Latest KFF Health News Stories
New Hep C Tests Could Be Pivotal In Lowering Cost Of Expensive Treatment
The test allows doctors to find the patient’s specific type of hepatitis C, which can allow them to pick the most effective and, perhaps, less costly treatment. Meanwhile, New York’s Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is suing an insurance provider, saying it denied coverage for hep C patients until they showed advance signs of the disease.
Oncologist May Lose License After Allegedly Giving Cancer Patients Cheap, Imported Drugs
Ann Kinnealey, an Illinois oncologist, is accused of purchasing nearly $1 million worth of misbranded drugs over four years. In other news, a study finds that chemotherapy costs are higher when a patient’s oncologist works for a health care system.
Arkansas Senate Fails To Pass Bill To Fund Medicaid Expansion
The issue is not yet decided, however, because House members are putting pressure on the Senate and the governor has threatened a veto of the state Medicaid bill if it doesn’t include funding for the expansion program.
Taxes For Employer Health Plans Getting Renewed Attention On The Hill
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, raises concerns about the health law’s Cadillac tax at a hearing Thursday. Also, insurers’ are complaining about problems they encounter in the health insurance marketplaces.
In Effort To Prevent Devastating Birth Defects, FDA Will Allow Folic Acid To Be Added To Corn Flour
Critics say the decision was long overdue.
CDC Confirms Zika Can Be Transmitted Through Anal Sex
Officials do not know how long the virus can live in semen. In other Zika news, experts are divided over what to tell women looking to get pregnant in affected areas, the White House gets an unlikely champion in its funding efforts and infections are confirmed in Florida and Ohio.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
A selection of opinions from around the country.
Columnists and editorial writers take on a range of public health issues.
Longer Looks: Clinical Trials; Soldiers On Drugs; ‘Hollywood’s Medicine Man’
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
News outlets report on health issues in Georgia, Massachusetts, California, New Hampshire, Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, Missouri, Illinois and Nebraska.
Iowa Medicaid Officials Say Move To Private Managed Care System Going Well
Leaders of the program say they encountered some expected glitches but nothing major. News outlets also report on Medicaid developments in New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma.
Report: KidsCare Expansion Would Deliver $75M In Economic Benefits To Arizona Next Year
Lawmakers in the state are at an impasse over the legislation, which would extend health coverage to 30,000 or more kids. News outlets also report on developments out of legislatures in Kansas, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Couple Who Ran N.Y. Flophouses Used By Addicts Arrested On Medicaid Fraud Charges
Yury and Rimma Baumblit had been the focus of an investigation by The New York Times. Other reports examine fraud cases in New York, Oklahoma and Maryland.
Brain Implant Allows Paralyzed Man To Move Hand Through Thoughts
When equipped with a device, the 24-year-old man regains enough use of his right hand to grasp a bottle and hold a toothbrush. Researchers hope the technology will help patients with similar spinal cord injuries.
Hospital Roundup: Mass. Budget Proposal Would Tax Hospitals; C-Section Rates High In Fla.
News on regional hospitals comes from Massachusetts, Florida, Illinois and Texas.
In ‘Worst Case Scenario,’ Theranos Founder Could Face 2-Year Ban
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services offered harsh sanctions to the troubled blood-testing startup and its leadership in a March 18 letter, which The Wall Street Journal obtained. CMS is now reviewing Theranos’ response as to why those punishments should not be imposed.
Outgoing Valeant CEO Reverses Course, Agrees To Senate Deposition
J. Michael Pearson had previously refused to cooperate in a Senate committee’s investigation of soaring prescription drug prices, which had prompted lawmakers to threaten to initiate contempt proceedings.
Expensive New Meds, Price Hikes On Old Ones Contribute To Steep Drug Spending Spike
Total spending in 2015 rose to nearly $425 billion, according to the report from the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics. It estimates that after rebates and other price breaks, manufacturers received $309.5 billion for U.S. prescription drugs last year, up 8.5 percent from 2014.
Federal Lead Water Rule, Widely Considered Flawed, Won’t Be Updated Until Next Year, EPA Says
Environmental Protection Agency officials promise the agency is actively working on revisions to the rule, which Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has called “dumb and dangerous,” but say they don’t want to rush because they “want to get them right.”
