Latest KFF Health News Stories
The Death Knell Came With McCain’s Thumbs Down, But The Path To Failure Was Quite Long
A ruling party that never expected to win. A conservative base long primed to accept nothing less than a full repeal. An overpromising and often disengaged president with no command of the policy itself and little apparent interest in selling its merits to the public. These are just a few of the reasons experts cite on why the Republicans failed. The New York Times and other media organizations take a deep dive on what went wrong. (And in the case of Democrats — what went right).
Lawmakers Turn Toward Fixes To Affordable Care Act That Have History Of Bipartisan Support
Among the provisions getting a look from a bipartisan working group are the employer mandate, creating a stability fund that states can tap to help deal with premiums and scrapping Obamacare’s medical-device tax.
Price: ACA Is Law Of Land, And It’s Still HHS’ Responsibility To Implement It
Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, however, also said that the law was failing the American people and the goal is to put a system in place that works for patients.
Insurer Subsidies Once Again Taken Hostage In Health Debate After GOP Fails To Advance A Bill
President Donald Trump tweeted that unless Congress passes health care legislation, he’ll end insurer subsidies, which would have a major impact on the individual marketplace. Meanwhile, that’s just one action out of several that the Trump administration can take to undermine the Affordable Care Act.
Trump Threatens Lawmakers’ Own Insurance If They Don’t Pass A Health Bill
President Donald Trump, following the defeat of the GOP health proposal, says Republicans looked “like fools” and should not give up on passing legislation.
Viewpoints: The Opioid Epidemic Needs Presidential Focus; Drinking Water Shouldn’t Be Dangerous
Here’s a review of editorials and opinions on a range of public health issues.
Editorial pages examine possible next steps in the health care debate, the importance of issue expertise, spiraling costs and the president’s state of mind.
Perspectives: Repeal, Replace And Monday-Morning Quarterbacking
Opinion writers offer their analysis on what happened last week to the Senate Republican’s repeal-and-replace effort — examining some of the key strategy moves that went awry and highlighting some lessons that could be learned from the process.
Media outlets report on news from Illinois, Arkansas, Massachusetts, California, Texas, Florida, Washington, Vermont, Maryland and Ohio.
Refusal To Prescribe Opioids May Have Fueled Motive In Murder Of Indiana Doctor
A man shot a doctor who refused to write a prescription for his wife, who has chronic pain, before killing himself. Police are still investigating. In other news on the national drug epidemic, Chicago is handing out overdose antidotes to at-risk inmates upon release, Philadelphia aims to clean up and shut down a notorious heroin camp and Ohio doctors are working to cut down on painkiller prescriptions.
The Next ‘Catastrophic’ Superbug To Worry About Is Perfect Storm Of Scary Characteristics
Scientists are eyeing the invasive fungus warily. In other public health news: gonorrhea, autism, marijuana and DUIs, weight loss, contraception and more.
FDA To Regulate Amount Of Nicotine In Cigarettes To Make Them Less Addictive
It will be the first time the government has gone beyond warning labels and taxes if the rule goes through.
House Sends Bill Extending Veterans Choice Program To Senate
The bill would extend the program for six months and devote $1.8 billion to authorize 28 leases for new Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities and establish programs to make it easier to hire health specialists.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Individual Market Turmoil; Bureaucracies, ‘Creep’ And Medical Decisions
Here’s a review of editorials and opinions on a range of public health issues.
Research Roundup: Privatizing Medicaid; Increased Cost Sharing And Mental Health
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
Media outlets report on news from Illinois, Ohio, California, Maryland, Florida, Texas, Massachusetts, Washington and Pennsylvania.
Failure Of Once-Promising Cancer Immunotherapy Underscores Questions Facing Field
Today’s other public health stories cover news about aid-in-dying laws, HIV, whooping cough, gene editing, birth control access, the health benefits of dirt, colon cancer and hearing loss.
Scientists Look To Slug Slime To Develop New Generation Of Surgical Adhesive
The slug’s “defensive mucus turns out to be very sticky and also very strong and highly stretchable,” says Jianyu Li, a materials scientist with Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering. “That kind of inspired us.”
