Latest KFF Health News Stories
Perspectives: It’s Past Time For The Government To Intervene Over High Drug Prices
Read recent commentaries about drug-cost issues.
CVS-Aetna Is Talk Of Town, But UnitedHealth Has Already Been There, Done That. (Sort Of)
News outlets report on stories related to pharmaceutical pricing.
Media outlets report on news from Maryland, Iowa, Florida, Illinois, New York, California, Oklahoma and Ohio.
Official Struggles To Defend NYC’s Lapses On Lead Inspections, Concedes More Could Have Been Done
The City Council grilled New York City Housing Authority Chairwoman Shola Olatoye over the lead inspection problems, focusing on the long delay between when officials learned of the lapses and when City Hall and the agency acknowledged them publicly for the first time
Ban Over Discussing Public Figures’ Mental Health ‘Scientifically Indefensible,’ Experts Argue
The Goldwater Rule has long-banned mental health professionals from weighing in on public figures. But experts say the evidence they can gather through public speeches, behavior and tweets is actually more reliable than in-person evaluations. In other news: asthma hot spots, temporary doctors, the ethics of uterine transplants, germs in the International Space Station, and more.
D.C. Latest To Try To Preemptively Protect Women’s Health Benefits In Case ACA Is Rolled Back
The legislation will ultimately be subject to congressional review, but council members say that any lawmaker who opposes it can expect a strong fight. In other women’s health news: the ACLU pushes back against claims that it acted improperly during a case over a pregnant teenage immigrant, and a new study questions the benefits of mammograms.
States Report Savings In Medicaid Test Coordinating Health, Social Services
Ten states and Puerto Rico are part of the national pilot project. A report by the National Governors Association finds that Alaska and Puerto Rico are already seeing substantial improvements. News outlets report on other Medicaid developments from Iowa, Connecticut, Louisiana, Wisconsin and Michigan.
Shortening Drug Approval Times Is A Rallying Cry For Administration. But It Was Already Happening.
Programs that were put into place before the Trump administration have been cutting times by sometimes more than a year. In other pharmaceutical news: problems with AstraZeneca’s blockbuster drug; the Food and Drug Administration requests that a pharma company recall a product that may cause liver injury; sexual harassment allegations involving the founder of biotech’s largest hedge fund, and more.
Experts Predict FTC Will Be More Lenient Of CVS-Aetna Deal Than Justice Department
But they also say CVS’s plan to buy Aetna is “eminently approvable” by either agency because critics would be unable to come up with a convincing theory to show the deal will harm consumers. Meanwhile, a House Democrat is already calling for a probe of the merger.
Democrats Want To See Funding To Fight Opioid Epidemic In Spending Bill
But Republicans haven’t been as vocal about allocating more money for the crisis, so it’s unclear how much will make it into the final legislation.
For Many It’s ‘Beyond Belief’ That Funding For Wildly Popular CHIP Program Is In Limbo
“It crushes me to think we’re in an environment where kids’ health is up for debate,” said Dr. Todd Wolynn, a pediatrician in Pittsburgh. Although the program has enjoyed strong bipartisan support in the past, Congress has been dawdling on renewing funding for the program.
Ways And Means Chairman Expects Strong Support For Mandate Repeal From House Republicans
The House and Senate will have to smooth out the differences between their tax bills, including what to do about the health law’s individual mandate. Meanwhile, advocates are sounding the alarm over the ways the tax bill will threaten health care for Americans.
Future Of Bipartisan ACA Fix Wobbly Despite Key Role It Played In Securing Tax Bill Votes
Some centrist Republicans only threw support behind the tax bill after they were assured that legislation shoring up the health law marketplace would pass. But the future of the bills don’t look certain. Meanwhile, House Speaker Paul Ryan’s office said that he made no such promise to help get the fixes through before the end of the year.
First Edition: December 6, 2017
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Examining The Proposed $69B CVS-Aetna Merger; Is Medicare Next On GOP Chopping Block?
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Media outlets report on news from Texas, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Maryland, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and California.
Liver Transplant Organization Shifts Policy To Account For Geographical Disparities
The geographic disparity in available livers has plagued transplant patients for decades, and has been a source of fierce debate within the community. But critics of the new policy say it doesn’t consider liver donation rates. In other public health news: superbugs, vaccinations, cancer, e-cigarettes, ADHD, and more.
Patients In Africa Enduring Pain Because America’s Epidemic Has Turned ‘Opioid’ Into Dirty Word
Terrified of triggering an America-style crisis, health providers in other countries are only doling out pain medication in the smallest amounts. In other news on the epidemic: Montana becomes latest state to sue Purdue Pharma; Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) seeks clarity over Kellyanne Conway’s role in managing the crisis; states enlist people who had been addicted to help others; and more.
When It Comes To Medication And Pregnancy, Both Doctors And Patients Left Playing Guessing Game
There’s very little research on how medication as common as drugs to control high-blood pressure affects the pregnant body. Women are left confused and floundering about what is safe for them to take. But, that might finally be changing.
Backlog In Kan. Medicaid Applications Prompts Delay In Dying Patients Admission To Nursing Homes
The homes are concerned about providing care for which they may not be paid. In other Medicaid news, an audit finds improper payments in Louisiana’s program. Meanwhile, a new study finds that the top insurers get more than half of their revenues from government payments through the Medicaid and Medicare programs.
