Latest KFF Health News Stories
A Big Election Year For Health Issues As Voters Face A Flurry Of Ballot Questions
In addition to Medicaid expansion, voters also will consider ballot initiatives dealing with abortion, soda taxes, opioid issues and the legalization of medical marijuana, among others,
Montana To Vote On Measure That Would Pay For Medicaid Expansion Renewal Through Tobacco Tax
The controversial ballot initiative has drawn record spending in the state, with tobacco companies alone having contributed $17 million to fight it. In Utah, The New Yorker profiles some of the activists who worked to secure Medicaid expansion a spot on the ballot.
Barrage Of Attacks On Health Care Is Forcing Republicans To Promise To Protect People Who Are Sick
Despite the new vows by many GOP candidates to champion coverage guarantees for preexisting conditions, they have not come to endorse another provision of the federal health law: the expansion of Medicaid. Also, outlets provide campaign news from Illinois and Florida.
First Edition: November 2, 2018
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial writers express views on health care costs and other issues.
Opinion pages focus on these health and mental health issues.
Longer Looks: Midterm Cram, Tuberculosis’ Influence On Modernist Architecture And The Tampon Tax
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Media outlets report on news from New Jersey, New Hampshire, California, Texas, Ohio and Wisconsin.
Federal authorities have told the Aurora Chicago Lakeshore Hospital it will cut off funding vital to staying open if it doesn’t implement immediate changes. Other hospital news comes from Texas, Virginia, Arizona and Georgia.
EPA Signs Off On Continued Use Of Bayer Weedkiller Farmers Say Damaged Hundreds Of Crop Fields
Also, environmental news focuses on a toxic paint stripper still on the market, a groundskeeper’s acceptance of a judge’s decision to lower his lawsuit award from Bayer and Los Angeles County’s takeover of a water agency that allegedly serves smelly water.
Preterm Births Rose In The U.S. For Third Year In A Row
According to a report by the March of Dimes, this increase comes on the heels of nearly a decade — from 2007 to 2015 — of declines.
Treadmill Stress Test Data Supports Strong Link Between Endurance And Living A Long Life
The greater someone’s fitness, the less likely he or she was to have died prematurely and vice versa, the numbers from the Cleveland Clinic showed. Those with high fitness lived longer than those whose fitness was above average. Other public health news focuses on diabetes, homeless veterans, Alzheimer’s, medical education and more.
Cervical Cancer Survival Rates And Risks No Better With Less-Invasive Surgery
The unexpected negative results from two new studies could change how cervical cancer has been commonly treated for over 10 years as a minimally invasive hysterectomy gained popularity.
Shingles Vaccine Lifts Glaxo’s Third-Quarter Earnings Forecast
GlaxoSmithKline reports that demand for Shingrix — the drugmaker’s new shingles vaccine that was granted favored status by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last year — is driving healthy profits.
Anthem Raises Profit Forecast For 2018, Offers Positive Outlook For 2019
The insurer reports profits for the third-quarter that were higher than predicted with total revenue of $23.25 billion.
Ohio Medicaid To Begin Treatment For Hepatitis C At Earlier Stage
Beginning Jan. 1, 2019, the Ohio Department of Medicaid will begin covering the disease when it first develops. Meanwhile, an audit of California’s Medicaid program made an estimated $4 billion in questionable payments over a four-year period to insurers and medical providers.
Feds Deny Wisconsin’s Request For Drug Testing Of Medicaid Enrollees
But the Trump administration will allow the state to require that some people getting Medicaid coverage disclose behavior such as drinking and exercise — and to charge more to those people.
If Dems Take The House, What Tops The To-Do List
News outlets examine some of the key issues the Democrats could choose to take on, including the high cost of prescription drugs and improvements to the Affordable Care Act. Meanwhile, health care issues continue to be hot topics on the campaign trail. A congressional candidate in Washington, who is also a doctor, is using her first-hand experiences with diabetes and as being a parent to discuss insurance issues. The Washington Post offers a fact check on how GOP candidates are talking about related issues on the campaign trail. And there are a range of state and local ballot questions worthy of a look.
CMS Chief Draws Criticism After She Takes Halloween-Related Twitter Jab At Medicare-For-All
And on that topic, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel details what people need to know about this health reform idea.
More Virginia Residents Can Now Start Enrolling In Medicaid With State’s Expansion
Registration for 2019 starts today, with an estimated 400,000 adult Virginians newly eligible for coverage under the state’s low-income insurance program.
