Latest KFF Health News Stories
The Families USA report suggests that onerous eligibility redetermination processes are at least as big a threat to poor people’s coverage as those other measures.
Renowned Cancer Hospital In Texas Ousts Scientists Over Espionage Fears
“A small but significant number of individuals are working with government sponsorship to exfiltrate intellectual property that has been created with the support of U.S. taxpayers, private donors and industry collaborators,” said Dr. Peter Pisters, the president of University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Republican lawmakers introduced several bills they say protect the Affordable Care Act’s popular provision prohibiting an insurer from denying coverage to a patient due to a preexisting condition. But the proposed measures are not nearly as comprehensive as the current health law. In other news: Farm Bureau coverage, curbing coverage price hikes, emergency room visits and accountable care organizations.
Hospitals Predict Grim Future Of Closures, Lay-Offs If ‘Medicare For All’ Plan Takes Root
Hospitals sometimes get up to double the amount from a private insurer as they do from Medicare for a procedure. If all the rates were reduced to what Medicare reimburses it could cause financial upheaval throughout the industry. Proponents of “Medicare for All” argue that hospitals charge too much and could lower their prices without sacrificing the quality of their care.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorials and columnists discuss health care issues.
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Media outlets report on news from Massachusetts, California, Washington, Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Ohio, Minnesota and New Hampshire.
News from state legislatures comes out of Connecticut, Washington, Arizona, Maryland, California and Florida.
Montana Lawmakers Send Medicaid Expansion Bill With Work Requirements To Governor
The legislation comes as Montana faces an expiration date on the state’s Medicaid expansion, which was approved in 2015. “It was in our best interest to continue the program to help as many folks as we can, especially with drug addictions [and] mental illness. Those are big things that plague Montana, and they’re very expensive. And everyone that we can treat and have success in those areas is a huge win for everyone,” said Republican state Rep. Ed Buttrey of Great Falls.
CMS will allow insurers to implement the restrictions when there’s a generic drug available to the patient. CMS argues that the rule would encourage patients to use generic drugs and lower drug spending.
There are already laws protecting babies who are born alive, whether it is as a result of a botched abortion or not, said North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper. Meanwhile, a look at the rare occurrence where infants actually are born following an abortion attempt.
“People these days are constantly rearranging their facial appearance in ways that prevent engaging in facial mimicry, having no idea how much we use our faces to coordinate and manage social interactions,” said Paula Niedenthal, a professor of psychology. In other public health news: medicine’s racist past, a polio-like illness, and groundbreaking heart surgery.
Researchers have created a way to test millions of gene variants to predict who is more susceptible to obesity. Although it’s in its early stages, some experts see it as a way to encourage intervention in children who are prone to becoming severely overweight.
Lessons From Columbine and Parkland: ‘Trauma Doesn’t Stop When Bullets Stop’
Saturday is the 20th anniversary of what was, at the time, the deadliest shooting at a high school in United States history. Survivors of the Columbine shooting talk with those who lived through Parkland just a year ago and share what life is like in the wake of such a tragedy. “You’re gonna go through really dark times,” Columbine survivor Amy Over tells Parkland student Brandon Abzug. “Times where you don’t think you can take another step forward. But you learn coping skills. You figure out, ‘I need to go get help.’ For me, I had to go punch something.”
Public health legal experts said it’s been at least a century since health authorities issued fines in connection with violations such as not vaccinating a child. But as the measles outbreak continues to run rampant, New York City is making it clear that it’s taking a strict stand on the emergency vaccination order that was issued. Meanwhile, Washington state legislation tightening exemptions moves forward.
Health insurers and hospitals have led a health care sector-wide plunge in stocks. About $150 billion of market value was erased from companies in the S&P 500 Health Care Index in the four days through Thursday.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he’s been hearing from parents that there’s been an unprecedented spike in vaping among their teenage children. Tobacco companies are actually publicly on board with the federal legislation — and similar measures gaining traction at the state-level — in part to distance themselves from accusations that they’ve been marketing to youth.
Communities Hit Hardest By Opioid Epidemic To Get $350M From NIH To Study Best Way To Combat Crisis
The communities in the four-state study are expected to look at how behavioral health, unemployment and the criminal justice system contributes to the crisis, and measure the effectiveness of various prevention and treatment methods, such as distributing anti-overdose drugs to schools, police and other first responders.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
