Latest KFF Health News Stories
Drug’s $475K Cost Highlights Pricing Problems With Unique, Breakthrough Therapies
“We need a new payment model,” Steve Miller, chief medical officer at Express Scripts Holding Co., said while criticizing Novartis’ new drug.
Suit Alleging Calif.’s Low Medicaid Payments Hinder Care For Hispanics Being Watched Closely
Suing Medicaid is difficult so other civil rights groups are monitoring this case, but experts say similar actions elsewhere could be difficult to win. In other Medicaid news, Virginia advocates raise concerns about the delay in reauthorizing the Children’s Health Insurance Program, a successful program to help low-income mothers is profiled in North Carolina and two transgender women sue Iowa’s program for failing to cover sex-reassignment surgery.
Medicare Seeks Suggestions From Doctors, Hospitals, Patients On New Payment Models
The request for proposals is seeking ideas to promote better competition among health providers and enhance patients’ choices. It also hints at some conservative policies the Trump administration may be interested in implementing.
Since May, HHS Secretary Price’s Trips Via Private Jets Have Cost Taxpayers More Than $300,000
Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price’s use of private jets represents a sharp departure from his two immediate predecessors, Sylvia Mathews Burwell and Kathleen Sebelius, who flew commercially in the continental United States.
Cash-Strapped Rural Hospitals Already On Financial Brink See GOP Bill As Potential Last Straw
Rural hospitals would be hit especially hard by the legislation, which would increase the uninsured, boost deductibles for patients or threaten already shrinking Medicare payments.
Jimmy Kimmel himself admits that he “should not be the guy you go to for information on health care,” but fact checkers say he’s presenting a more realistic picture of the effects of the Graham-Cassidy bill.
The Road To 50 Votes: Which Senators To Watch In Health Care Talks Over The Next Week
Republicans can only afford to lose two votes. In other news on the repeal-and-replace efforts: a national Democratic poll finds that the measure has 24 percent support; opponents in California go hard against it; Nevada’s governor says the legislation’s increased funding is a “false choice”; and more.
Although Publicly Enthusiastic About Efforts, Trump Has Little Sway Over Crucial Senators
GOP Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine, John McCain of Arizona and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska are not senators that are likely to be wooed or threatened by President Donald Trump.
Provision Tucked Into Bill Benefits Alaska, Just When GOP Is Desperate For Murkowski’s Vote
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is a crucial vote for Republicans to secure if they want to pass their health law. Critics blast a provision of the legislation that only benefits Alaska and Montana as the GOP try to sway votes. “Everyone involved in this moral and intellectual monstrosity should be ashamed of themselves,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) says.
States Who Win Under Graham-Cassidy Win Big, While The Losers Get Walloped
Multiple analyses have found different results about which states come out on top and which are hit the hardest. But they all find massive financial discrepancies between the two. For example, federal funding for coverage would plunge by 41 percent in Louisiana, while it would grow by 126 percent in South Carolina, according to one estimate.
Inside The ‘Most Radical Of Any Of The Republican Health Care Bills’ Debated This Year
For all the last-minute rush surrounding the measure from Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the bill is actually the most far-reaching the Republicans have tried to pass yet. Media outlets take a look at what exactly is in the bill and what it does.
First Edition: September 22, 2017
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: The Promise And Price Tag Of A New Cancer Drug; Medicaid In Indian Country
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Thinking About A Single-Payer System: Pros And Cons Of ‘Medicare For All’
Opinion writers communicate their takes on the health care plan advanced by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
Newspapers offer their members of Congress a bleak picture of what would happen in their states if the Graham-Cassidy proposal were to become law.
Parsing The Policies: Is This Just Another ‘Lousy’ Bill Or Does It Advance A ‘Great Idea’?
There are a variety of ideas about the Graham-Cassidy bill now pending in the Senate, with some saying it’s “poison” and others praising its intent to give states flexibility.
Political Reverberations: How Graham-Cassidy Impacts The Health Care Debate
Editorial pages feature opinions praising this “last-chance” legislation or calling it “nonsense” and “cynical.” They also detail how, regardless of the outcome of the vote planned for next week, the GOP will own it.
Longer Looks: Cassidy-Graham; A Man-Made Epidemic & A Single-Payer Failure
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Media outlets report on news from Texas, North Carolina, Maine, Florida, California, Nevada, Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, Louisiana and Minnesota.
CVS To Limit Duration, Dose Of Opioid Prescriptions For Some Patients
Starting in February 2018, if CVS-covered patients arrive at the pharmacy with a prescription above its new limits, the pharmacy will kick it back to the doctor for review.
