Latest KFF Health News Stories
Surprise Medical Bills And Balance Billing: ‘It’s A System Totally Rigged Against Patients’
Patients who do all the right things to go to an in-network hospital can still get stuck with thousands of dollars of surprise medical bills because the doctor treating them is out of network. The Houston Chronicle investigates why that is.
Asia’s Bird Flu Putting Global Health Officials On High Alert
The flu worries many scientists as they see it as the virus most likely to start a pandemic that kills millions, as the 1918 Spanish flu did. In other public health news: vaccines, blood pressure, cigarette ads, standing desks, napping on the job and more.
Number Of Transgender Homicide Cases For This Year Highest On Record
And the advocacy groups say their counts may be incomplete because transgender victims are sometimes misidentified in police and news reports.
‘Parkinson’s Diagnosis Is Not A Stop Sign,’ Jesse Jackson Says
Jesse Jackson, who has been a civil rights advocate for 50 years, announced the diagnosis on Friday. The New York Times offers a closer look at the disease.
Puerto Rico’s Health System Still Reeling From Maria Two Months Later
Half of Puerto Rico’s electric grid remains down, leaving many of the island’s 3.4 million residents exposed to the heat and unable to keep food or medicines cool without generators. Doctors are trying to make house calls, but there’s only so much they can do. And at the same time, the conditions have exacerbated many residents’ medical problems.
A Snapshot Of Those In The Trenches Of America’s Addiction Crisis
The Associated Press puts human faces to the numbers behind the opioid epidemic. In other news, a look at how influence in Washington, D.C., has played a role in the crisis, Purdue wants to settle lawsuits with states, counterfeit pills are sending droves of people to the hospital, why medication-assisted treatment is hard for some to get, and more.
Canceled Appointments And Lengthy Wait Times Still Occurring At VA Medical Centers
The Department of Veterans Affairs’ internal watchdog issues two reports, finding continued issues with the agency’s mental health care services and wait times at a clinic. And news of more problems is reported from Georgia and Colorado facilities. Meanwhile, an advocacy group runs ads critical of the VA’s use of dogs in experiments.
Critical Component Of Arizona’s Medicaid Expansion Upheld By State’s Supreme Court
At the heart of the debate was whether a hospital assessment that was used to help pay for the program was a tax.
As Social Security Checks Go Up, So Do ‘Part B’ Premiums For Many Medicare Beneficiaries
Although the standard Part B premium will stay the same next year, many beneficiaries will still have to pay more because their Social Security checks will increase 2 percent after several years of little or no cost-of-living raise. About 42 percent of recipients will see their premium jump to $134 from $109.
Odd Phenomenon Of Free Health Law Coverage May Boost Enrollment In Face Of Dire Predictions
When President Donald Trump cut off subsidies to insurers he inadvertently may have boosted the very law he was trying to undermine. Meanwhile, House Democrats trying to bolster marketing for the health law are being thwarted by arcane rules.
Repealing Mandate That Was ‘Weak’ In First Place May Not Radically Change Customers’ Behavior
“We don’t think many people would lose insurance if the mandate goes away,” said Deep Banerjee, an analyst at Standard & Poor’s. That runs counter to the hopes of Republican lawmakers, who are counting on a repeal of the mandate to free up billions in federal spending because the government won’t be subsidizing so many customers.
First Edition: November 20, 2017
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Using Emergency Authority To Fight Opioids; Knowing If Alzheimer’s Is In Your Future…
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Perspectives: A New Front For An Old Obamacare War; How Tax Reform Tees Up Medicare Cuts
Opinion writers offer a range of thoughts and commentary on how the current GOP tax plan impacts health policy and entitlement programs, as well as other health policy topics.
Research Roundup: Noncompliant Plans; Older Americans; Bare Counties; And The Uninsured
Here is a selection of recent research.
Media outlets report on news from California, Texas, Connecticut, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, Hawaii, Ohio, Minnesota and Iowa.
Putting A Dollar Value On An Epidemic: Opioid Crisis Has Cost Economy $95B In 2016 Alone
The vast majority of the economic burden — $43.2 billion — came from losses in the workforce due to deaths from opioids, the analysis found. Meanwhile, another study found that about 10 percent of Americans have overcome a drug or alcohol problem in their lives, which might mean there’s good news for treating addiction.
Among String Of High-Profile Disappointments, Alzheimer’s Experts See Some Reason To Hope
Scientists are moving toward a more nuanced understanding of the disease. In other public health news: CTE, the benefits of exercise, weight-loss operations, heart disease and more.
Feds Give States $600 Million To Tide Over Children’s Coverage Programs
Federal funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program expired at the end of September and lawmakers say they want to renew it, but they haven’t agreed on where to get the money. In other Medicaid news, a study looks at the toll of low reimbursements to doctors, another article explores how the health law’s expansion of the program has helped patients overcome medical debt issues and North Carolina releases its enrollment numbers.
Bipartisan Bill Seeks To Overturn New Cuts In Some Medicare Drug Payments
The congressional effort is aimed at a rule recently issued by the Trump administration that reduces federal reimbursement for medicines purchased under the federal 340B Drug Discount Program. That program helps boost revenues for hospitals that primarily serve low-income patients. Also in Medicare news, federal officials seek suggestions about lowering drug prices and set some new rules on the Part D drug program. The government also reports that improper payments have fallen.
