Latest KFF Health News Stories
Olympian Throws Spotlight On Often-Overlooked Problem Of Eating Disorders In Men
Figure skater Adam Rippon opens up about his relationship with food and weight. In other public health news: the health benefits of chocolate, Alzheimer’s, antibiotics, obesity and dementia.
More Than 320 Counties, Cities And States Are Suing Drugmakers For Role In Opioid Epidemic
Local and state leaders have been turning toward the legal system in their battle against the opioid crisis. In other news, the White House has approved research into which addiction treatments actually work best; doctors say Purdue’s decision to stop marketing OxyContin is “20 years late”; and experts react to Attorney General Jeff Session’s comments that patients should just “take some aspirin sometimes and tough it out a little bit.”
Google Says It Can Predict When Patients Are Going To Die, But Not Many Impressed By ‘Breakthrough’
Predicting adverse events, in and of itself, is old hat for software vendors. Meanwhile, a small business has developed a website to help people navigate end-of-life practicalities, but they’re faced with the problem that few people actually want to think about that kind of stuff.
Colorado Joins Inquiry Into Aetna’s Approval Practices Following Former Medical Director’s Testimony
Dr. Jay Iinuma admitted under oath he never looked at patients’ records when deciding whether to approve or deny care. Instead, he relied on nurses employed by Aetna to review the medical records and feed him pertinent information. California regulators have also launched an investigation into the company’s practices.
Planned Parenthood Is Going On Offense: ‘We Need To Do More Than Just Fight Against Bad Policies’
Planned Parenthood and its partners are set to roll out bills they argue would protect birth control coverage, expand access to abortion and make sex education more inclusive.
Virginia Lawmakers Lay Groundwork For Medicaid Expansion With Work Requirements Vote
The Virginia House of Delegates voted to impose work requirements on the state’s existing Medicaid recipients, with exceptions for the elderly, children, pregnant women and others who are not deemed “able bodied” as part of a compromise to expand the program. The bill goes to the Senate next, which so far has not indicated if it would accept it. Meanwhile, Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich is also preparing to ask federal regulators for a work requirements waiver for the state’s Medicaid program.
Whistleblower Case Alleging UnitedHealth Defrauded Medicare Program Allowed To Move Forward
The Justice Department says the company wrongly retained more than $1 billion from the government. U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald dismissed part of the case, but is allowing the department to move forward with the rest of it.
Bernie Sanders Lambastes OMB Director Mick Mulvaney Over Health Provisions In Trump’s Budget Plan
“Director [Mick] Mulvaney, tell me about the morality of a budget which supports tax breaks for billionaires, throws 32 million people off of the health insurance they have, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of fellow Americans,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Meanwhile, the Office of Management and Budget chief caused confusion when he hinted at the same hearing that he wouldn’t vote for President Donald Trump’s budget if he were in Congress.
Facing Millions In Penalties, Companies Push Back On IRS Decision To Enforce ACA Employer Mandate
The health law imposes a penalty on employers with more than 50 workers who don’t provide qualifying coverage to employees, but the fines weren’t initially enforced. Meanwhile, Blue Cross of Idaho is taking the state up on its offer to sell coverage plans that don’t meet all the health law’s standards.
First Edition: February 14, 2018
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Trump’s Budget Breaks Health Care Promises; New Mandate Could Stem Rising Premiums
Editorial pages highlight these and other health care issues.
Media outlets report on the news from California, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Arizona, Maryland, Texas, Michigan and Minnesota.
Ahead Of Vote, Wisconsin Governor’s Reinsurance Plan Gets Support From Medical Community, Insurers
Gov. Scott Walker’s bill would authorize Wisconsin to seek a federal waiver to offer a reinsurance program to lower premium costs. Under the program, the government would provide money to health insurance providers to pay for between 50 percent and 80 percent of medical claims costing between $50,000 and $200,000.
Google Maps Often Including Pregnancy Crisis Centers In Abortion Search Results
The centers are designed to convince women not to have abortions. St. Juan Women’s Center Executive Director Christine Ibañez said that although her organization does not manipulate search results, she’s heard that others have bought keywords from Google.
Beware Marijuana Holiday: Stoned Drivers Pose Same Dangers As Drunken Super Bowl Revelers
Two doctors examined 25 years of data and determined the risk of a fatal crash on American roads is 12 percent higher after 4:20 p.m. on April 20, the day set aside to celebrate marijuana. The numbers are comparable to the increased risk seen on Super Bowl Sunday, and the younger the driver, the greater the risk. Also, a Massachusetts top safety official warns that a licensing plan for marijuana is likely to create a surge of stoned drivers.
Tamiflu Cost Discouraged Patient From Getting Prescription Filled. She Died A Few Days Later.
This flu season has been vicious, leading to a high rate of deaths and hospitalizations. Second-grade teacher Heather Holland, of Texas, was one of those patients.
Cheaper and Easier To Find Than Opioids, Meth Is Making A Comeback
Drugs tend to go in cycles, and although meth may seem like a thing of the past, it turns out it was only on hiatus. In other public health news: antibiotics, ovarian cancer, fertility, autism, high blood sugar and memory, the science of love, and more.
Brain Implant To Treat Addiction Comes With High Risk, High Reward
Deep brain stimulation has shown some success in countering addiction, but implementing it requires a dangerous surgery. In other news on the nation’s drug crisis: the financial toll; police involvement in needle exchanges; opioid-makers’ donations to patient advocacy groups; and more.
How Amazon Is Nudging Into Health Care Space Beyond New Initiative With Tech Billionaires
The retail giant now wants to become a go-to place for hospitals to procure medical supplies. Amazon says it is seeking to sell hospitals on a “marketplace concept” that differs from typical hospital purchasing, which is now conducted through contracts with distributors and manufacturers.
Truvada is the closest thing there is to an AIDS vaccine — several studies have shown that users who take the drug daily are at nearly zero risk of HIV infection. But lifetime disability providers see it as a red flag.
