Latest KFF Health News Stories
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Opinion writers take on a range of issues related to the current debate over the future of the Affordable Care Act.
Is The Patient Harm Argument Against Importing Foreign Drugs Pharma’s Boogeyman?
News outlets report on stories related to pharmaceutical drug pricing.
Trump: Slashing Restraints On FDA Will Give Us Miracles
In his address to Congress, the president decried the “slow and burdensome” process of drugs making it through the Food and Drug Administration approval pipeline.
Outlets report on news from Kansas, Ohio, Texas, Michigan, New York, New Hampshire, California, Pennsylvania, Iowa and the District of Columbia.
Baltimore Should Open ‘Safe Spaces’ For Addicts To Take Drugs, Johns Hopkins Researchers Recommend
And, news outlets cover how government officials like the U.S. attorney general, Massachusetts governor and lawmakers in New Hampshire are approaching the opioid crisis.
Sharp Rise In H7N9 Bird Flu Cases Alarm Public Health Officials
In related news, medical facilities are bracing for a prolonged flu season this year while a Cincinnati hospital limits visitors with any kind of respiratory symptoms.
Pap Smear Screening, Once A Pillar Of Women’s Health Care, May Be On Its Way Out
Some say a simple HPV test could be sufficient.
Rates Of Colon, Rectal Cancer In Young People Spiking Dramatically
Researchers suggest that sedentary lifestyles and poor diets may be contributing to the rise in cases.
Findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association conclude that insurers pay as much as double the costs paid by hospitals, a payment discrepancy that leads to higher premiums for patients.
Indiana’s Medicaid Expansion Program Under The Microscope As Officials Seek Three-Year Renewal
Meanwhile, a report examines who gained insurance as a result of Ohio’s expansion and New Hampshire’s governor expresses optimism about how the Trump administration plans to reshape Medicaid and the health law will impact the state.
On Repeal, Providers Walk Line Between ‘Chicken Little’ And Not Burying Head In The Sand
Rural health care professionals say they don’t want to panic yet, but are braced for changes that could deeply affect their patients.
Republicans Find Themselves In Democrats’ Shoes: Facing Fire From Conservatives
Leadership’s efforts to dismantle and replace the health law are running into major resistance from the far right wing of their own party. In the midst of the turmoil, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has called a special all-members caucus meeting Wednesday to try to get the malcontents in line and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is defending the Republican plan against attacks from the chamber’s Freedom Caucus.
GOP Believes Some People ‘Just Don’t Deserve Health Care,’ Democrats Say In Pointed Rebuttal
In an unusual move, the Democrats chose former Kentucky Gov. Steven Beshear — who oversaw one of the most successful state-level implementations of Obamacare coverage — to give the rebuttal to the president’s first speech to Congress.
In Joint Address To Congress, Trump Touts Mainstays Of GOP Leadership’s Replacement Plan
President Donald Trump voiced support for key Republican-backed policy elements such as tax credits, health savings accounts and selling insurance across state lines.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: While Some Fight To Keep Obamacare, Others Hold Focus In Repeal Battle
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country, including thoughts on how repealing the health law could impact people who want to retire early, how changes to Medicaid might play out in the states and various thoughts on addiction and public health.
Outlets report on news from Massachusetts, Texas, Wisconsin, Georgia, Ohio, Texas and California.
Also in this round up of hospital developments — how urban and rural hospitals are bracing for the impact of unraveling the health law, a Manhattan hospital faces a lawsuit alleging overcharging for medical records and other news highlights.
Company Taps Into Public’s Angst To Push Questionable Genetic Testing
A Stat investigation looks at a California company that claims it can offer a DNA test to determine how a patient would react to pain medication. In other public health news: organ donations; facial expressions; heart disease; and more.
