Morning Breakouts

Latest KFF Health News Stories

State Highlights: Data Breach By Ohio Mental Health Dept.; Calif.’s In-Home Supportive Services Program Gets Wage Hike

Morning Briefing

Outlets report on health news in Ohio, California, Arizona, North Carolina and Kansas.

Memorial Hospital, BJC HealthCare Seek Regulatory OK For $22M Medical Office

Morning Briefing

News outlets also report on other hospital-related developments in Pennsylvania, Florida, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Montana and Minnesota.

N.M. Officials Say Medicaid Reimbursement Cuts Will Help Shrink Shortfall

Morning Briefing

The expected payment reductions to hospitals, physicians and other health providers — as well as accounting changes — will get the budget gap down to $24 million, state officials said. Also, Medicaid advocates in Iowa are urging vigilance on the efforts of the new private managed care plans in that state.

New Prostate Cancer Tests Try To Reduce Unnecessary Biopsies, Treatments

Morning Briefing

New testing aims to identify harmless tumors from those that are lethal, but the tests don’t always provide useful information and they can add to costs. In other cancer news, a study finds that African American lung cancer patients living in low-income neighborhoods are less likely to get surgery than those living in more affluent areas.

Pop-Tarts Vs. Almonds: FDA To Review Antiquated Definition Of ‘Healthy’

Morning Briefing

What food the agency deems healthy is constrained by rules first defined in the 1990s when low-fat content was the main concern of health professionals and sugar wasn’t even on the radar. Under the current guidelines, a sugary cereal might be called healthier than salmon or nuts. “The problem, of course, is that the foodscape can change quickly, but Food and Drug Administration regulations change very slowly,” says David Katz, director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center.

‘A Bill You Can Understand’: HHS Launches Design Competition To Transform Confusing Medical Bills

Morning Briefing

Medical bills are often filled with jargon and can come from different facilities, making it hard for patients to figure out what they really owe. HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell wants to simplify it for consumers — and she’s asking for the public’s help.

Governors Join Growing Chorus Of Voices Calling For End To Zika Funding Impasse

Morning Briefing

The National Governors Association wrote a letter to Congress urging it find a compromise on funding to combat the virus and then “act as expeditiously as possible to ensure those funds are available to states, territories and the public at large.” Meanwhile, Puerto Rico’s financial crisis could hamper its fight against Zika, a pregnant Connecticut teen has tested positive for the virus, and a county in Florida gets its first confirmed case.

Surgeons More Likely To Perform Procedure If They Profit From Device Used, Senate Panel Finds

Morning Briefing

Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee issue findings that surgeons involved in doctor-owned distributorships performed spinal-fusion surgery on nearly twice as many patients. Lawmakers recommend several steps to increase transparency and enforcement actions over the practice.

Former Ky. Governor Urges Successor To Avoid ‘Back Room Deals’ In Medicaid Makeover

Morning Briefing

In an increasingly acrimonious debate, former Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat, presses Gov. Matt Bevin, a Republican, to make clear to the public his plans to change the Medicaid expansion that Beshear implemented. Elsewhere, outlets report on Medicaid expansion news from Kansas and Utah.

Watchdog Report Sharply Criticizes Fed’s Efforts To Recoup Medicare Advantage Overcharges

Morning Briefing

The Government Accountability Office said that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has spent about $117 million on Medicare Advantage overbilling audits, but so far has recouped just $14 million. Meanwhile, some Democrats are speaking up for the Medicare Part B change in the face of intense criticism. Also, fee-for-service payments are published and health systems offset Medicare losses.

Price Tag On Sanders’ Health Plan More Than $30 Trillion, Study Claims

Morning Briefing

However, an aide to the candidate says the study, released by the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center and the Urban Institute Health Policy Center, wildly exaggerates the cost and understates the savings from the health plan.