Latest KFF Health News Stories
Apples-To-Oranges Comparison Makes Cruz Amendment Seem Enticing, But Facts Don’t Back It Up
An HHS analysis of Sen. Ted Cruz’s proposal to let insurers sell skinny plans finds that it will drop premiums, but experts take a closer look and dismiss the positive projection.
Trump Scolds Senators, Says No One Should Leave Town Without A Health Plan
President Donald Trump held a lunch for the senators after their proposed legislation fell apart in an effort to get them to find a way forward on health care.
Only 13 Percent Of Americans Support A Repeal-Only Plan, Poll Finds
Most want senators to work together to find a way to fix the current health care law. The survey also finds that a majority believe the government has a responsibility to ensure access to health care for all.
Repeal-Only Bill’s Estimated Impact: 32 Million More Uninsured, 25 Percent Premium Spikes
But the legislation would still decrease deficits by $473 billion over 10 years because of the spending reductions, the Congressional Budget Office projects.
Night Of The Living Dead: Senators Work To Revive Zombie Trumpcare Bill Late Into Evening
Republicans cite good progress on the legislation that had been declared all-but-dead earlier in the day but large obstacles remain that have stymied previous efforts.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Opinion writers offer their thoughts on a range of health issues.
Editorial pages feature different takes on how a range of people — from moderate GOP lawmakers and arch conservatives like Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) — have been center stage in this ongoing health policy debate.
Analyzing McConnell’s Health Plan Strategery: A Hail Mary Pass? Is The Game Over?
Opinion writers across the country take a hard look at the legislative tactics employed this week by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as his party’s health plan unraveled.
Next Directions On Health Policy: Fixes Should Be Bipartisan; Improve The Health Law Or Move On
Opinion writers offer advice to lawmakers about what to do now that efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare seem to have stalled.
There are no shortages of thoughts and opinions regarding what went wrong with the Republicans Obamacare repeal-and-replace effort.
Perspectives: A Nonprofit Drug Company? It’s Not As Wild An Idea As It Seems
Read recent commentaries about drug-cost issues.
More And More, States Are Becoming Battleground For Drug Pricing War
News outlets report on stories related to pharmaceutical pricing.
“If you look at the static effect, it has zero effect on pharmaceutical revenues, because they give the discounts anyway. All of the savings get yanked from hospital revenues and given back to Medicare and beneficiaries,” Peter Bach, the director of Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Center for Health Policy and Outcomes.
Media outlets report on news from California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Diabetes In America, By The Numbers
A new report shows that nearly half of Americans have diabetes or pre-diabetes. In other public health news: diet drinks, vegan diets, plague chasers, telemedicine, readmission rates and Latinos in clinical trials.
Brain Scans Reveal That Some Patients Taking Drugs For Alzheimer’s Don’t Actually Have Disease
A study is looking at how PET scans can help determine what’s Alzheimer’s and what’s some other treatable disease.
Maryland Eyes Expansion Of Needle Exchange Program To Six More Counties
In other news on the epidemic: a 10-year-old Florida boy dies with heroin and fentanyl in his system; new research looks at how drugs impact each person differently; and an Ohio treatment center works to end the overdose cycle.
Lawmakers Meet To Discuss $4B Extension Of VA Choice Program
Funding for the program is set to run out in mid-August.
Trump Could Blow Up The ACA Marketplaces Tomorrow By Stopping Subsidy Payments
The president has threatened to end the payments to insurers before, and now with the failure of the GOP’s proposed bill, the deadline hangs like a guillotine over companies’ heads. “My advice to the plans this morning was, ‘If you get it, cash the check quickly,’” one health care lobbyist who represents insurers said Tuesday.
