Latest KFF Health News Stories
Uncertainty Over Funding For Medicare Programs Has Rural Hospitals On Edge
Congress has lagged in renewing extenders for programs that the hospitals rely on. “It’s very devastating,” said Maggie Elehwany of the National Rural Health Association.
Fate Of 340B Drug Discount Program In Spending Bill Pits Hospitals, Pharma
The 340B program requires drugmakers to offer discounts on medicines sold to safety-net hospitals. Earlier this year, the Trump administration slashed funding for the program, and hospitals want it restored in Congress’ year-end spending bill. Meanwhile, lawmakers are turning their attention to pharmacy benefit managers in their efforts to bring down high drug costs.
Insurer Subsidies Likely To Be In Spending Bill, Collins Vows
The Trump administration earlier in the year stopped payment on the cost-sharing subsidies that are designed to help offset insurers’ costs for reducing out-of-pocket costs such as deductibles and co-pays for lower-income individuals. Meanwhile, House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) says that Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) never made a promise either way on the subsidies.
With Enrollment Deadline Only Days Away, Sign-Ups Are Surging Over Last Year’s Pace
But the total numbers for 2018 are still likely to fall short of this year’s because of the shorter enrollment period. So far, about 1.4 million new customers have signed up this year, and 3.3 million people re-enrolled.
House, Senate’s Negotiated Tax Package Includes Repeal Of Individual Mandate
The agreement will also allow taxpayers to continue to deduct high out-of-pocket medical expenses. Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) tells reporters that he was confident the final bill would be approved next week.
First Edition: December 14, 2017
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Congress Helped Create Opioid Crisis; Thoughts On Assisted Suicide
A selection of opinions on health care from news outlets around the country.
Parsing The Policies: Undoing The Individual Mandate; Medicare, Medicaid Cuts Are On The Horizon
Opinion writers offer their thoughts on a range of health policy issues.
Perspectives: With Federal Government Stalled Over Drug Prices, States Should Be Allowed To Act
Read recent commentaries about drug-cost issues.
A Pill To Knock Out Hookworm Costs 10,000 Times More In U.S. Than In Tanzania
News outlets report on stories related to pharmaceutical pricing.
Media outlets report on news from Georgia, Massachusetts, Washington, D.C., Minnesota, Ohio, Arizona, Texas, Kansas, Washington, Pennsylvania, Illinois, New Hampshire and California.
Massachusetts Ranks As Healthiest State, While Mississippi Clocks In At The Bottom
The report from the United Health Foundation found that states in the lower rankings struggled with particularly high rates of poverty among kids, smoking and obesity.
‘Fantastically Promising’ Trial For Drug To Treat Huntington’s Giving Hope To Formerly Hopeless
Patients and doctors often say Huntington’s is like having Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease — all at the same time. In other public health news: mental health and guns; the flu shot; a president’s health; gluten in medication; and more.
There’s No HIV Cure Yet, But With Each Promising Case, Scientists Become More Excited
There have been a few unique cases recently that have offered movement forward toward an eventual cure.
‘This Isn’t A Wave. It’s A Tsunami’: Opioid Epidemic Creating Flood Of Kids Into Foster System
An already strained system is being stretched even further with a new generation of children displaced from their homes in one way or another because of the addiction crisis. In other news, the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration says a 2016 law needs to be revised because it makes regulating opioids more difficult for the agency.
Medicare Websites Add New Quality Ratings For Consumers
The data has been added to the sites where people can compare inpatient rehabilitation facilities and long-term care hospitals. Medicare officials also announced that they plan to continue a pilot program aimed at reducing non-emergency ambulance transports.
Idaho Weighs Plan To Improve Coverage For Some Poor Residents
It’s not yet clear if the state’s legislators will accept the plan, which would allow working adults to buy subsidized health insurance on the state’s health care exchange and very sick adults, like those with stage-4 cancers, to be covered by Medicaid. News outlets also report on Medicaid news in Louisiana and Connecticut.
Trump’s Order To Roll Back Birth Control Mandate Gets Its Day In Court
California’s lawsuit against the new rules that allow employers to cite religious or moral objections to providing workers coverage for birth control says that they violate the U.S. Constitution by overvaluing religious beliefs and discriminating against women.
Governors Urge Congress To Help Restore Families’ ‘Peace Of Mind’ By Renewing CHIP
The bipartisan group highlighted the strong support the program has always received from both sides of the aisle. Funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program expired earlier in the year, and it has been overshadowed by some of the bigger health debates on Capitol Hill.
The industry is poised to win big if Republicans pass their tax legislation.
