Latest KFF Health News Stories
Medicare Payment Lobbying War Heats Up As More Voices Join The Fight
The campaigns center around a proposed 1.35 percent boost to Medicare Advantage. Kaiser Health News looks at how the Obama administration is trying to borrow ideas from the private sector with its Medicare plan, Medicare beneficiaries could face higher out-of-pocket drug costs as a result of the trend toward coinsurance rather than co-payments, and Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Ohio, is urging his fellow lawmakers to consider changes to the Medicare Advantage program.
Health Care Law’s Contraception Mandate Gets Day In High Court Next Week
After Justice Antonin Scalia’s death, there’s a likelihood the court will rule 5-3 against the challenge to the health law. Justice Anthony Kennedy, the likely swing vote, has appeared to voice approval of the workaround the government has already created to address conscientious objections to contraception.
GAO: Government Must Crack Down On Health Law Subsidy Fraud
An extensive investigation found that, as of last April, almost a half-million people were able to obtain subsidies for insurance purchased on the federal marketplace, despite having inconsistencies in their applications. In other health law news, Wyoming’s ACA enrollment numbers continue to climb.
A USA Today investigation found that children’s drinking water can have such high levels that the Environmental Protection Agency would deem it “hazardous waste.” Meanwhile, New Jersey’s largest school district has begun voluntary blood tests to check children’s lead levels, D.C.’s water officials try to soothe fears over the city’s lead problems, which were “20 to 30 times worse” than Flint, and a “widespread” investigation into New York’s public housing-lead problem nets millions of documents.
Lawmakers Call For Resignations Over Flint: ‘I’ve Had Enough Of Your Phony Apologies’
At the congressional hearing, Environmental Protection Agency Chief Gina McCarthy was defiant against challenges that her agency did not do enough, and Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, while apologetic, said the blame doesn’t fall completely on him.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: CDC’s Response To Opioid Abuse; Analysts Sour On Valeant
A selection of opinions from around the country.
Longer Looks: Medical Mistakes; Overlapping Surgeries; Health Apps
Each week, KHN’s Shefail Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
News outlets report on health issues in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota and Colorado.
Media outlets report on other developments coming out of the legislatures in Iowa, New York, Michigan, Wisconsin and Arizona.
Promising Results For Dengue Vaccine Bode Well For Zika Efforts
Researchers have been uncharacteristically optimistic about the vaccine, which protected all 21 volunteers who were injected with it and then infected with the virus. Because the Dengue and Zika viruses are in the same family, scientists could build off the work of the successful vaccine.
WHO: One In Four Deaths Caused By Unhealthy Environment
The report is part of an effort by world leaders over the past year to inform the public of the close link between issues like climate change to something an individual can relate to — their own health. A separate study links air pollution to an increased risk of diabetes.
In Quest To Treat Patients’ Pain, Doctors Struggle In Role Of Enforcer
As the warriors on the front line of one of the worst drug epidemics in U.S. history, physicians are being called upon to balance their desire to care for their patients with the desire to stem the rising crisis.
The Problem With Novartis’ Heart-Failure Drug? Doctors Aren’t Prescribing It
The drug was hailed as enormously successful in testing, with cardiologists and researchers calling it a home run. So why aren’t doctors using it?
Jury Rules In Favor Of Amgen In Cholesterol Drug Patent Dispute
Some analysts and rivals say Amgen’s patents on antibodies that target a protein, called PCSK9, are too broad and thus invalid. In other news, a cost-effectiveness agency says there’s not enough evidence to deem Amgen’s cancer drug worthy of using on Britain’s state health service.
Doctors Who Receive Payments From Industry Prescribe More Brand-Name Drugs, Analysis Finds
“This feeds into the ongoing conversation about the propriety of these sorts of relationships. Hopefully we’re getting past the point where people will say, ‘Oh, there’s no evidence that these relationships change physicians’ prescribing practices,'” says Dr. Aaron Kesselheim, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School who provided guidance on early versions of ProPublica’s analysis.
Some Surviving Co-Ops Fail To Hit Important Enrollment Benchmark
Lagging enrollment is a sign that at least four of the remaining eleven health insurance cooperatives are still on shaky financial footing despite federal loans. In other health law news, Massachusetts reminds those with subsidized plans that they must file taxes. And in Florida, families with insurance still face crippling medical debt.
Budget Committee Passes Deficit Plan That Relies On Deep Health Care Cuts
Among other things, the blueprint calls for raising the Medicare eligibility age to 67 and slashing Medicaid. In other Capitol Hill news, a mental health bill heads to the Senate floor, a Senate committee approves a bill to help opioid-addicted newborns, House lawmakers hold a hearing on Medicare’s future and the president’s mandatory spending plan for his cancer “moonshot” comes up at a hearing on NIH’s budget.
Michigan Governor To Blame Water Crisis On Systemic Failures At State Agency
Gov. Rick Snyder is set to appear in front of Congress at a hearing on Thursday, and The Associated Press obtained both his and EPA chief Gina McCarthy’s prepared testimony. “Not a day or night goes by that this tragedy doesn’t weigh on my mind — the questions I should have asked, the answers I should have demanded,” Snyder will say, while pointing a finger at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
Bill Targeting GMO Labeling Requirements Dies On Senate Floor
Lawmakers had been scrambling to find a way to prevent Vermont’s mandatory labeling legislation slated to go into effect July 1. The Senate measure failed to get the 60 supporters it needed to move ahead during a procedural vote.
