Latest KFF Health News Stories
Medicine Is Turning To Artificial Intelligence To Help Patients
Machines — programmed with experiences from at times millions of humans — are providing doctors new insights into identifying and treating disease and predicting health problems.
Anthem Criticized For Denying Claims For Patients Who Go To ER For ‘Non-Emergency’ Ailments
Patients, doctors and hospitals have been publicly criticizing the insurer over the tactic. Anthem says its policy aims to reduce use of emergency departments to rein in health care costs. In other marketplace news: The Wall Street Journal examines the behind-the-scenes role of Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani at Theranos, while other news outlets cover Aetna, CVS Caremark, Cigna and Express Scripts.
Challenges Plague Maryland’s Plan To Create Reinsurance Fund To Stabilize Obamacare Markets
And in Texas, usually a red-state bunker for the repeal-and-replace debate, single-payer health care is emerging as a hot issue in the upcoming midterm congressional elections.
Meanwhile, Modern Healthcare features a legal analysis of how those Trump administration rules could impact the health industry.
Surprise Attack On Farm Bill May Have Tanked Efforts To Set Work Requirements For Food Stamps
Conservative Republicans in the House refused to support the farm bill unless they got a separate vote on immigration legislation, disappointing Speaker Paul Ryan, who couldn’t get Democratic votes on the bill because it would have added the work requirements.
HHS Chief Seeks To Rally Support For Trump’s Lackluster Drug Price Plan
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is trying to show that the president is not turning back from campaign promises to take on the drug industry, even though the plan no longer includes ideas such as negotiating prices for Medicare drugs or allowing the importation of drugs from other countries.
Trump Administration Moves To Withdraw Funding From Clinics That Provide Abortions
The Trump administration’s proposal meets a key conservative goal: to withhold some federal funding for Planned Parenthood. The proposed rules now under review would require facilities receiving Title X grants to be physically separate from those that perform abortion; would eliminate the requirement that women with unintended pregnancies be counseled on a full range of reproductive options; and would ban abortion referrals.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Trump Nominates Acting VA Secretary To Lead Troubled Agency
President Donald Trump surprised Robert Wilkie Friday with the Veterans Affairs nomination announcement. “The president’s gift underscores his promise to do all that he can for veterans, which includes supporting those who care for our veterans,” Wilkie said at the briefing.
Opinion writers look at these and other health topics.
Media outlets report on news from Texas, California, Minnesota, Florida, Arizona, New Hampshire and Ohio.
A new report finds that if the state expanded its Medicaid program, 473,000 more residents would have health coverage next year. Medicaid news comes out of Virginia, New Mexico, and Alaska, as well.
The Big Risks And Rewards Of Artificial Intelligence Playing A Role In Doctors’ Visits
The technology could improve care and revolutionize burdensome record-keeping practices, but it also carries thorny questions about who owns the data and how it’s used. In other public health news: strokes, emergency contacts, suicide, labor, acupuncture, cancer, the E. coli outbreak, and more.
New Allegations Emerge Against University of Southern California’s Longtime Campus Gynecologist
For years, medical workers had accused the Dr. George Tyndall of touching women inappropriately during pelvic exams, as well as making racist and sexual remarks about patients’ bodies. The University of Southern California has come under fire for not immediately reporting him to the state medical board and for not making the allegations about him public until only after the university was approached by The Los Angeles Times.
Most Americans Think The Opioid Epidemic Is A Problem — Just Not One That’s In Their Backyard
Less than a quarter of the people surveyed feel it’s an emergency in their community, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams said. In other news on the crisis: the FDA criticizes a big data provider over a mistake concerning the amount of fentanyl prescribed over the past year; Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) wants information on steps a drugmaker has taken to mitigate the opioid epidemic; a House panel advances a package of bills dealing with the epidemic; and more.
Acting VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said in a statement that the 10-year deal would make much-needed improvements that “will modernize the VA’s health care IT system and help provide seamless care.” Critics say that the contract is not written in a way that guarantees success for VA patients.
The controversy stems from reports that NIH officials met with players in the alcohol industry to woo them to fund the study, which supports the health benefits of moderate drinking.
California Predicts Premium Increase Of 11%, Plus Drop In Enrollment
Meanwhile, CMS rejected Ohio’s application to eliminate the health law’s individual mandate, saying the state didn’t provide a complete plan.
Newly Approved Drug Ushers In Hopeful Era For Patients Who Experience Debilitating Migraines
The drug will be listed at $6,900 a year and can be injected with a device similar to an insulin pen. While doctors are excited about the new treatment, some warn that it’s “progress, but not a panacea.”
Right-To-Try Bill Gets Another Shot In The House Next Week
The legislation, which has faltered in its way through the Legislature, will necessitate the FDA to work harder to protect patients, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb says. In other news, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) says there’s a compromise in the works for a controversial bill that addresses drug pricing; pharma companies may have to start listing their prices in ads; a look at what happens next with Vermont’s importation law; and more.
