Latest KFF Health News Stories
Viewpoints: Cadillac Tax Defenders Strike Back; Drug Pricing ‘Out Of Whack’
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Research Roundup: Improving Enrollment Assistance; Hospitals And Healthy Communities
Each week, KHN compiles a selection of recently released health policy studies and briefs.
Health care stories are reported from Pennsylvania, Colorado, California, Maryland and Florida.
Meanwhile, in Connecticut, hospitals may face even bigger payment reductions than originally advanced by Gov. Dannel Malloy, and a Delaware program identifies $11 million in possible Medicaid waste, fraud and abuse.
University Officials Fear Fallout From Planned Parenthood Videos Will Hit Research Labs
Bills in Wisconsin and Ohio would ban research on fetal tissue and university labs elsewhere are concerned that they, too, could be targeted. Other news outlets examine how the video controversy is playing out in South Carolina, and a fact checker looks at the issue of Planned Parenthood and mammography services.
Congress Agrees To Pay For Construction Cost Overruns At Denver VA Hospital
The sticker price for the hospital is now $1.6 billion. Also in veterans news, a federal inspector general confirms a whistleblower’s claims that Veterans Affairs facilities in St. Louis mishandled records for mental health patients.
It’s A Good Time For Seniors To Evaluate Their Medicare Part D Plan
With drug prices skyrocketing and open enrollment season about top start, The Sacramento Bee reports on the options available to Medicare beneficiaries. In related news, a GAO report finds hospital care to be unaffected by CMS’ quality incentive program while a measure for Medicare to help fund end-of-life counseling gets public support.
Squirrel Bites & Lamppost Run-Ins: Even Strange Injuries, Conditions Coded Under ICD-10
Doctors’ offices are now adapting to a new generation medical coding system, the International Classification of Diseases or ICD-10, that went live this week with nearly 70,000 codes for every medical circumstance from the common to the rare, including crushed by alligator.
On Campaign Trail, 2016 Candidates Advance Health Care Options
One presidential hopeful, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., supports allowing some immigrants who are in the country illegally to still get health insurance through the 2010 health law. Meanwhile, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton discusses expanding the use of an expensive drug that counters a heroin overdose.
Administration Backs Supreme Court Review Of Legal Challenges To Health Law’s Birth Control Mandate
In other news, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan sues a Catholic hospital system over its abortion policy.
Under Alaska’s Medicaid Expansion, 2,000 New Enrollees See Chance For Fresh Start
In other Medicaid expansion news, California’s enrollment efforts have been very successful. But the state’s health insurance program for low-income people now faces some growing pains in dealing with the health care needs of this ballooning population.
Program To Help Health Insurers Deal With Risk Comes Up Short On Cash
Administration officials announce that a health law program designed to reimburse insurers who underestimated the cost of covering new patients coming into the marketplace has not collected as much money as insurers requested.
Congress OKs Health Law Tweak To Ease Insurance Rules For Mid-Size Businesses
The White House has signaled that President Barack Obama will sign the measure.
First Edition: October 2, 2015
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Clinton’s Plan Hurts Health Law; GOP And Women; Budget Fears Beyond The Shutdown
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Longer Looks: End-Of-Life Discussions; Selling Sugar; The Cadillac Tax
Each week, KHN’s Shefali Luthra finds interesting reads from around the Web.
Health care stories are reported from New York, California, New Hampshire, Alabama and Texas.
S.C. Medicaid Agency Paid For 222 Abortions In Last 5 Years, Director Says
The official told this number to a state House oversight panel looking into how state agencies interact with Planned Parenthood. However, none of those abortions were performed by Planned Parenthood.
Texas Cuts To Medicaid Outpatient Therapy Services Still A Flashpoint
The state’s lieutenant governor offered a stern defense of the reduction even in the face of an ongoing legal challenge to it. Meanwhile, in Kansas, advocates for the aging and disabled communities are awaiting details on how various waivers will be integrated.
Effort To Repeal Calif. Vaccine Law Falls Short On Signatures
The effort is part of a backlash against a measure that became law this summer.
