Latest KFF Health News Stories
Frenzy Of Hospital Mergers Reveals Frantic Attempt To Court Patients In Competitive Landscape
Patients are increasingly relying on walk-in clinics, urgent care centers or an app on their cellphone over the more costly hospital emergency room or doctor’s office. This leaves hospitals competing for fewer patients in a fairly unstable health care marketplace.
Homeopathic Treatments On Fringe Of Mainstream Medicine To Be Targeted By FDA
Officials have announced that the Food and Drug Administration is going to be cracking down on these treatments that many scientists view as modern-day snake oil. The agency plans to focus on the ones that carry the biggest safety risks, including those marketed for children or for serious diseases.
Government Asks Supreme Court To Intervene In Case Of Pregnant Immigrant Girl Seeking Abortion
The government acquiesced to the judge’s orders to allow one of the girls to get the procedure, but is still fighting the other one’s attempts. Officials only cited “differing circumstances” as to why they gave in on one.
HHS Says Employees Misconstrued Guidelines For Budget Writing As A Banned List Of Words
The agency has come under fire for providing employees with words that should be avoided as they prepare for the Fiscal Year 2019 budget process. Many took it as a banning the words that included “vulnerable” and “diversity.” But the Department of Health and Human Services says that is not the case.
Health Industry Growing Increasingly Alarmed That Tax Bill Is ‘Leaving Too Many Patients Behind’
Apart from repealing the individual mandate, the Republicans’ tax package may force tens of millions of dollars in cuts to the Medicare program and open a $1.5-trillion hole in the federal deficit that could put pressure on government health care programs such as Medicaid. Meanwhile, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) reiterates her confidence that GOP leadership will keep the promise to shore up the Affordable Care Act exchanges in return for her “yes” vote on the tax legislation.
The Life And Death Of The Individual Mandate: Will Scrapping ‘Toothless’ Penalty Make A Difference?
The individual mandate has become a symbol of something much greater than itself for both sides, and now the tax package wipes it out in two simple sentences. But it’s not entirely clear what the exact ramifications of getting rid of it will be, since it was always enforced with “a muffled bark and a toothless bite.” Meanwhile, some states are thinking about taking their own steps to preserve it.
First Edition: December 19, 2017
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: The Words That Can’t Be Said At The CDC; Health Care In The Age Of Mergers
A selection of opinions on health care from news outlets around the country.
Media outlets report on news from Virginia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Georgia, New York, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Ohio, California and Missouri.
California Errs On Side Of Caution With New Public Safety Guidelines For Cellphones
Because heavy, long-term cellphone use has been linked to cancer among other negative health consequences, the California Department of Public Health released guidelines last week on how to cut down on the risks.
There’s A Definite Link Between Parents’ Age And Autism In Kids, But Reason Is A Little Less Clear
The most prominent hypothesis is that the sperm of older men has accumulated many spontaneous mutations that the men pass along to their children. In other public health news: stress and the holidays; replacement organs on demand; antibiotics and sexually transmitted diseases; cancer patients; forgetfulness in older adults; and more.
A suit on behalf of the Cherokee Nation has been brought in tribal court against opioid-makers, but the companies are asking a federal judge to deny the tribe’s authority to even bring the case. In other news on the crisis, prosecutors are starting to treat overdoses as homicides; women in Texas who need mental health or addiction help are ending up in jail instead; senators call for more funding for the crisis; and more.
The DEA Was Poised To Take Down Huge Corporation Tied To Opioid Crisis. So What Happened?
The Washington Post examines the deal top attorneys at the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Justice Department struck with McKesson Corp. The agreement took the legs out from under agents who had been in the field trying to make a case against the corporation they say failed to report suspicious orders involving millions of highly addictive painkillers.
Medicaid Pulling Some Funding For Oklahoma Teaching Hospitals
At stake is $115 million in physician training funds. News outlets also report on Medicaid developments in South Carolina and Illinois.
Administration Blocking Two More Pregnant, Immigrant Girls From Getting Abortions, ACLU Says
Earlier in the year, the American Civil Liberties Union won its fight to allow an immigrant girl to obtain the procedure. The same judge set a hearing for Monday for the newest additions to the case.
As List Of Banned Words Sparks Firestorm, HHS Reiterates Support Of ‘Best Scientific Evidence’
The Trump administration informed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other agencies that they could not use certain terms such as “science-based” and “fetus” during the upcoming budget process, according to a news report. Department of Health and Human Services officials push back on the characterization of the list.
CHIP Funding Languishing As Congress Dickers Over How To Pay For It
The delay in funding has families and state officials in Texas, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Connecticut growing nervous.
Final Tax Bill, That Includes Individual Mandate Repeal, Looks Headed For Passage
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) negotiated a promise that in exchange for her vote on the tax bill, health care legislation aimed at shoring up the Affordable Care Act marketplaces will pass. But critics think she’s being played. Meanwhile, the pharmaceutical industry has a lot to be happy about with the tax package.
Rollback Of Health Law’s Contraception Coverage Rules Temporarily Blocked By Judge
The administration’s rules allowing employers to cite moral or religious objections to providing contraception coverage “conjured up a world where a government entity is empowered to impose its own version of morality on each one of us. That cannot be right,” Judge Wendy Beetlestone says.
Officials have been pursuing state-level rules to combat federal Republicans’ attacks on the health law, but with the mid-terms coming up, it’s unclear if enacting state-level individual mandates is going to be something Democrats want to suggest.
