Latest KFF Health News Stories
Brazil’s Deadly Yellow Fever Outbreak Could Spread To U.S., Experts Say
In other public health news, the Food & Drug Administration issues another warning regarding an experimental vein opening procedure. And local governments and the health industry feel the financial cost of the nation’s obesity epidemic.
Pharma Defends Drug Prices As Cost Of R&D But New Analysis Suggests Justification May Be A Stretch
In other news on pharmaceutical costs, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) questions Kaleo about the $4,500 price tag of its EpiPen alternative and some payers are denying coverage of pricey hepatitis C treatments, despite more discounts.
Trump, Democratic Lawmakers Discuss Bill To Allow Medicare To Negotiate Drug Prices
Reps. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.), who plan to introduce related legislation in two to three weeks, met privately with President Donald Trump to discuss this strategy to control drug costs.
Repeal-And-Replace Effort Emerges As Critical Test For Dealmaker In Chief
As fissures begin to emerge among congressional Republicans, President Donald Trump is stepping in with hopes to tamp down opposition from both conservatives and moderates.
Rhetoric Heats Up In Congressional Battle Over Planned Parenthood Funds
The Washington Post fact checks Sen. Chuck Schumer’s claim regarding the number of women who get mammograms through the women’s reproductive health group, while Planned Parenthood officials push back on Republicans’ efforts to defund the organization. In other news from Capitol Hill, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) introduces a bill aimed at surprise bills after a colonoscopy.
States Detail Concerns About How They Will Fare Under GOP Plan
California’s insurance commissioner said the approach would be a “devastating blow” to the state’s insurance marketplace and leave millions without coverage, while Ohio hospitals and state lawmakers worry that the measure will harm the stability brought to the health industry as a result of the Medicaid expansion. News outlets from Arizona, Georgia, Connecticut, Tennessee and Wisconsin also contemplate the proposal’s local impact.
Democrats Raise Specter Of 2018 Election In Health Law Messaging
The possibility that voters could lose health care coverage under Republicans’ plan to replace Obamacare is already becoming a campaign issue for Democrats, as they continue to fight the repeal.
The Big Picture: Who Stands To Gain, Lose Under The American Health Care Act’s New World Order
News outlets analyze the specifics of what’s in the House Republicans’ repeal-and-replace legislation, compare it with Obamacare, identify who wins and loses as a result of its changes, and detail issues such as taxes, subsidies and mental health coverage.
House GOP leaders chose to move ahead with consideration of the American Health Care Act in two key committees — Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce — without an official, independent estimate by the Congressional Budget Office of the measure’s cost and coverage. This move has raised the ire of many of the bill’s opponents, including House conservatives, who want to know more about its cost implications.
Health Industry, Consumer Groups Intensify Their Stance Against The GOP Replacement Plan
Even as key committees considered the legislation, industry groups including the American Medical Association and the American Hospital Association joined with organizations representing seniors and patients to oppose the House Republican’s plan to repeal and replace Obamacare.
GOP Lawmakers Wrestle With Choice Between Their Replace Goal And What Some View As ‘Obamacare Lite’
Within the Republican caucus, the House health plan is drawing concern and even opposition from both conservative and moderate lawmakers. The plan is also highlighting the divide among some GOP governors, especially those in states that chose to pursue the health law’s Medicaid expansion, and congressional leaders. And the measure, in its current form, could face challenges when it reaches the Senate, where Republicans have a slimmer margin of victory.
Ryan Pushes Health Bill Forward In ‘Rocky Rollout’
The repeal-and-replace plan cleared its first hurdle when it was approved by the House Ways & Means Committee, but the process was acrimonious — marked by Democratic efforts to slow progress. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) hopes the measure will clear the full House by the end of the week, but he is facing pressure from his party’s right wing to make the bill a more aggressive repeal of the Affordable Care Act.
First Edition, Part II: March 9, 2017
More early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
First Edition, Part I: March 9, 2017
Today’s early-morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Is All Health Policy Local? Regional Takes On The GOP’s Health Care Blueprint
Editorial pages across the country take on how the Republican’s American Health Care Act might impact their states.
Viewpoints: Planned Parenthood ‘Grandstanding’; The Challenges Of Addressing Infant Mortality
A selection of opinions from around the country.
Opinion writers offer their unflattering takes on the Republican’s replacement plan.
Setting The Scene For The GOP Replacement Plan
Even as this legislative proposal is met with substantial criticism among editorial writers, not everyone takes this hard line. Some opinion writers offer views on the process ahead.
Perspectives: Trump Is Trying To Fix A Wheel That (For The Most Part) Isn’t Broken
Read recent commentaries about drug-cost issues.
Negotiating Drug Prices Works For The VA — But That May Be Because Of Its Defined Population
News outlets report on stories related to pharmaceutical drug pricing.
