Latest KFF Health News Stories
Friendship With GOP Health Plan’s Drafter Not Enough To Sway McCain
Some in the party were hopeful that Sen. John McCain’s close friendship with the bill’s author, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), would be enough to persuade the Arizona lawmaker to reverse his health care vote this time around But McCain said he could not “in good conscience” vote for the proposal.
Rand Paul Gives GOP Glimmer Of Hope, But Chances Of Securing 50 Votes Still Dim
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) hasn’t shut the door on negotiations with Senate leadership, but other lawmakers, such as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), voice concerns which place more obstacles on the proposal’s path to passage.
With Clock Ticking, Senators Tweak Health Plan To Shift Money To Reluctant Senators’ States
The changes would send money to Alaska and Maine, homes of Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins. Both women will be crucial if the Graham-Cassidy replacement bill is brought to the floor for a vote.
First Edition: September 25, 2017
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
McCain: ‘I Cannot In Good Conscience Vote For The Graham-Cassidy Proposal’
With Sen. John McCain’s opposition to the last-ditch repeal-and-replace efforts, Republicans are left with no room for error.
Viewpoints: Nursing Homes And Hurricanes; Winning The War On Drugs
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Policy Implications: The GOP Bill’s Math Problems; The Importance Of Funding CHIP
Editorial pages include policy analysis of the Graham-Cassidy health care bill and examine some of the key policies now in play.
Opinion writers express outrage at the contents of the Senate GOP’s latest attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare and explore the political motivations for pursuing the measure’s passage.
Research Roundup: Hospital Transportation; Medicaid Expansion; Obesity Treatment
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
Media outlets report on news from California, Florida, Texas, Illinois and Pennsylvania.
Football Player Who Was Convicted Of Murder Found To Have Severe Brain Damage
The severity of former NFL player Aaron Hernandez’s CTE, a degenerative disease believed to be caused by concussions, is usually found in players in their 60s. He was 27 when he committed suicide in jail.
Hospital Cracks Down On Inconsistencies With Prescribing Opioids As It Tries To Battle Crisis
Anne Arundel Health System joins hospitals across the region and the state of Maryland in attempting to eradicate a problem medical institutions now realize they helped create. Meanwhile, the Senate HELP Committee will hold a hearing to address the epidemic next month.
Massive Data-Gathering Project Strives To Be Inclusive Where So Many Studies Have Failed In Past
The National Institutes of Health’s wide-sweeping data-gathering project, called “All Of Us,” has set a goal of ensuring that more than half of the participants come from communities that are historically underrepresented in biomedical research. In other public health news: brain science, diabetes-related amputations, kidney disease and more.
VA Steps Up Efforts To Screen And Treat Veterans For Hepatitis C
With a higher rate of infection reported among vets than the general population, the Department of Veterans Affairs started taking proactive measures three years ago to cure patients. Meanwhile, Agent Orange exposure and a wrongful death case are also in veterans health news headlines today.
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.
