Latest KFF Health News Stories
The Health Law: Looking Forward, Looking Back
News outlets review how the health law came through 2015 while also detailing the latest developments in its implementation and the continuing issues regarding enrollment and coverage issues.
A Great Divide: As Republicans On Hill Rail Against ACA, GOP Governors Work To Expand Medicaid
The battles highlight a bigger war between the realistic need of governors and the ideological wing of the party that wants to destroy the health law at all costs. Outlets also report on Medicaid expansion developments in Kentucky, Florida, Vermont and California.
Health Care Stories To Watch In 2016
Media outlets report on what health stories will dominate coverage in the year to come, including courts, the 2016 election and mergers, among many others.
House Targets Health Law, Planned Parenthood To Open Session
The GOP-led chamber will vote Tuesday to send a bill rolling back the Affordable Care Act and cutting funding to Planned Parenthood to the president’s desk, where it will draw a veto.
First Edition: January 4, 2016
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Wrong Predictions Of Health Law ‘Disasters’; Bad Options For Prescription Drugs
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Longer Looks: Antibiotics And Obesity; Robbing Opioid Vans; The Year’s Top Medical Findings
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Research Roundup: Hospital DNR Orders; Medicare Home Visits; Consumer Cost-Sharing
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
News outlets report on health care developments in New York, California, Virginia, New Hampshire, Michigan, Illinois, Texas, Washington and Delaware.
WellCare Files Appeal Over Terminated Medicaid Contract With Iowa
The company alleges Gov. Terry Branstad made serious errors when kicking it out of the new program he hopes to use to move the state’s Medicaid patients into private managed care plans. Elsewhere, the Nebraska Public Service Commission lays out new regulations on how taxi companies treat Medicaid patients they are transporting; the former Medicaid director of Texas talks about managed care plans; and, in Idaho, reimbursement rates for health care providers are back to 2012 levels.
California To Launch More Secure Prescription Drug Database
The state’s attorney general says the improved system is designed to prevent overdoses and illegal sales of prescription drugs. And in Kentucky, an OxyContin drug maker will pay $24 million to settle a lawsuit with the state, which alleges the company misled the public about the addictiveness of the medication.
Illinois Hospital Merger Grinds To Halt After FTC Antitrust Challenge
The hospital chains and the Federal Trade Commission agreed to a temporary restraining order, but the commission is still seeking an injunction so it can fully examine the proposed deal. Media outlets also report on hospital developments in Kansas and New Jersey.
Health Care Industry Hit Hard From Cyberattacks In 2015
The biggest breach was an attack surrounding Anthem in which the data of 78.8 million customers was compromised, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services.
Peace Corps Volunteers Coming Back To US Health System That Fails Them, Report Finds
The task force found a pattern of frustration and a feeling of abandonment from those returning from abroad, some of whom had to wait years or decades before receiving acceptable medical care. In other public health news, the illegal sale of tiny pet turtles is linked to salmonella outbreaks; and after the death of his friend’s son, one lawmaker’s fight to improve access to a heroin antidote becomes personal.
HIV Patients’ Treatment Inordinately Determined By Socioeconomic Circumstances
While the life-expectancy of white, affluent men with HIV/AIDS is on the rise, 66 percent of the 1.2 million Americans living with it are not in treatment. And, compared to white men, African-American men are more than seven times more likely to die from HIV-related complications. Latino men are twice as likely.
Pilot Programs To Improve Care For Elderly Or Disabled Poor Patients Stumble
The experiments — mandated by the health law — are designed to reduce spending and boost the quality of care for people who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid, but they have failed to attract much enrollment. Also in the news, a study finds gender differences among patients taking advantage of new Medicare rules for screening colonoscopies.
Obscure ‘Orphan Drug Act’ Could Lead To Price Hikes For Older Drugs
The New York Times reports on how pharmaceutical companies are taking advantage of the provision to seek FDA approval — and the profits — for drugs that may already be benefiting patients. And NPR examines the common practice of aggressive pharmaceutical pricing spikes in developing areas of the world.
New Louisiana Governor Faces Challenges In Plans To Expand Medicaid
Gov.-Elect John Bel Edwards will take office Jan. 11, and he’s promised to take advantage of the federal health law’s provision to expand the state’s Medicaid program. Meanwhile, in Georgia, advocates of expansion pressed their case in Athens.
First Edition: December 24, 2015
NOTE TO READERS: KHN’s First Edition will not be published from Dec. 25 through Jan. 1. Look for it again in your inbox Jan. 4. Here’s today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Young Adult Enrollment Is Encouraging; Work Injuries Often Unreported
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
