Latest KFF Health News Stories
Virginia Hospitals’ Safety Rankings Now Available Online
Meanwhile, a Vermont health care provider is launching an ambitious payment overhaul that will emphasize wellness. In other hospital news, a Mississippi community hospital that is slated to close Dec. 1 owes $315,000 in back taxes and the Pennsylvania owner of four of the state’s five most profitable mental-health hospitals is under investigation for Medicare and Medicaid practices.
Calif. Lawmakers Earn High Marks From Planned Parenthood For Reproductive Rights Policy Positions
Elsewhere, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services could, as of Dec. 1, revoke the license to perform abortions held by a local Planned Parenthood clinic. Also, in Indiana, Gov. Mike Pence awarded a $3.5 million contract to an anti-abortion nonprofit organization that pushes abstinence as the only method of birth control; most of the money will be spent providing services to pregnant women who choose not to have an abortion.
Meanwhile, Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad accuses some of the state’s health care providers of using scare tactics to undermine Iowa’s Medicaid privatization effort.
Blood Cancer Drug Treatment Wins FDA Accelerated Approval
The drug treats multiple myeloma and is made by Johnson & Johnson. Also, new tools to fight antibiotic resistant “superbugs” emerge and the FDA readies more regulation on laboratory testing that sometimes produces incorrect results.
Health Care Leaders Overwhelmingly Support Government Action To Curb Drug Costs: Survey
According to Modern Healthcare’s latest survey of executives, 90 percent of CEOs polled say that the fast rise of prescription drug prices was undermining their company’s finances. In related news, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports on cancer treatment costs that can reach $30,000 a month.
Medicare Enacts Major Reimbursement Change For Knee And Hip Replacements
To try to bring down costs and improve quality, payments and rewards will be tied to the results of the surgical procedure. Elsewhere, South Carolina ambulance owners complain that a Medicare experiment requiring patients to obtain prior authorization for non-emergency ambulance transportation is not being administered properly.
Sanders Challenges Clinton On Paid Family Leave
The Vermont senator has thrown his support behind a bill that would help reimburse workers who take time off work for some family issues. Hillary Clinton, who supports paid family leave, has not yet put out a similar plan. Also in the news, a fact checker disputes statements by Republicans Donald Trump and Carly Fiorina about the number of veterans who have died while awaiting treatment.
GOP Looks For Way To Get Senate To Pass Obamacare Repeal
Republicans are considering making big changes to their proposal to repeal the health law and defund Planned Parenthood — even perhaps scrapping the idea to deny the clinics money. Elsewhere, a court rules Congress must cooperate to find the source of a possible leak of government health-care policy in an insider-trading probe.
High Court Opts Not To Hear Case About Planned Parenthood Documents
The case was brought by New Hampshire Right to Life, which was seeking HHS documents about a $1 million federal contract awarded to Planned Parenthood of Northern New England. The Right to Life group was concerned that the federal money might be used to subsidize abortions.
Viewpoints: Tough Issues For FDA Nominee; A Mother’s Questions For Ben Carson
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
News outlets report on health issues in Texas, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Virginia, New Hampshire, New York and Florida.
Lower-Income Communities Hit Harder By Premature Colon Cancer Deaths
Almost 20 percent of colon cancer deaths in these communities could have been averted with early screening and the communities face $6.4 billion in lost wages, according to CDC estimates. Elsewhere, news outlets write about other public health stories including failures at psychiatric hospitals, the benefits of involving surgical residents in procedures and the growing obesity gap between women and men. “Cyber sickness” and the dangers of sugar are also in the headlines.
‘You Wonder If You Made The Right Decision’: Parents Of Premature Baby Face Heartbreaking Ordeal
Kaiser Health News offers a multimedia package profiling a San Francisco couple who had to decide how far to go to treat their very sick and premature son. In other children’s health news, media outlets report on the difficulty of diagnosing TB in kids and the dramatic jump in autism cases.
FDA Issues Farm Regulations To Increase Safety Of Produce
The new food regulations from the Food and Drug Administration aim to stop the breakouts of food-borne illnesses seen over the last decade.
Mergers And Takeovers Are On The Rise, Bringing Conflicts With Them
Takeovers in the health care industry are increasing, and experts don’t see the pace slowing down soon. Yet unexpected conflicts of interest can sometimes accompany the deals.
Top Public Health Care Concern: Drug Costs
Also, heart drug availability and costs are examined around the globe. And in other news, Pfizer considers moving its headquarters to Dublin to save on taxes, tech and drug companies team up on a trade secrets bill and an AstraZeneca lung cancer drug gets FDA approval.
Often Nonprofit Hospitals Fail To Let Consumers Know About Charity Care Options
Many hospitals are supposed to let patients know if they qualify for free or reduced-price care. Also in the news, a survey finds a growing numbers of physicians are moving to concierge care, employees are picking up a bigger share of their health care costs and the health law’s impact on the municipal bond market is waning.
Medicare Part B Premiums On The Rise But Could’ve Been Higher For Many
Health News Florida and USA Today round up the changes beneficiaries will face next year to their Part B premiums and deductibles.
Kentucky Governor Urges Successor To Keep Obamacare Health Care Expansion
Gov. Steve Beshear argues that his adoption of health law provisions has created jobs and brought in $3 billion in Medicaid funding. Gov.-elect Matt Bevin ran on a platform to dismantle Kynect, Kentucky’s health insurance exchange, and curtail the state’s Medicaid expansion. Meanwhile, a review of the 2015 vote finds that Kentucky counties with the highest rates of Medicaid enrollment voted for Bevin.
Medicaid Expansion Adds 7.8 Million Patients To Private Insurance Rolls Last Year
In other Medicaid news, a study finds that half of the immigrants living in California illegally could qualify under a plan to expand the state’s low-income health program, the expansion door cracks open in Alabama and Ohio will update its medical education repayment formula for hospitals.
