Latest KFF Health News Stories
Outlets report on news from Kansas, Iowa, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Virginia, Texas, California, Pennsylvania and Florida.
Officials Struggle To Overcome Parents’ Reluctance Over HPV Vaccinations
Because the virus is sexually transmitted, many shy away from getting their pre-teen children vaccinated, but officials say that’s not the right way to think about it. In other public health news, pregnant women and marijuana, restaurant menus, the purpose of sleep, heart defects and Zika.
Medicare Patients Of Foreign-Educated Doctors More Likely To Survive
The study’s authors theorize that the reason for the better rates could be that the U.S. attracts the best and brightest from other nations.
Merck, Reporting Higher Profits But Lower Revenues, Says Expectations For 2017 Are Good
Also, drugmaker Amgen says tests of its controversial cholesterol drug show it performs well. But the company has not yet released the study’s data.
Federal Officials Ask 3 States To Continue Pilot Projects For People On Medicaid And Medicare
The states are testing efforts to better coordinate care for people eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid. News outlets also report on Medicaid developments in Georgia, Kansas, Alaska and Iowa.
California’s Republican Lawmakers Feeling The Heat On Party’s Vow To Repeal Health Law
Four members of Congress from Republican strongholds in California’s inland area have among the highest ratios of constituents who are receiving direct assistance from the Affordable Care Act. Concerns among residents in Texas and Massachusetts are also growing, while the new Missouri governor explains his view that the law is hurting the state.
Cigna Weighing Its Participation In Health Marketplaces As GOP Moves To Overhaul
The insurer, which reported a drop in profits for the fourth quarter of 2016, says it is losing money on its Affordable Care Act business.
Immigration Ban Jeopardizes Health Of Rural, Underserved Areas Dependent On Foreign-Born Doctors
Foreign-born doctors often are willing to work in the isolated rural areas, small towns and blighted urban centers that many American-born doctors shun, but many worry the executive order on immigration will affect those professionals’ decision to practice in the U.S. Meanwhile, hundreds of health care providers are protesting the Cleveland Clinic to show support for one of their colleagues who was detained under the ban.
Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., the Trump administration pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, introduced the Patient Access to Durable Medical Equipment Act on May 12, 2016, a week after McKesson said in its annual report to stockholders that its profits were at risk because of cuts faced in Medicare payments.
House Moves To Scrap Rule Banning Guns From Mentally Disabled Americans
The regulation was issued by the Obama administration and applied to people with a mental disorder so severe they cannot work or handle their own benefit checks.
Bill Would Aim To Curb High Drug Prices By Triggering Competition Through Generics
Big brand-name drug companies would likely support the legislation from Rep. Greg Walden, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, since it focuses on marketplace competition rather than government intervention. Meanwhile, a California lawmaker is moving to limit the use of coupons for drugs.
Struggles, False Starts Leach Momentum From GOP’s Whirlwind Repeal And Replace Efforts
As efforts to unify behind one plan founder, some Republicans are starting to embrace the idea of “repair” instead of “replace.” But House lawmakers are calling on their party to continue to move forward with repeal, a sentiment echoed by the vice president.
First Edition: February 3, 2017
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Longer Looks: The Immigration Effect; Illegal Abortions; And Replacing The Health Law
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Outlets report on news from Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, California, Arizona, Texas, New Hampshire, Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Colorado and Georgia.
Today’s other public health news reports on cervical cancer, bad dietary advice on drinking hydrogen peroxide, food allergies, brain injuries, dementia, genes’ role in determining height and more.
Those On Front Lines Of Ohio’s Opioid Crisis Blast Flat-Funding In Kasich’s Budget
But the Republican governor says he’s giving local communities the tools, they just need to use them. Meanwhile, there’s been an outbreak of overdoses in the state. Media outlets report on the epidemic out of New Jersey, Minnesota, Missouri and Georgia as well.
In Era Where Cost Cuts Are King, Death Rates Following ER Discharges Raise Concerns
A study reveals that a possible lack of resources and funding to rural hospitals and underserved areas could be fatal to patients.
Former Tenet Senior Exec Charged With Medicaid Fraud
John Holland, 60, pleaded not guilty Wednesday in a Miami federal court to four counts of fraud. He is charged with allegedly having a role in a $400 million kickback scheme.
