Latest KFF Health News Stories
Minn. Hospital Seeks To Add 100 Beds, 1,000 Employees
In other hospital news, some hospitals score high quality marks while one with a tarnished reputation works to regain trust. Outlets also report on developments in Rhode Island, Louisiana and Texas.
Type Of Book You Read To Your Baby May Be Just As Important As Book Reading Experience Itself
Not all books are created equal when it comes to boosting babies’ brains. In other public health news: a secret psychiatry experiment; suicide at colleges; excessive screening; the hazards of rushing off to the gym in the new year; Zika; needle-phobia; and much more.
Flu Activity Increased Sharply In Week Before Christmas
This flu season is expected to be particularly vicious and peak early.
Mass Shootings, Fires Shine Spotlight On Emotional Toll Health Care Workers Pay Every Day
Hospitals are starting to recognize how much their workers can be affected by not only events of mass violence but just the day-to-day duties of working in an high-pressure, high-stakes environment.
Some caution that the huge amount of data could bring more confusion than clarity.
States Beef Up Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs Amid Opioid Epidemic
In the past, few providers took advantage of the systems that were put in place to track prescribing practices. Now states want to use them as a key tool to fight the crisis. Media outlets also report on news from New England, Maryland, Minnesota and Illinois.
Health Care Market Has Become ‘Too Big, Too Important’ For Tech Companies Not To Want A Piece
Technology companies are revolutionizing the health landscape as they vie for a piece of the $3-trillion-a-year pie.
Kansas Mental Health Advocates Seek To Change Medicaid Rules For Inmates
Benefits are terminated when people are jailed, but advocates hope to change that so enrollment is just suspended and can be reinstated more easily when incarceration is finished. Also, news outlets report on Medicaid developments in Mississippi, New Hampshire, D.C., Massachusetts and Ohio.
Federal Judge Clears Way For Sharp Cuts To Medicare’s 340B Program
Hospitals had sought to block $1.6 billion in Trump administration cuts to the program, which lets some hospitals buy drugs at discounted prices.
In Pursuit Of Top Quality Ratings, Are VA Hospitals Leaving Sick, Needy Veterans Without Care?
Veterans Affairs hospitals are limiting the number of patients they take in and cherry-picking cases to avoid complicated ones so that their quality ratings are better, some accuse.
Remaining Members Of Presidential HIV/AIDS Advisory Council Fired En Masse
Last June, six of the members resigned in protest of the Trump administration’s policies. The rest were dismissed by a White House letter at the end of the year.
Trump To Undergo First Physical Exam Of Presidency
Presidents routinely take exams to prove they are fit for service. President Donald Trump will have his on Jan. 12. Meanwhile, the mental health of past Oval Office occupants, as well as the present one, continues to be a subject of discussion.
Long-Term Solution For CHIP Funding On Docket As Congress Returns To Jam-Packed Schedule
Right before the Christmas break, Congress plowed $3 billion into the Children’s Health Insurance Program, but that stopgap only keeps it funded for three more months. Meanwhile, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) still wants to push legislation restoring insurer subsidies.
Looking Ahead In New Year: What’s To Come In Health Care For 2018
The health care landscape is set for a tumultuous year. Media outlets take note of what you should watch for — from the health law to hospitals and more.
GOP Reform Did Not Halt Resumption Of ACA’s Medical Devices Tax
A 2.3 percent excise tax on medical device manufacturers went back into effect Monday after it had been suspended for two years. But the industry is hoping that Congress will still blunt the impact.
Final Tally For Health Law Sign-Ups Drops Slightly To 8.7M With Late Cancellations
The initial number reported was 8.8 million, but the revised total was down about 80,000. Still, the revised number is stronger than many expected at the beginning of the shortened enrollment period. Meanwhile, more than 4 in 5 of those signed up for coverage are from states that went for President Donald Trump in the 2016 election.
In Strange Twist, GOP Changes Have Inadvertently Given Government Larger Role In Health Law
Because of the Trump administration’s decision to end insurer subsidies, the government may actually pay more into the system at the same time that healthier people may flee the marketplace because the mandate has been repealed. But don’t expect that victory to be the last of the health law fights for the coming year. Other programs, like Medicaid, are also expected to be debated.
First Edition: January 2, 2018
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Obamacare Is Not Repealed; Puerto Rico’s Water Needs; Keeping Humanity In Medicine
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Media outlets report on news from California, Colorado, Illinois, Oregon, Maryland, Minnesota and Tennessee.
