massive outbreak from 1989-1991. In 1990 alone there were more than 27,000 cases. At that point it became all-hands-on-deck to stop the crisis.
Gov. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) said the first-in-the-nation public-option model will act as a counterweight to Republicans’ efforts to chip away at the health law marketplace. Meanwhile, Inslee also signed a measure creating a new payroll tax that will go toward a $100-per-day allowance for Washington residents to use for a variety of long-term care services. In other news, Washington has told two “sham” health care sharing ministries to stop selling insurance plans in the state.
If Joe Biden Is Elected President, Would He Make Ending Cancer His Signature Issue?
Former Vice President Joe Biden, a 2020 hopeful, has said that he wants to “be the president who ended cancer. Because it’s possible.” The Biden Cancer Initiative is a pillar of Biden’s policy work since leaving office, and Biden is deeply involved in efforts to encourage collaboration among medical researchers, patient advocates and government officials. Meanwhile, media outlets fact check other presidential candidates’ health care claims.
