Latest KFF Health News Stories
The government pledged in a new report on the tragedy to invest more than $100 billion in upgrades for infrastructure and health care, noting, “The hurricanes’ devastating effects on people’s health and safety cannot be overstated.”
North Carolina Wants To Shift Medicaid Program To A Managed-Care Model
The Federal government hasn’t approved the transition, but the state expects the waiver to get a green light. Medicaid news comes out of Texas, as well.
The weapons against the body’s immune system could be used as biomarkers to figure out if the patient will respond to a very expensive type of therapy. In other public health news: psychologists at military prisons, cancer-killing drugs, surgery centers, eye worms and more.
Trump Administration Endangered Public Health By Keeping Pesticide On Market, Appeals Court Rules
The court has ordered the EPA to ban chlorpyrifos, which can damage children’s neurodevelopment. A coalition of farmworkers and environmental groups sued last year after then-EPA chief Scott Pruitt reversed an Obama-era effort to ban the pesticide.
As Baby Boomers Age, Non-Emergency Medical Transportation Needs Are Skyrocketing
New companies are trying to fill the demand where taking an Uber or Lyft just won’t cut it. Many patients opt to skip appointments when they can’t find a ride, and those no-shows are costing billions in lost revenue. In other health industry news: Rite Aid has an uncertain future after calling off unpopular merger; the Cigna-Express deal has passions high; and Amazon is considering opening health clinics for its employees.
Number Of Women Who Delivered Babies While Addicted To Opioids Quadrupled In 15-Year Span
The study is the first to examine hospital data about opioid-addicted women delivering babies, and the numbers mirror well-known trends in opioid-exposed newborns.
The letters were sent to doctors of patients who came through the coroner’s office because of a fatal overdose. Though the effects were modest, researchers say it does show that small steps can make a difference in the battle against opioids.
Following Barrage Of Lawsuits, Government Reverses Course On Grants For Preventing Teen Pregnancies
The Trump administration had informed 81 groups last August that their grants would end in 2018 rather than in 2020, but multiple judges ruled the move was unlawful.
The new guidance, which officials say will cut back on the companies’ “abusive behavior,” concerns the rebates that drug makers have to pay back to states when a patient receives one of their medicines. In other pharmaceutical news: the administration is preparing to put action behind its rhetoric on drug pricing; some say Medicare’s new negotiating powers could lead to increased hospitalizations; and more.
Following a recent analysis of the cost of the program, questions arise about how the government would pay for a “Medicare For All” system. But New York congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) says it’s not an impossibility. The single-payer issue also makes campaign waves in Ohio.
For the party, the issue has become one like same-sex marriage and abortion rights where there’s very little gray area. Democrats have coalesced around a gun-control message, and candidates are falling in line.
Accountable care organizations were set up under the Affordable Care Act with the intention of improving quality and efficiency. But government data shows that they’ve fallen short of the savings that were projected. “After six years of experience, the time has come to put real ‘accountability’ in Accountable Care Organizations,” CMS Administrator Seema Verma said in a statement. “Medicare cannot afford to support programs with weak incentives that do not deliver value.”
First Edition: August 10, 2018
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Doctors Can Steer Patients Toward Better Value, Lowering High Consumer Costs
Editorial pages focus on this health topic and others.
Longer Looks: Telemedicine Abortions; Short-Term Plans; And Catholic Hospitals
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Media outlets report on news from Minnesota, Michigan, California, Texas, Massachusetts and Florida.
Residents near the leak have complained of nausea, headaches and nosebleeds after a ruptured well began spewing gas as well as benzene and other air toxics in October 2015. It took nearly four months to seal the well, and residents have since filed hundreds of lawsuits against the company.
“Just like the term ‘designated driver’ changed perceptions about drinking and driving, the term ‘Family Fire’ will help create public awareness to change attitudes and actions around this important matter,” said Kris Brown, co-president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. In other public health news: online dating, dementia, sperm count, suicide, and heart health.
Inducing Labor In Healthy Women At 39 Weeks May Actually Cut C-Section Rates, Surprising Study Finds
The common mindset leans more toward letting women’s pregnancies run their course, but the study is being billed as a game-changer for those who have uncomfortable end-of-term symptoms.
Insys To Pay $150M To Settle Criminal, Civil Investigation Into Marketing Techniques For Its Opioids
The company has figured prominently in the ongoing federal investigation into drugmakers’ role in the opioid epidemic because several former executives and employees have been arrested in connection with allegations of bribing doctors to boost sales of Subsys, its product that contains fentanyl. News on the crisis comes out of New York and Massachusetts, as well.
