Latest KFF Health News Stories
Pharma Is Pocketing More Profits Even As Outrage About Costs Boils Over, Report Finds
News outlets report on stories related to pharmaceutical pricing.
Media outlets report on news from Minnesota, Virginia, Kansas, Florida, California, Iowa and Wisconsin.
Cities, Counties Saying ‘Enough Is Enough’ As They Challenge Opioid Makers In Court
“It’s not that we want to profit from litigation, we want to stop it through litigation,” said Michigan’s Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel. Detroit and Macomb are the latest to take the court route as a way to battle the opioid epidemic, and Nashville may be close to follow.
EPA Bans On Toxic Chemicals In Consumer Products Indefinitely Postponed
The chemicals, which have caused death from inhalation and been linked to cancer and other negative health effects, can be found in paint strippers and cleaning agents. In other public health news: glioblastoma, racism-induced stress, diabetes, vaccines, toxic shock syndrome, and more.
Arkansas Cuts 80,000 From Medicaid In 2017 After Eligibility Review
Another 7,198 enrollees are set to lose coverage Jan. 1 after state officials received information indicating they are eligible for Medicare. In other developments, congressional Democrats blast the House disaster relief package for not meeting Puerto Rico’s Medicaid needs, Oregon appears likely to lose a Medicaid managed care company and Connecticut lawmakers postpone a special session aimed at fixing a glitch in their program.
Storm Brewing On Capitol Hill Over Drug Discount Program
Pharma and hospitals are going head-to-head over cuts to the 340B drug program, which requires pharmaceutical companies to give steep discounts to hospitals and clinics that serve high volumes of low-income patients.
The price of the treatment could be more than $1 million. But the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the treatment signals a new era in gene therapy because it is the first to target a disease caused by mutations in a specific gene.
Burst Of Deals Reveals A Fast-Changing Health Industry Landscape
On Tuesday, health insurer Humana became the latest company to tout a new acquisition that will move the industry away from hospitals and toward clinics, doctors’ offices and surgery centers.
Fight Over Pregnant Immigrant Fizzles After Birth Certificate Shows She’s Not A Minor
The government had been gearing up for another fight of a pregnant immigrant who wanted to seek an abortion. But because she’s 19 and not 17, she is no longer in the custody of the Health and Human Services Department office that oversees housing of immigrant children.
Federal Moratorium Lifted On Funding To Make Germs More Lethal
But critics say researchers risk creating a monster germ that could escape the lab and seed a pandemic.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) promised Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) he’d pass legislation that stabilizes the health law’s marketplaces. House lawmakers, however, are furious over the guarantee. Meanwhile, a new fight over abortion becomes latest wrench in year-end spending deal.
Colo. Governor Makes Emergency Request For Lawmakers To Dip Into State Coffers To Fund CHIP
Congress has been dawdling on renewing money for CHIP, causing states to scramble as their funding wells start to run dry.
Tax Bill To Take Slight Detour Back To House Following Senate Passage Then Head To Trump’s Desk
The House needs to vote on the Senate’s version once more because of legislative rules that bumped three provisions out of the legislation. But it’s expected to sail through the lower chamber once more. Media outlets take a look at how the package, which includes the repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, will affect the health industry.
First Edition: December 20, 2017
oday’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Tax Bill And Health Care; Are New Blood Pressure Guidelines Making Our Numbers Go Up?
A selection of opinions on health care from news outlets around the country.
Media outlets report on news from Iowa, California, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Georgia, Texas, Ohio and Massachusetts.
Everyone Agrees Opioid Epidemic Is A Problem. But Ideas On How To Treat It Are Hotly Debated.
Clean needle exchanges, for example, often bring opinions on either side. “We don’t have a free-case-of-beer-a-month program for alcoholics,” says Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery. But others point to research that shows the programs are helpful.
This Chemical Formula Helped U.S. Win WWII. But Now It’s Poisoning Americans.
At bomb-making plants and ordnance testing ranges across the United States, RDX has spread into the soil and contaminated water supplies. ProPublica investigates the chemical formula and its negative health consequences. In other public health news: college students and mental health; loneliness; dementia; and the brain’s destructive impulses.
Va. Governor Presses Lawmakers One Last Time To Expand Medicaid
Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who leaves office shortly and put the request in his two-year budget proposal to lawmakers, has repeatedly tried to get the Republican-controlled legislature to expand the program for low-income residents. In other states, problems with the Medicaid managed care program in Iowa continue to fester, and lawmakers in Nebraska raise concerns about administrative issues there.
Braced For The Worst, States Plan To Freeze CHIP Enrollment, Think About Shuttering Programs
The renewal deadline to refund CHIP passed in September, and states have been cobbling together money ever since. But for many, those back-up funds will run out in March at the latest.
