Latest KFF Health News Stories
Hospital Closures May Accelerate With 8% At Risk, Leaving More Patients Farther From Care
Currently 30 hospitals a year are shutting down across the U.S., Bloomberg reports. That number could increase, according to a Morgan Stanley analysis, with facilities in rural areas are particularly at risk. More hospital news also comes out of Texas, Minnesota and Denver.
Mass. Nurses Point Finger At Hospital Execs In Fight Over Nurse Staffing
The fight is headed to the ballot in November. Massachusetts voters will decide whether to impose limits on the number of patients assigned to hospital nurses, a measure that hospital executives oppose. “Hospital executives are the ones who have ignored nurses’ concerns, claiming a lack of resources for safe patient care, while pocketing seven-figure salaries,” said Donna Kelly-Williams, president of the Massachusetts Nurses Association.
Ohio Gov. Kasich Touts Medicaid Report Showing Expansion Cut State’s Uninsured Rate By Half
Ohio’s Medicaid expansion is among the outgoing governor’s signature achievements. He is using this report as well as stories from people who have gained coverage to shore up support for it before he leaves office.
Meanwhile, government officials from a collection of more than a dozen states that supported Obama era regulations vow to file court challenges to the administration’s changes. Other reports on environmental news include warnings about the health toxins caused by wildfires in the West and improving air quality in Minnesota.
Health Advisers Include New Options For Life-Saving Cervical Cancer Screening
Because most cervical cancer is caused by the human papillomavirus, the US Preventive Services Task Force says women ages 30-65 now have the choice to get an HPV test every five years, a Pap test every three years or a combination of both tests every five years. Also in women’s health news: a bill is being introduced to address the disparity in maternal health outcomes.
A top Veterans Affairs official says the agency will review all the denied medical claims dating back to late 2016.
FDA Adds 4 Months To Expiration Date On EpiPens In Face Of Shortage
The Food and Drug Administration is working with Pfizer to extend the expiration date on certain lots of Mylan’s EpiPen 0.3 milligram injectors by an additional four months. The move is made because of an ongoing shortage of the lifesaving drug.
Amazon’s New Hire Brings History Of Introducing Health Professionals To Technology
In other market developments, biotech instrument maker Bionano Genomics goes public and more legal action for Herbalife.
Justice Department Asks Court To Order Anthem Testimony In Medicare Billing Case
The request is part of an investigation into Medicare Advantage risk-adjustment payments. Also in the news, a study finds that Medicare could save $925 million if generic drugs were substituted for 29 expensive combination prescriptions.
U.S. Has Lowest Life Expectancy Among High-Income Developed Countries
The report in the British Medical Journal finds 14 industrialized countries have declining life expectancy rates. Much of the problem in the U.S. centers on the opioid epidemic and the resulting deaths among younger adults. In other countries, the declines focused on people over the age of 65.
Hospital Sleuths Unearth Surprise: Knee Surgery Bills Are 5 Times Its Cost.
Officials at Gundersen Health System in Wisconsin decided that they needed better numbers for the cost of a knee replacement, The Wall Street Journal reports. They were billing more than $50,000 and, after a study, found that the real cost was closer to $10,550. In other health industry news, Bloomberg profiles consumers who are priced out of health insurance, Maryland gets federal approval for a plan to help spread costs and risks across insurers, and Delaware approves an increase for the insurer that sells on the federal health law’s marketplace.
On The Campaign Trail, GOP Candidates Struggle To Find Clear Health Care Message
Meanwhile, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) took an opportunity during a Senate hearing to press a Trump administration official on a pending lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act’s protections for pre-existing conditions. In California, talk about single-payer reform plans are ramping up in the race for governor.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader, said in his meeting with Brett Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court nominee, that Kavanaugh refused to say whether Roe v. Wade had been settled correctly. “That should send shivers down the spine” of people who support the right to abortion, the New York senator said.
First Edition: August 22, 2018
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial pages express views on these health topics and others.
2 Mass. Hospitals Decry State Analysis Of The Costs Of Their Planned Merger
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Lahey Health say that the state Health Policy Commission’s estimate that the merger would raise costs by $251 million a year is “grossly overstated.” In other industry news, Grady Hospital in Atlanta reports success in its efforts to integrate mental health services with physical health; an Oregon hospital reports a data breach; and North Carolina’s Mission Health offers more details about foundation funding plans if acquired by HCA.
Media outlets also report on other news from California, Florida, Kansas, Ohio, Louisiana, Texas, Arizona and Michigan.
Flu Shots Are Ready, But Waiting A Couple Weeks Will Offer Better Protection Through Peak Period
While the CDC recommends a flu shot for everyone older than 6 months, when to get a flu shot is always a guessing game. Getting the vaccine too early — it’s showing up in stores now — might mean you “won’t have the same number of antibodies fighting the infection,” says Dr. Mark Montano. Public health news also looks at a lack of breastfeeding guidelines, higher cancer death rates among minority children, new research on altering blood types and more.
Growing Number Of Americans Report Near-Constant Marijuana Use As Experts Worry About Dependency
“There are plenty of people who have problems with it, in terms of things like concentration, short-term memory, and motivation,” Keith Humphreys, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University, tells The Atlantic. “People will say, ‘Oh, that’s just you fuddy-duddy doctors.’ Actually, no. It’s millions of people who use the drug who say that it causes problems.” In other pot news: more pregnant women are using the drug; and companies compete for Virginia’s limited slice of the medical marijuana market.
During a time of year when many vacationers like to be outside, the wildfires are making it hard to see and breathe. An already difficult wildfire season is being compounded by larger fires than in the past and changing weather patterns. In other news on the environment, the Trump administration is set to undo restrictions on coal-fired plants, lead problems reported in Chicago and Georgia, and herbicide drift damages a Texas vineyard.
