Latest KFF Health News Stories
Dark Money Group Has Run More Than $100,000 Worth Of Facebook Ads Targeting High Drug Prices
“Citizens for Truth in Drug Pricing” has no website and appears to exist only as a collection of Facebook advertisements, but the spokesman is a well-known Republican communications professional. Meanwhile, lawmakers ramp up efforts to target pharmacy benefits managers for their role in high drug costs, and Allergan gets some disappointing news about its “exciting” investment.
Handwritten Note To Trump Confidante Highlights Influence Of Mar-A-Lago Associates On VA Policies
The note on a federal database for veterans’ dental care is the latest example of the outsized influence the “Mar-a-Lago” crowd has in reviewing all manner of VA policy and personnel decisions, including budgeting and contracting.
“We find it intolerable and inexcusable that child care operators are not immediately investigating reports, contacting and fully assisting law enforcement, preserving evidence and demanding justice for these children,” Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) wrote to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General’s Office. HHS records, which were released recently, detail 4,556 allegations of sexual abuse by children in immigration facilities from October 2014 to July 2018.
The attention on the opioid epidemic has been beneficial in a lot of ways, but the new efforts to curb opioids prescriptions leave many pain patients in vulnerable positions, more than 300 medical experts say in a letter to the CDC. Specifically, the letter asks the CDC to emphatically state that treatment decisions for these patients be left to their doctors. This is in part because insurers are using the restrictions as a justification for denying reimbursement claims.
“I’ve never seen an administration official, Republican or Democrat, that has worked with the Hill so well on a bipartisan basis,” a senior congressional aide told Stat of departing FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb. With his resignation, the Trump administration loses a crucial asset for pushing its health policy. Meanwhile, there have been worries that Gottlieb’s resignation will disrupt the strides he’s made against public health threats such as teenage vaping. Gottlieb, however, said he’s confident that won’t be the case. And Stat offers a look at who might be his replacement.
Secretive Health Initiative Founded By Billionaires Finally Gets A Name: Haven
The tight-lipped venture, founded by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase, has been nameless for more than a year. The name Haven “reflects our goal to be a partner to individuals and families and help them get the care they need, while working with clinicians and others to make the overall system better for all,” according to the initiative’s new website. The industry has been watching the secretive venture nervously, as it’s expected to disrupt the health landscape.
A provision in the health law already allows such sales through state agreements, and, in fact, six states have passed laws to set up interstate sales. But no policies currently are being sold. That’s because the complexities of trying to regulate interstate sales deter most insurance providers from even trying. And any new insurers entering a state also face daunting competition from companies that are already well-established. On the consumer side, experts say it would do little to lower premiums.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial pages focus on these health care issues and others.
Read recent commentaries about drug-cost issues.
Pharma CEOs Brush Off Importance Of List Prices, But Here’s Why They Actually Do Matter To Consumers
News outlets report on stories related to pharmaceutical pricing.
Media outlets report on news from Idaho, Pennsylvania, Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Hawaii, Connecticut, New Jersey, Ohio, California, Michigan and Iowa.
Experts offer the reasons that a man as young as Luke Perry, who was 52 when he died, could have a stroke. In other public health news: an HIV cure, salt and nutrition, Alzheimer’s, gender in science, aging, and more.
There are usually many complex reasons that those addicted to opioids struggle with recovery–including the struggles of being homeless or not having insurance. Lawmakers, who wanted to bring a fresh set of of eyes to the problem, toured Johns Hopkins looking for answers. News on the crises comes out of Ohio, as well.
The Trump administration is mulling whether it should continue approving accreditation groups that also have consulting arms. Many hospitals hire an organization called the Joint Commission, but that organization also has a subsidiary that offers consultants-for-hire that help hospitals attain accreditation. The commission has defended the practice, but others see it as a conflict of interest. In other CMS news: nursing home star ratings and Medicare penalties for hospitals.
In A National Call To Action, Trump Creates Task Force To Try To Tackle High Rate Of Veteran Suicide
Within the next year, the task force will create a road map coordinating suicide-prevention efforts, prioritizing research on the topic and prompting collaboration across public and private sectors, an administration official said. Currently, about 20 veterans die by suicide each day, about 1.5 times higher than those who haven’t served in the military.
U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero found that United Behavioral Health, the insurer’s unit that administers treatments for mental illness and addiction in private health plans, used overly restrictive guidelines to make its decision on mental health coverage. “There is an excessive emphasis on addressing acute symptoms and stabilizing crises while ignoring the effective treatment of members’ underlying conditions,” he said. He dismissed much of the testimony by UnitedHealth’s experts as “evasive — and even deceptive.” The ruling, if its upheld, could have wide-reaching ramifications for the industry.
Border agents are struggling to meet medical needs and thousands of exhausted members of migrant families crammed into a detention system that was not built to house them. Officials say the system is at its breaking point. The latest numbers are a blow to the Trump administration’s recent, aggressive actions to curb the flow of people over the border.
New Democratic Campaign Chief Rains On ‘Medicare For All’ Parade With Reality Check On Its Price Tag
“I think the $33 trillion price tag for Medicare for all is a little scary,” said Rep. Cheri Bustos of Illinois, the chairwoman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was quickly rebuked by his colleagues for the stance. The hearing included several witnesses, but the one that drew the most attention was Ethan Lindenberger, a teenager from Ohio who got vaccinated against his parents’ wishes. Lindenberger described his choice to protect himself and other people, saying, “My school viewed me as a health threat.” He also pointed out the role social media has played in shaping the antivaccination movement.
