Latest KFF Health News Stories
House Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) says committee members sought information for seven months on the children separated, the location and facilities where they are held, details on their parents, information on efforts to restore children to their parents and whether parents were deported. Federal officials said they already sent over thousands of pages of documents and call the subpoenas, which are the first of the new Congress, a “political stunt.”
Scott Lloyd, former head of the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement, testified Tuesday about the family separations in front of the House Judiciary Committee after months of resistance. Meanwhile, during the hearing, data was released that showed there have been thousands of accusations of sexual abuse and harassment of migrant children in detention centers over the past four years. The Office of Refugee Resettlement manages the care of tens of thousands of migrant children who cycle through the system each year.
The plan, which will be released by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) is more aggressive than the plan from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), which has been touted by progressive lawmakers and 2020 candidates alike. Under the Medicare for All Act of 2019, the federal government would pay for health coverage for every American, including premiums, copays or deductibles, and benefits would include primary care, outpatient services, prescription drugs, dental care, substance-abuse and mental-health treatment, full reproductive services, as well as long-term care and services. The measure is largely symbolic as it faces certain death in the GOP-controlled Senate.
Seven big pharma CEOs were hauled in front of Congress in a highly anticipated hearing about high drug costs. Although the issue sparks public outrage and bombastic claims from other lawmakers, the Senate Finance Committee hearing proved somewhat muted, with the senators willing to listen to the executives — who blamed other parts of the drug pipeline for the rising pricing.
First Edition: February 27, 2019
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Opinion writers weigh in on these health topics and others.
Media outlets report on news from New York, California, Kansas, Tennessee, Illinois, Ohio, Connecticut, Georgia, Florida, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Maryland and Washington.
While it’s known that Cannabidiol is the part of the cannabis plant that won’t get you high, there are few trials to support claims that it aids a range of problems from anxiety to diabetes. Public health news also report on the longterm effects of childhood punishments; pitting germs against each other; mental health benefits of going to green spaces; a quit-smoking message in an obit; smoking’s impact on vision; Ireland’s rising HIV rates; a giant fighter against Ebola retires; minimizing risks of falling and how to be a better talker, as well.
‘The Wave Is Starting To Turn Back’: Measles Outbreaks Becoming A Turning Point In Vaccination Wars
The outbreaks are sparking backlash against the movement that had been gaining traction in pockets across the country. Now more states are looking at tightening vaccination exemptions as tech companies start to crack down on misinformation.
Package Of Bills Aims To Overhaul Troubled Texas Medicaid System
The legislation that involves increasing oversight and introducing more patient protections among other improvements was spurred by a Dallas Morning News investigation that uncovered significant problems with the state health program. Other Medicaid news comes out of Massachusetts and New Mexico.
Medicare’s Innovation Chief Wants To ‘Blow Up’ Model For Paying Primary Care Physicians
Adam Boehler wants to introduce a new model that focuses on quality of care. That new model will be the first major test of Boehler’s efforts to accelerate the federal government’s slow-moving shift to what’s known as value-based care.
Anthem Accuses Cigna Of Doing Everything In Its Power To Sabotage $49B Merger
Now that the deal has fallen apart, Cigna is seeking more than $16 billion in damages and termination fees, while Anthem claims it’s owed $20 billion in damages because of Cigna’s intransigence in turning over information to push the merger forward.
A witness who was a manager at an Insys call center described a high-pressure atmosphere where workers were encouraged to seek reimbursements from insurers even when the patient they were helping didn’t actually have cancer. As the trial enters its fifth week, prosecutors are continuing to try to paint the picture of a company concerned only with the bottom line no matter who gets hurt in the process. In other news on the national drug epidemic: chronic pain, babies with syphilis, states that are hard hit by the crisis, and more.
The Washington Post Fact Checker does a deep dive on the context surrounding the Congressional Budget Office’s projections on how getting rid of the individual mandate would affect the marketplace.
Congress Has Moral Obligation To Step In To Protect 9/11 Fund, Jon Stewart And Other Advocates Say
Lawmakers introduced legislation Monday that would guarantee that first responders sickened by the attacks, as well as their survivors, receive their full benefit from the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund. The bill would also make funding permanent. “This is a sea-to-shining-sea moment, a sea-to-shining sea promise, a sea-to-shining-sea obligation,” said Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.). The victims’ fund should “not be extended for a moment but for a lifetime,” he added.
Oklahoma Moves Forward Measure That Would Automatically Ban Abortions In State If Roe Is Overturned
Similar bills already have passed in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota and South Dakota. In other news on abortion: a judge rules that Planned Parenthood cannot resume abortions at a clinic in Missouri and legislation banning abortion at 18 weeks passes through Arkansas’ House.
The new rules announced last week would bar taxpayer-funded family planning clinics from making abortion referrals, and prohibit clinics that receive federal money from sharing office space with abortion providers. Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson said the changes will exacerbate the already serious problem of women — especially low-income rural women — not being having access to the health care they need. Meanwhile, PBS looks at how both sides of the abortion debate are reacting to the rules.
The topic of abortions later in the term, as well as infants who survive the procedure, have rejuvenated the abortion debate in recent weeks. But critics say that Republicans are being disingenuous forcing votes such as the one that failed in the Senate on Monday targeting doctors who perform the procedure. “This bill is not about protecting infants, as Republicans have claimed — because that is not up for debate and it is already the law,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.). “This bill is government interference in women’s health care, in families’ lives, and in medicine on steroids.”
Scott Lloyd, who led the HHS refugee office last year as it took custody of thousands of migrant kids separated from their families, until now has been shielded from public scrutiny by the agency and close allies in the White House. Democrats have sought his testimony for months, and on Tuesday he’ll finally face their questions.
GE Chief Executive Larry Culp has kept the company on track for a spinoff of its entire health-care business, which includes life-sciences operations as well as a sizable business making MRI machines and other equipment, in an initial public offering later this year.
