Latest KFF Health News Stories
Oscar’s focus is on health plans and helping consumers pick out the right coverage for them. The company announced that the investment will help it expand into Medicare Advantage space in the coming years.
New Suit Claims Administration’s Approval Of Arkansas’ Medicaid Work Requirement Is Unconstitutional
The advocacy groups suing the Trump administration had previous success blocking Kentucky’s Medicaid work requirement in court. In June, Arkansas became the first state where Medicaid work requirements took effect.
First Edition: August 15, 2018
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial pages focus on these health care topics and others.
Media outlets report on news from New Hampshire, Missouri, Ohio, Georgia, Arizona, Minnesota, Kansas, Florida, Iowa, California and Massachusetts.
‘Delay, Deny And Hope You Die’: NFL’s Byzantine Rules Stymie Ex-Players Seeking Health Benefits
But Paul Scott, who worked as the NFL’s benefit plan point person, wants to change that. He’s hoping to help former players through the application process to get the disability benefits they’ve earned. Meanwhile, experts find fault in the way the University of Maryland treated football player Jordan McNair when he suffered from heatstroke, which led to his death.
Concentrated, Intensive Programs Offer Short-Term Alternative To Traditional Weekly Therapy Sessions
Some patients can finish therapy in just a few weeks. The model is gaining popularity because it is proving to be as effective as long-term weekly treatments. In other public health news: vaping, med students, Lyme disease, autism, HPV, toxins in water, work wellness programs and more.
The researchers are now building a website that will allow anyone to upload genetic data. Users will receive risk scores for heart disease, breast cancer, Type 2 diabetes, chronic inflammatory bowel disease and atrial fibrillation. But scientists emphasize that DNA is not destiny, and that the results don’t account for a healthy diet and exercise.
“Similar to how students learn health education and driver’s education, they must learn proper bleeding control techniques using commonly available materials,” according to the Department of Homeland Security notice, “including how to use their hands, dressings and tourniquets.”
Mayo Clinic Nabs Top Spot In National Hospital Ranking Beating Out Cleveland Clinic
The U.S. News & World Report analyzed 4,500 hospitals based on several factors, including performance in 16 specialty areas and reputation. This year, the report put a greater emphasis on patient outcomes.
Billionaire Carl Icahn had called the deal a “$60 billion folly,” but is now walking back his opposition in light of recommendations from Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis. The latter called the insurer’s offer for the pharmacy benefits manager “both strategically and financially compelling, structured in a reasonable manner from a valuation standpoint for Cigna shareholders.”
Even Going To In-Network Hospitals Can Land You With A Big Medical Bill
When patients go to an in-network facility, they can still be treated by an out-of-network medical professional–anesthesia or pathology claims being among the most common.
Judge Denies UnitedHealthcare’s Attempt To Block New York’s Risk-Adjustment Program
The ruling means UnitedHealthcare may have to to transfer millions of dollars to New York insurers that enrolled high-cost members in their plans in 2017. News on the health law comes out of Virginia, as well.
Being able to explain how the artificial intelligence technology reached its diagnoses for dozens of eye ailments is a breakthrough and a crucial step toward outperforming the work of human doctors, according to the study in Nature Medicine.
Health data is often siloed and doesn’t move fluidly through the health system. Improving that communication could save billions of dollars a year, according to some estimates.
Right now, the RNAi drug is limited to cells that go through the liver, which is — in relative terms — easy to target. Getting the drug to other tissue, like the skin or brain, is more challenging. “It’s always been the same problem. And it’s delivery, delivery, delivery,” Steven Dowdy, a cancer biologist at the University of California, San Diego’s school of medicine, tells Stat. “It’s always been the 800-pound gorilla in the room.”
First Edition: August 14, 2018
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Editorial pages examine these and other health insurance issues.
Opinion writers express views on these health topics and others.
Media outlet report on news from Massachusetts, Puerto Rico, Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, California, New Hampshire, Kansas, Oregon, Minnesota and Georgia.
