Latest KFF Health News Stories
News outlets report on health care developments in New Jersey, Kentucky, Kansas, Tennessee, Ohio and Michigan.
Backlash Prompts Idaho To Delay Cuts To In-Home Care Medicaid Reimbursements
Disability providers, who were told to expect a 46 percent cut in the reimbursement they receive each day, say the move will hurt the quality of patient care. In other state Medicaid news, North Carolina alters its policy to cover breastfeeding services.
HCA Reaches $2M Settlement In Whistleblower Case
The executive director of the cardiovascular program at HCA’s Fairview Park Hospital in Georgia alleged that doctors at one of the chain’s hospitals were performing unnecessary heart procedures. Elsewhere, Illinois’ attorney general and the Federal Trade Commission seek to block a proposed merger in the Chicago area, and a Washington patient will receive $1.5 million after a negligence verdict was reached.
Who Should Take Statins? Task Force Is Updating Guidance For Cholesterol-Lowering Treatment
Meanwhile, news outlets cover other public health stories including lawmakers calling for emergency funding to help drug-dependent newborns, HIPAA loopholes in mental health cases and doctors encouraging good nutrition habits by shopping with patients.
Utah Can Halt Planned Parenthood Funding While Lawsuit Goes Forward, Judge Rules
Planned Parenthood Association of Utah is suing the state after Republican Gov. Gary Herbert cut off $275,000 in federal funds for sexually transmitted disease testing and sex education programs. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will review how federal officials currently oversee fetal tissue research.
Failures Persist In Veteran Care, Even As Reforms Are Trumpeted In Washington
Despite the national outcry to improve the quality of VA care, a USA Today investigation finds veterans on the ground aren’t seeing a difference. “I no longer trust them to fix me when I’m broken,” Stanley Christian Jr., a helicopter pilot who flew in Vietnam, says. “And, you know, a 70-year old man get(s) broken.”
From Free To $100,000-A-Year?: Cost Of Experimental Autoimmune Drug Could Skyrocket
People suffering Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome, a rare autoimmune disorder, have found relief from an experimental drug that one pharmaceutical company distributes free. Now another company is seeking FDA approval, which would give it exclusive rights to distribute — and charge an estimated $37,500 to over $100,000 per patient, per year. Elsewhere, The Washington Post examines the trends in drug spending.
Clinton Reveals $20B Plan To Cure Alzheimer’s By 2025
About 5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s, and by 2050 that number is expected to grow to 15 million, disproportionately affecting women and minorities. By then, if the government’s spending on the disease stays the same, it would cost Americans $1 trillion a year.
States See Boost In Federal Exchange Sign-Ups
Media outlets report on enrollment numbers from Georgia, Ohio, Arizona, Connecticut and Kansas.
HHS Touts Strong Enrollment Numbers In Coveted Young Adult Demographic
More than 8.2 million people have signed up or renewed health coverage on the federal marketplace for 2016. Of those, 2.1 million are under 35, close to double what it was at this point last year.
First Edition: December 23, 2015
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Cruz’s FDA Plan Falls Short; Fixing U.S. Opioid Abuse; Parents’ Fear Of Concussions
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
News outlets report on health care developments in Florida, South Carolina, California, Virginia, Wisconsin, Kansas, Missouri and Connecticut.
An investigation explores how the state’s mental hospitals focus on preparing some alleged offenders with mental health issues for trial rather than treating the underlying mental illness. Meanwhile, advocates say mental health issues will be at a “critical juncture” in the 2016 Kansas legislative session as momentum builds behind movements away from institutionalization and toward community-based care.
Iowa Governor: Medicaid Recipients Can Be Reassigned To Remaining 3 Companies
The Iowa Department of Human Services will enroll the 140,000 that need coverage after the state terminated its contract with a private company. Meanwhile, the delay in the state’s efforts to privatize Medicaid may leave some children without access to care.
Home And Hospital Births Equally Safe In Low-Risk Pregnancies: Study
In other public health news, a growing number of jails are offering exiting inmates a drug that can help aid opioid addiction recovery. Also in the news are stories on a gum disease-breast cancer link, a high-tech thermometer monitored through an app and cardiac warning signs that patients ignore.
FDA Rolls Back Blood-Donor Ban For Gay And Bisexual Men, But There’s A Catch
Before they can donate, the men are required to have been celibate for a year.
Poll Finds That Public Support For Legal Abortion Hits Two-Year High
The Associated Press-GfK poll survey found that 58 percent of Americans think abortion should be legal in most or all cases. In Planned Parenthood news, Ohio lawmakers push new requirements for the disposal of fetal remains by abortion clinics and hospitals. Elsewhere, The Diane Rehm Show discusses the move toward pharmacists prescribing birth control. KHN’s Julie Rovner appeared on show Monday to discuss the issue.
New Medicare Dashboard Allows Users To Analyze Drug Prices
Through the tool, researchers and the public will have access to a trove of prescription drug data, including overall spending, recent cost trends and the number of Americans who rely on it. And The Wall Street Journal points out that the rollout for the dashboard including information on drugs with prices that have increased dramatically for Medicare.
Biotech Company Reports Promising Results In ‘Kick And Kill’ HIV Treatment
The firm says its method has reduced latent HIV in 17 patients by an average of 40 percent. In other news, public health officials want to know why a drug that has proven effective at preventing HIV is not being used.
