Latest KFF Health News Stories
Viewpoints: GOP’s ‘Silence’ On Gun Control; Budget Accord’s Effect On Health Law
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Arkansas Panel Set To Finalize Recommendations Regarding Medicaid Expansion Plan
In a Tuesday meeting, the Health Reform Legislative Task Force did not focus on the private option — the state’s Medicaid expansion approach that’s gained federal approval — but on cost savings approaches for the program. The group’s proposal calls for expanding and enhancing the patient-centered medical home model — in which a patient’s treatment is coordinated by a primary care physician — for the traditional Medicaid population.
Enrollment Deadline Pushed Back Due To ‘Unprecedented’ Demand
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said nearly 1 million people were asked to leave their contact information to hold their spot in line, as the agency tried to handle the wave of last-minute enrollees.
Congress Reaches Year-End Spending, Tax Deals
The $1.15 trillion spending agreement, which includes a two-year delay for the “Cadillac tax,” averts a shutdown and would fund the government deep into 2016.
9/11 Health Bill Included In Spending Deal
The legislation also includes a $2 billion bump to the National Institutes of Health’s funding, its largest increase in more than 12 years. The bill gives $200 million to the Obama administration’s Precision Medicine Initiative and a $350 million increase for research on Alzheimer’s disease.
In Price-Gouging Investigation, Oversight Committee Calls For Generic-Drug Information From FDA
And Rep. Elijah Cummings, the ranking Democrat on the committee, is keeping the pressure on Valeant Pharmaceuticals. The Maryland lawmaker is asking for witnesses and documents from the CEO by Jan. 8.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals Strikes Distribution Deal With Walgreens
The drug company, which has been in the hot seat recently because of its high drug prices and its troubled relationships with some mail-order pharmacies, hopes the Walgreens agreement will lead to new distribution pathways for its products and help regain some credibility among investors. However, Valeant issued a downbeat earning guidance for 2016.
FTC Counters Health Care Antitrust Accusations From Republicans
Deborah Feinstein, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, says federal rules can regulate competition in the insurance market, disputing claims from congressional Republicans that the health law has provoked consolidation.
Privately Run Homes For Disabled Amassing Grim Record Of Abuse, Investigation Finds
As an example, a ProPublica review of news accounts found that at least 145 kids died from avoidable causes in for-profit residential programs over the past three decades. In other public health news, news outlets report on the connection between walking and standing to blood sugar counts, reciprocal medical licensing across states and a lack of patient diversity in many clinical trials.
Michigan State Board Approves $1.2M More In Planned Parenthood Funding Despite Opposition
The state contract increases a federal grant to Planned Parenthood of Mid and South Michigan to provide family planning and health screenings, but will not fund abortion services. Elsewhere, in Ohio, a federal judge’s temporary order will allow three Planned Parenthood clinics to stay open while the reproductive health organization sues the state over planned injunctions.
News outlets report on health care developments in Minnesota, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Georgia and Ohio.
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Civil Rights Complaint Alleges Discrimination In California’s Medi-Cal Program
News outlets in North Carolina, Iowa and Oregon report on other state Medicaid developments.
Viewpoints: The Myth Of ‘Empowered Consumers’; Addicted Mothers And Babies
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
News outlets report on health care developments in Michigan, Massachusetts, Vermont, California, Texas, Florida and Missouri.
Daughters Of Charity Finalizes Deal With East Coast Hedge Fund To Keep Calif. Hospital Chain Afloat
The $260 million investment will keep the health system up and running in the Bay Area for at least three years. Also, the American Civil Liberties Union raises concerns about Walgreens’ plan to have Providence Health run the drug chain’s in-store health clinics in Washington state and Oregon.
State-Level Abortion And Medicaid Restrictions Are ‘Frightening,’ Sebelius Says
Kathleen Sebelius, a former Health and Human Services secretary, blasts Missouri and Kansas lawmakers’ policies on Medicaid expansion and funding of Planned Parenthood. In related news, a federal judge temporarily blocks Ohio officials from taking action against Planned Parenthood.
Aetna, Humana and UnitedHealth will provide information to researchers on claims data for an estimated 88 million people and $682 billion in health care bills.
CDC Issues Guidelines Seeking To Cut Opioid Drug Use, Find Other Methods For Pain Relief
The draft recommendations from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that doctors try different strategies. At the same time, a new study also looks at prescribers’ role in the use of the opioid drugs, and Maryland relaxes its rules for getting a drug that can reverse the dangerous effects of opioids.
Despite Popularity, Evidence Still Slim About Mental Health Courts’ Effectiveness
Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, chairman of House Democrats’ Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, held a hearing about gun violence and mental health care on the third anniversary of the Dec. 14, 2012, shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.
