Latest KFF Health News Stories
Supreme Court Rules 8-0 That Faith-Based Hospitals Are Exempt From Federal Pension Law
Employees of three church-affiliated hospital systems had challenged the long-standing interpretation of such organizations as being exempt from the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
VA To Ditch Antiquated Electronic-Records System For One Used By Defense Department
Secretary David Shulkin says the change will let the agencies’ systems work together seamlessly.
Advocates For People With Disabilities Fear GOP Medicaid Plans Could Cut Their ‘Lifeline’
Eric Jacobson, executive director of the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities, a state advocacy group, says, “Medicaid is the lifeline for people with disabilities.” The bulk of spending on the federal-state health care program goes to cover care for seniors, people with disabilities and children. Meanwhile, in Michigan, officials and health care providers try to raise support for the Medicaid expansion in the state. And Sen. Susan Collins, a key Republican in the upcoming health care debate, voices some support for expanding Medicaid in Maine.
Some States Looking At Loss Of Key Competitors And Dramatic Price Hikes For 2018 Marketplaces
Insurers are in the process of filing their rate requests with state officials now, but uncertainty about how Republicans in the federal government will alter the program is helping fuel concerns that prices will go up and some insurers will back out of the health law’s exchanges.
New York Takes ‘Aggressive’ Steps To Keep Obamacare Marketplaces Stable
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo orders the state health department to bar health insurers that withdraw from the New York exchange market from participating in other state programs including Medicaid, an action that could pose a financial threat to some companies.
They Voted For His Health Law — Now Ryan Is Working Hard To Help Them Keep Their Seats
The vote on the Republican health care legislation will be a campaign issue in the 2018 midterm elections, and House Speaker Paul Ryan is trying to make sure he retains his majority.
Competing Factions Complicate GOP’s Health Efforts: ‘You Can’t Have 52 People Drafting The Bill’
There are multiple groups working on their own versions of the Senate legislation.
Not Wanting Health Care To Consume Entire Calendar, GOP Leaders Aim For Summer Vote
“I don’t think this gets better over time,” said Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.). “So my personal view is we’ve got until now and the Fourth of July to decide if the votes are there or not. And I hope they are.”
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: ‘Tedious Talking Points’ And The Obamacare Debate; Health Care’s High Costs
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Media outlets report on health-related news from Nevada, Texas, California, Virginia, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts and Connecticut.
While Still Risky, Congenital Heart Defects No Longer Always A Deterrent Of Pregnancy
Also in public health news are developments related to infant sleep, the empathetic impact of dogs, 90-somethings working through their bucket lists, “death cap” mushrooms, the impact of social media on teens’ mental health, domestic violence and biking injuries.
Having Cancer Patients Report Negative Side Effects In Real Time Helps Them Live Longer
Nurses who got the alerts from the patients at least once a week were able to adjust medication for nausea, constipation and pain, quicker than for those in the study who reported their symptoms during monthly oncologist meetings. The Washington Post offers a series of articles on cancer.
Vivitrol is a monthly shot that acts like an opioid vaccine, and officials want to use it to break the pattern where those with an addiction are jailed, get clean, get released, then use again and end up back where they started. In other news: drug deaths are on the rise, New York creates a task force to address the crisis, chronic pain patients are at the other side of the national crackdown on opioids and more.
‘Turning Around A Successful Organization Is Not That Easy’: Mayo Revamps For Tough Market
Dr. John Noseworthy, Mayo’s chief executive officer, has pushed the renowned medical institution to rethink how it does business.
Controversy Over Millions Of Dollars Of NIH Research Roils Biomedical Community
The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders has banned the use of data collected over 25 years from more than 1,000 volunteers in the lab of neurologist Allen R. Braun, citing “serious and widespread” record-keeping errors, but critics of the decision say the punishment is overly severe and doesn’t serve a purpose.
States Nervously Consider Possible Impact As Washington Debates Medicaid Changes
In places like Iowa and Maryland, Medicaid expansion has significantly reduced the number of uninsured patients and helped hospitals. Republican efforts to revamp the health law and President Donald Trump’s proposed budget could push more Medicaid costs back to states, who say they likely can’t pay for the current programs.
Single-Payer Movement Provides Outlet For Stymied Liberals’ Sweeping Health Care Agendas
Despite being in an era where Republicans want to move health care toward conservative-backed policies, there’s a new energy infusing the single-payer movement in the states.
Trump’s Ambivalence On Insurers’ Payments Hobbles States’ Efforts To Maintain Marketplaces
State officials are working to calm insurers’ fears so that they will stay in the health law’s marketplaces in 2018, but the administration’s refusal to say how it will handle some payments to the companies is hurting the effort.
Insurers Say They’re Staying ‘Above The Fray’ In Health Care Fight So As Not To ‘Add To The Noise’
But some wonder if the reason they’re so quiet is because their influence has been weakened.
