Latest KFF Health News Stories
The Health Care Issues Involved In Human Trafficking
Marketplace reports with a series of stories on how health care professionals play a key role in efforts to curb human trafficking.
CDC Poised To Release Guidelines To Combat Opioid Crisis
States are also taking steps to fight the deadliest drug epidemic in U.S. history. On Capitol Hill, the Senate is aiming to finish its work on a bipartisan opioid bill next week, lawmakers say the pharmaceutical industry needs to take some responsibility in the crisis, and Sen. Robert Casey calls on the Government Accountability Office to investigate what states and the administration are doing to protect babies born to drug-dependent women.
Trump Plan Sticks To Pillars Of Conservative Health Policy
One of the few areas where GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump deviates from Republican mainstays in his health care proposal is his call to allow for drugs to be imported to cut down on costs.
At Debate, Trump Pressed On Plan To Allow Medicare To Negotiate Drug Prices
The front-runner for the Republican nomination was asked how he would save $300 million by allowing Medicare to negotiate drug costs when the program only spent $78 million on them in 2014. The Washington Post and The Associated Press fact check his claims.
HHS Says It Hit Goal Ahead Of Schedule For Tying Medicare Payments To Quality
The Obama administration had expected to reach the 30 percent goal at the end of this year. The changes in how doctors and hospitals are paid is part of an effort to get away from reimbursements based on quantity of services.
Obama Announces Health Law Enrollment Hits 20 Million
The president travels to Milwaukee to congratulate the city for winning a contest on insurance enrollment, and he touts the health law’s success in bringing coverage to millions of people.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
A selection of opinions from around the country.
Abortion Arguments Have Another Day In Court
Opinions and editorials from around the country parse the arguments involved in the Texas abortion case currently pending at the Supreme Court, and examine related issues.
Longer Looks: Doctors’ Uncertainty; History Of Homesickness; Abortion Polling
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
News outlets report on health issues in Maryland, Mississippi, New York, Michigan, Florida, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.
Iowa Senate Passes Bill To Tighten Oversight Of Private Plans Managing Medicaid
The bipartisan effort faces an uncertain future in the House. In Oklahoma, the House passes a cost-cutting bill that will take 111,000 people off Medicaid. News services also report on Medicaid developments in Georgia and Kansas.
Mississippi, Arizona Target Medicaid In Efforts To Cut Ties To Planned Parenthood
Lawmakers in both states voted Wednesday on legislation restricting public funding for the reproductive health organization.
Google Donating $1M, Engineering Resources To Combat Zika
“Unlike many other global pandemics, the spread of Zika has been harder to identify, map and contain,” said Jacquelline Fuller, director of Google’s nonprofit arm. In other outbreak news, Republican lawmakers continue to be skeptical of the president’s emergency funding request, saying there’s money left that was earmarked for Ebola. Health officials, however, warn that would cripple the efforts to develop an Ebola vaccine.
Parents Of Child With Down Syndrome Didn’t Listen To ‘Can’t’ Or ‘Won’t’
Debbie and Frank Antonelli were warned they’d have a long battle in front of them when their son was born with Down syndrome. But where some people might have seen limits, they saw potential.
Insurer Restrictions On Hep C Drug Coverage Probed By New York Attorney General
Information has been subpoenaed from 16 insurance companies on their policies regarding hepatitis C drugs that can cost $1,000 a pill, before discounts. Consumers have filed lawsuits alleging rationed access to the medications and a similar investigation is taking place in Massachusetts.
Hospital Group Renews Arguments Against Anthem’s Purchase Of Cigna
In other related news, California’s Kaiser Foundation Health Plan has formally applied to acquire Seattle’s Group Health Cooperative. (Kaiser Health News and The Kaiser Family Foundation are not associated with the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan.)
GOP Senators Block Push To Add $600M In Emergency Funding To Bipartisan Opioid Bill
Though Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said that passing the legislation without the extra money is like “offering a life preserver to people who are drowning and not putting air in that life preserver,” Republican lawmakers argued that there is already sufficient funding through the omnibus spending bill passed last year. Democrats signaled they will still support the bill without the $600 million addition.
Ark. Governor Says Legislative Primary Victories Boost His Plan For Medicaid Expansion
Gov. Asa Hutchinson says he views the victories of Medicaid expansion supporters as an endorsement of his efforts to get the legislature to accept his plan. Also, a key lawmaker in Alaska says legislative opponents of Medicaid expansion there will appeal a judge’s ruling for the governor.
Obama Goes To Wisconsin To Tout Its Health Law Successes
Wisconsin is the only state that used the Affordable Care Act to expand its Medicaid coverage even though state officials rejected hundreds of millions of federal dollars available for this purpose. Meanwhile, CQ Healthbeat reports that the Obama administration is contemplating changes to risk management programs for insurers that participate in the health law’s exchanges. Also, Bloomberg details how startup Oscar Health Insurance Corp. is struggling in these new markets.
