Latest KFF Health News Stories
Rapid Hospital-Based Zika Screening Test Coming Soon
Doctors at Houston Methodist Hospital say they have developed a test to identify if a patient is positive for the Zika virus in as quickly as one day, without sending samples to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for diagnosis.
Health Officials Tout Flu Vaccine’s Effectiveness, But Say Season Has Yet To Peak
The strain chosen for this year’s vaccine is 59 percent effective, which is an improvement on last year’s, which came in at less than 20 percent. In other public health news, scientists say the connection between ovarian cancer and talc is unclear, the president is set to talk about his precision medicine initiative and a fight is brewing over nursing home evictions.
Current Drug Abuse Epidemic Triggers New Responses, Treatment Strategies
News outlets report on local treatment experiments in Baltimore and Ithaca, New York. Opioid news also comes from Massachusetts and Florida.
Companies In India Invest To Gain Foothold In U.S. Generics Market
Meanwhile in other marketplace news, manufacturers are enjoying the windfall from the two-year postponement of the medical device tax. And CVS Caremark reports slower growth in its drug prices.
Drop In Readmission Rates Can Be Attributed To Hospital Improvements, Study Finds
Researchers say facilities are not “gaming” the system by using observation care to hide patients returning to the hospital within 30 days of discharge. In local hospital marketplace news, media outlets report on developments in Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, Massachusetts, Maryland and Florida.
Kentucky, Delaware Lawmakers Struggle With Medicaid Budget Shortfalls
Kentucky officials report a Medicaid funding gap of more than $600 million over the next two years and Delaware is looking at a $28.5 million shortfall this year. News outlets also report on a proposal in the Alabama legislature that would cut the governor’s budget request for Medicaid, a bipartisan effort in Alaska to revamp the program and reaction in Iowa to federal approval of the governor’s plan to have private insurance companies run the Medicaid program.
GOP Leaders Struggle To Unify Party Behind Spending Bill That Includes Medicare Cuts
The proposal under consideration by the Budget Committee proposes cutting money to programs such as Medicare, but those in opposition to the spending bill are still wary. In other news from Capitol Hill, senators approve $100 million in emergency aid to Flint, Michigan.
Planned Parenthood Praises Trump’s Comments On Organization’s Work
The Republican candidate has said Planned Parenthood does a “really good job” in some areas, but for Cecile Richards, the president of the organization, that’s where the agreement ends. In other campaign news, KHN looks at the candidates’ positions on drug prices while NBC News looks at their records on mental health issues. And Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid backs Hillary Clinton for president.
Polls Find Mixed Support For Sanders’ Single-Payer Plan In Face Of Trade-Offs
Two surveys, one from AP-GfK and another from the Kaiser Family Foundation, find that high public approval of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders’ “Medicare-for-all” proposal dips when negative arguments are presented. (KHN is an editorially independent program of the foundation.)
Senate Confirms Califf As FDA Commissioner
The 89-4 vote came after a drawn-out battle in which several lawmakers opposed the nominee based, partly, on his ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
Utah Advocates Press Legislature To Cover More People In Medicaid Expansion Effort
A proposal by the House majority leader would not follow the federal health law’s overall Medicaid expansion but would instead offer coverage to
only 16,000 of the state’s poorest residents. In South Dakota, expansion advocates plan a television ad to thwart the governor’s proposal to expand the program for low-income residents.
Health Law’s Insurance Provider Fees Prompt Lawsuit By 6 States Against Federal Government
Texas, Wisconsin, Kansas, Louisiana, Indiana and Nebraska want an injunction against the federal rules, arguing the Affordable Care Act’s language did not give clear notice that states would be responsible for the fee. In other Obamacare news, The Wall Street Journal previews the impending fight for co-op funding.
More Proof Required To Sign Up During Special Enrollment Periods
The Obama administration is tightening the rules about customers entering the federal exchanges after the open enrollment period following an outcry from insurers.
First Edition: February 25, 2016
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Democrats’ Yearning For Single Payer; Managing Drug Costs; School Lunches
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
News outlets report on health issues in Illinois, Pennsylvania, California, Ohio and New York.
State Legislators’ Efforts To Close Abortion Clinics Having Nationwide Impact
Bloomberg reports that since 2011 at least 162 abortion clinics have shuttered or stopped offering the procedure. News outlets also report on related developments in Oklahoma and Ohio.
Burned Out And Underpaid: Addiction Counselors Fleeing The Industry
The labor shortage is nothing new, but as demand across the country rises due to the opioid crisis and more patients getting health insurance, the industry is struggling. In other news, the Kansas Senate approves a bill creating a new type of addiction counselor, and Hawaii’s lawmakers want to make it easier to access drugs to fight overdoses.
Iowa’s Medicaid Privatization Plan Gets Feds’ OK — But Delayed Until April 1
Gov. Terry Branstad originally planned to shift to private management of the state-federal low-income health insurance program starting Jan. 1.
As Hospital Landscape Changes, Worries Over Patients’ Access To Care Reemerge
A Connecticut lawmaker says the time is ripe to look at regulations surrounding hospitals so that patients don’t suffer. Meanwhile, in Florida, Adventist Health System will pay $2 million to settle allegations it used leftover chemotherapy drugs, a judge rules on a certificate of need dispute between a nursing home and the state Agency for Health Care Administration, and legislators are looking to permanently alter a law that gave a special status to a group home with a history of abuse.
