Latest KFF Health News Stories
Senate Panel Adds $1 Billion To VA Funding For Private Care For Patients
The funding boost was not publicized by leaders of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. In addition, two members of the House are hoping to stop VA researchers from running tests on dogs.
Even As Patients Assume More Health Costs, Price Details Difficult To Find
Although consumers are often counseled to shop around for cheaper health care, the effort is challenging because of the lack of price transparency. Meanwhile in other news about insurance and the health law, media outlets in Iowa and Connecticut report that enrollment is going well there, but another report points out the extremes that some people must go to when hoping to keep affordable coverage.
Maine Voters’ Support For Medicaid Expansion Emboldens Other States
Efforts to overcome resistance to the Obamacare program are being revived in Nebraska, Idaho, Utah and Virginia. Also, Democrats in Kansas would like to block state action that ties the next governor’s hands on changing the privatized Medicaid program, and companies are eager to compete for Florida’s program.
Coordinated Care, Choice And Health Costs — The Myriad Challenges Of The U.S. Medical System
New outlets detail a range of dynamics within the health care system that can help and hinder patients ability to access affordable care.
Together, the companies touch most of the basic health services that people regularly use, and the merger could keep the transactions under one roof instead of spread out over multiple industry players.
Congress Still Dragging Feet Over CHIP: They’re ‘Playing Politics With Our Kids’ Health Care’
Lawmakers have included a provision to fund the program until the end of the year in a stopgap spending plan, but many states scramble in the meantime as money starts to run out.
Following Tax Victory, Republicans Start Eyeing Medicare
Republican leaders have been champing at the bit to cut government programs such as Medicare, and critics are now worried they’ll use swelling deficits created by the GOP tax bill as an excuse to go after the programs.
Individual Mandate Repeal Included In Senate Tax Bill Despite Dire Warnings About Market Instability
The House — which did not include repeal of the individual mandate — and the Senate still need to reconcile their versions of the tax legislation, but Republicans have been in favor of getting rid of the requirement since it was passed so it’s likely it will make it in the final law.
First Edition: December 4, 2017
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Conway’s Role In Opioid Battle; Remembering Victims Of AIDS
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Perspectives On Health And Taxes: Individual Mandate In The Crosshairs; Impact On Medicaid
Opinion writers explore some of the health issues at play in the congressional debate over revamping the tax code.
Research Roundup: Cancer Survival; Transgender Health; High Deductibles
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
Media outlets report on news from Illinois, Iowa, California, Oregon, Massachusetts, Colorado, Utah, Texas, Wisconsin and Minnesota.
States’ Anxiety Grows Regarding Dwindling Funds For Children’s Health Insurance Program
The program expired in September and, despite bipartisan support, Congress still has not reauthorized it. Several states are expected to shortly max out their remaining funds, causing worry for officials and the families that depend on CHIP.
Equal Access To Care? Report Finds Mental Health Parity Isn’t Reality Yet
“I was surprised it was this bad. As someone who has worked on parity for 10-plus years, I thought we would have done better,” said Henry Harbin, former CEO of Magellan Health. In other mental health news, the dwindling of long-term-care facilities and psychiatric beds over the past decade is leading to a public health crisis.
FDA Aims For Swifter Approvals Of Cancer Drugs With ‘Outsized’ Promise: Gottlieb
“We’re going to see more such cases, where a new drug offers an outsized survival benefit in a selected population of patients in a smaller, early-stage clinical trial,” Food and Drug Administration commissioner Scott Gottlieb tells a House panel during a hearing on the 21st Century Cures Act.
Oxycontin Maker In Lawsuit ‘Negotiations’ With State Attorneys General
Purdue Pharma becomes the first opioid manufacturer to confirm discussions on suits filed by 41 states. Meanwhile, Minnesota county also plans lawsuits. In other news on the toll of the national opioid epidemic: more kids are being placed in foster care in large part due to parental drug abuse, and a Navy admiral wages a new battle after he lost his son to addiction.
CMS Considers Alternate Payment Models To Curb Costs On High-Price Treatments, Gene Therapy
“We are trying to do whatever we can to increase competition and give the (health insurance) plans more tools so that they can be better negotiators on our behalf,” Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services chief Seema Verma tells Reuters. In other CMS news: The agency officially ends two mandatory bundled-payment models and Verma also comments on 1332 waivers.
‘Time To Act Is Now’: Report Recommends Government Actions To Lower Drug Costs
Negotiating Medicare drug pricing and withdrawing tax deductions for pharmaceutical ads are among the steps the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s report urges the federal government to take soon.
Potential $66B Deal For CVS To Buy Aetna Would Create Mammoth Health Care Company
CVS Health Corp. may pay $200 to $205 per share to acquire Aetna Inc., the Wall Street Journal reports, but the deal isn’t final yet. In other industry news, Express Scripts’ CEO says the company isn’t shopping for its own insurer deal but is open to the idea, as well as partnering with Amazon.
