Latest KFF Health News Stories
Federal Judge Reed O’Connor, who ruled in December that the health law could not stand without the individual mandate penalty, issued a stay as the ruling is appealed “because many everyday Americans would otherwise face great uncertainty” otherwise. Although O’Connor expressed certainty in his decision, many legal experts have questioned whether the ruling will hold up in higher courts.
First Edition: January 2, 2019
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Opinion pages focus on these health care topics and others.
Different Takes: Passing Of Health Law Relied On Unconstitutional Step; Dems Can Fix ACA In Congress
Opinion writers weigh in on last week’s ruling by a Texas judge declaring the Health Law is unconstitutional.
Research Roundup: Women’s Health In The U.S.; Medicaid Work Requirements; And Tribal Home Visits
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
Media outlets report on news from Hawaii, Massachusetts, Louisiana, California, Texas, New Hampshire, Ohio, Missouri, Wisconsin, Iowa and Florida.
NIH Director Francis Collins said an advisory group of scientists, bioethicists and members of the public will be formed to address the issue. Other public health stories in the news focus on lying; drug development for epilepsy; U.S. child killed working; food safety; short days, dark moods; nightmares; GMO labeling; Marburg virus spread; breathalyzers in cars; year-end elective surgeries and more.
The combined lawsuit from local and state governments from all across the country is being closely watched by a nation held in the grip of the opioid epidemic. Experts expect a reckoning for the companies much like the Big Tobacco settlement in the 1990s.
Planned Parenthood Faces Accusations Of Discrimination Against Its Pregnant Workers
Despite its mission to champion women’s health, Planned Parenthood has been accused of sidelining or otherwise discriminating against pregnant employees, according to interviews with more than a dozen current and former employees.
In Parting Shot, Hatch Criticizes Trump’s Proposal To Tie Drug Costs To What Other Nations Pay
The letter from outgoing Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) urges his colleagues to stand against the administration’s international pricing index model in a sign of emerging tensions in the Republican party over the best way to fight high drug prices. Meanwhile, drug costs may jump as much as 9 percent in the new year as pharmaceutical companies return to the status quo following their self-declared hiatus on price hikes.
The outcry from Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) follows a Washington Post investigation into the chronic shortage of organs, and the organization that oversees those life-or-death decisions.
Government officials say that the intent behind moving the Climate and Health program into a different division is to streamline work, but a watchdog group claims the agency is targeting the former head of the unit George E. Luber for speaking out against changes to climate policy.
Millennials Are In The Crosshairs When It Comes To Accruing Medical Debt
Young people who have less earning power and can lack insurance through their jobs are often saddled with daunting medical bills — more so than older generations. But there are steps to take to help alleviate that stress.
The announcement follows on the heels of the $70 billion deal between CVS and Aetna. “They’re all going after the combined pharmacy and medical offering as the value proposition,” said Ana Gupte, an analyst with Leerink Partners LLC. “That’s the big story. The question is, what will they be able to do, and what can they offer to employers?”
Residents of Harlan, Ky., are vocally Republican, but the county is the nation’s fifth most dependent on federal programs, such as Medicaid. The New York Times investigates this ever-growing contradiction in American politics. Medicaid news comes out of California, Wisconsin and New Hampshire, as well.
There’s a stem cell clinic boom happening across the country, but the businesses and their practices are highly unregulated and can be dangerous. The FDA is planning on ramping up oversight of such facilities.
ProPublica has gathered hundreds of police reports detailing allegations of sexual assaults in immigrant children’s shelters, but those reports show that police were quickly — and with little investigation — closing the cases, often within days, or even hours. In other news, the Justice Department is trying to determine if a nonprofit that runs shelters for migrant children misappropriated government money, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was questioned about the death of a 7-year-old girl in U.S. custody, and the U.S. is considering scrapping certain guidelines about restraining pregnant women.
Health law sign ups for 2019 dipped only slightly even though Congress zeroed out the penalty for not having insurance. The numbers suggest that people are participating in the ACA exchanges because they value the coverage not because they’re worried about paying fines, experts say. Other health law news focuses on the contraception mandate, as well as short-term plans.
First Edition: December 21, 2018
NOTE TO READERS: KHN’s First Edition will not be published Dec. 24-Jan. 1. Look for it again in your inbox Jan. 2. Here’s today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Opinion pages focus on these health topics and others.
